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INEKO: Christmas Bonus for Pensioners a Huge Mistake
Tuesday 21 December 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, December 21 (TASR) - Publishing of state contracts on the internet along with mandatory e-auctions applied at most public tenders turned out to be the most beneficial steps of the current Government in 3Q10; on the contrary, paying the Christmas bonus to pensioners was the worst.
These are some of the conclusions drawn in the 'Evaluation of Economic and Social Measures' (HESO) project drafted annually by the Institute for Economic and Social Reforms (INEKO) that was released Tuesday.
"According to experts working on the HESO project, continuing in the trend to give the Christmas bonus to pensioners in 2010 [first given by Robert Fico's government in 2006-10 - ed. note] represents the most detrimental step this Government made in 3Q10. The Government has failed to muster enough political courage to cancel this non-systematic measure it had criticised itself before the June general election. As such, it continues with the populism where the previous government had left off," points out project manager Dusan Zachar.
In general, the Government's Manifesto has received positive evaluation, with planned consolidation of public finances and ambitious measures in the fight against non-transparency and corruption seen as greatest merits. In light of the election promises, however, the experts expected more significant reforms to take place.
There were mixed reactions regarding the stance of the Government on providing aid to indebted eurozone countries. However, the refusal to give financial aid to Greece was seen more positively than Slovakia's inclusion into the so-called European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF).
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