The National Council continued its debate on the program statement of the government. Outside of parliament, there were opinions from all sides.
The Trade Unions were positive: they welcome the government's ambition to ensure the stability of the business environment in terms of legislative predictability, the elimination of shortened legislative proceedings and the removal of administrative burden.
Economists called by TASR said: on the plus side, the new cabinet recognizes the necessity of consolidating public finances and talks about the need to invest in knowledge and human capital. On the other hand, there is little concrete.
The announced reduction of the deficit by 0.5% of GDP next year is considered not ambitious, said Marián Kočiš of Slovak Savings Bank.
The financial markets expected more, and next Monday, at the last auction of government bonds this year, it will be shown how much they believed the statements about responsible consolidation, he warned.
A more general analysis came from the Supreme Audit Office (SAO) of Slovakia, which audits all government activity. Chairman Ľubomír Andrassy highlighted structural problems, he said, to help implementation of strategic projects. More on this in this Topical Issue.
(TASR)
