Greek government and Tsipras party clash over €13B economic program costing

The Thessaloniki dispute

A sharp political clash has erupted between the Greek government and the Hellenic Left Coalition (ELAS), led by former prime minister Alexis Tsipras, over the costing of the economic platform presented in Thessaloniki. Government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis described the opposition proposals as political deception, asserting that ELAS presented unfunded pledges that would cost €13 billion annually. Ruling officials stated that Tsipras divided annual funding across multiple years to disguise the true cost of student subsidies, municipal pledges, and educational appointments. Marinakis noted that housing costs for 50,000 homes were omitted entirely from the opposition calculation. In response, ELAS officials indicated that the party has successfully directed the domestic political agenda for four consecutive days.

While in his speech Mr. Tsipras promised support for 80,000 students with 500 euros monthly, in the party note he divides the annual cost of 400 million by four, to 100 million per year. This corresponds to support of 125 euros per month and not 500.

Competing fiscal calculations

ELAS firmly rejected the government assessment, issuing a detailed technical breakdown to defend its arithmetic against accusations of fiscal recklessness. Party officials stated that the economic program is designed as a four-year framework spanning 2027 to 2030, with measures phased in gradually rather than introduced as a single-year expenditure spike. Under the ELAS model, new fiscal interventions total €7.546 billion across the four-year cycle, balanced by €2.020 billion in projected additional public revenues. This results in a net fiscal footprint of €5.526 billion, which sits within the €5.6 billion in estimated available fiscal space and leaves a €74 million safety margin. ELAS officials maintained that four-year programs do not reset permanent expenditures every December.

You are not costing our program. You are costing your imagination.

Disputed sectoral measures

The technical dispute focuses on several specific spending and revenue lines across public education, healthcare, and corporate taxation. For the planned hiring of 30,000 educators, the government calculated an annual outlay of €570 million, whereas ELAS placed the net additional annual cost at €150 million. The opposition argued that most appointees are substitute teachers already paid by the state budget for 10 months each year, requiring only two additional months of salary funding. On prescription drug fees, ELAS outlined a phased €900 million measure split equally across 2029 and 2030 to eliminate private copayments, based on €800 million in 2024 private copayments adjusted for 12.5% price inflation. The party also budgeted a maximum cash impact of €400 million in 2030 for lowering corporate tax advance payments.

Taxation and institutional review

Disagreements also extended to asset declarations and proposed levies on high-income brackets. Minister of State Akis Skertsos argued that wealth tax revenue estimates were unreliable, noting that applying a 1% rate to €14.5 billion of declared taxable income among wealthy citizens would yield only €145 million. ELAS countered that projected revenues from its proposed Patriotic Contribution were not even included in the baseline €2.020 billion revenue figure. The opposition accused government ministries of double-counting existing wage bills and public investment funds to inflate cost projections. ELAS representatives expressed readiness to submit the full economic program to the Hellenic Fiscal Council, although formal submission cannot take place before 1 November under existing institutional rules.