Greek PM rolls out major aid package ahead of elections

TDT | Manama

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Greece's prime minister on Saturday announced a 2.2-billion-euro package of aid and tax breaks for 2027, the latest such move by the government ahead of elections next year.

Conservative Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who is seeking a third term in legislative polls due in spring next year, said in a speech that he wanted "the benefits of growth to return to society."

Among the announced measures were the elimination of income tax for farmers earning less than 20,000 euros per year and a cut in workers' social security contributions starting in April 2027.

He also announced an increase in the minimum wage, an annual allowance of 400 euros for pensioners, and a gradual 30-percent reduction in wholesale electricity prices between 2027 and 2029.

This was just the latest package of measures taken by the government ahead of elections.

Last week, prices of more than 1,700 grocery and school supplies items fell by an average of 25-percent as a government-backed measure kicked in to confront concerns over purchasing power.

Reductions of prices of petrol and diesel have also been in place for two months.

The Greek economy took a major hit from the decade-long debt crisis that began in 2008, with earnings failing to keep pace with the rest of the EU.

More than 36% of private-sector workers were earning less than 1,000 euros gross per month in 2025, according to the national statistics authority (Elstat).