Tsakalotos attacks handout critics as austerity fans

Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos on Monday dismissed officials who have expressed concern over the government's handout policy ahead of the elections - including the head of the European Stability Mechanism, Klaus Regling - as "austerity supporters," although concerns are also being raised by others much closer to home, at the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO).

With the prime minister saying a holiday bonus over Christmas is also possible for pensioners, despite Regling's strong words after last Thursday's Eurogroup, speaking to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency on Monday, Tsakalotos defended this government policy and implied that Athens is relying on the strategy of alliances with friendly forces such as European Commissioner for Economic Affairs Pierre Moscovici and German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz.

Tsakalotos acknowledged that the reaction by the ESM chief...

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