Handouts will be judged at Sunday's polls, says PM

The SYRIZA government and a package of relief measures and tax breaks it announced earlier this month will be judged by voters at this Sunday's European Parliament and local elections, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Tuesday.

"Given the climate polarization the opposition has chosen in which to conduct this contest, citizens needs to know that these polls are a vote of confidence in these measures or a mandate for their abolition," Tsipras said in an interview with Antenna television, referring to a controversial package of measures that includes reductions to value-added tax on several products, a one-off bonus for pensioners and a reduction of Greece's primary surplus targets.

Defending the handout package, which has caused concern among creditors and markets regarding Greece's ability to meet fiscal performance targets, Tsipras said that the measures are...