Another tough budget to come for 2020

The 2020 budget will have to produce a primary surplus overrun of more than 2 billion euros just for the repetition of the measures the outgoing government has voted in over the last few weeks for 2019. If one adds the bill for the election pledges of the two main parties for next year, the cost jumps over 4 billion euros.

All this means that the 2020 primary budget surplus will have to reach 5.5 percent of gross domestic product. The next finance minister will have a hard time trying to convince the country's creditors, who already dispute that Greece can achieve this year's primary surplus target.

The execution of this year's budget will be the basis for discussion with the creditors' mission after the election. For now, the European Commission argues there is no large excess in the primary surplus of 2019, and has downwardly revised its estimate to 3.6 percent of...