“Slovakia has successfully managed its consolidation of public finances and is now thus free to usher in measures designed to improve the living standards of people”, Prime Minister and Smer-SD chair Róbert Fico said after his party summit on Saturday.
The set of measures, which should cost approximately €250 million, will consist of 15 measures, for example the increase of the minimum wage and Christmas bonus contributions, introduction of a minimum pension, double-digit drop in gas prices for households in 2015-16, boosting the capacity of kindergartens, free train travel for all pensioners and students as of January 2015, lower taxes in the sphere of research and development and usher in an option to pay VAT after payment for invoice is received. Finance Minister Peter Kažimír claimed that this set of measures won't endanger the fiscal targets of Slovakia.
The “Positive Package” announced by SMER- might stop the drop in the party's popularity, but only on a temporary basis, political analyst Ján Baránek told TASR on Saturday. "These measures don't resolve the core of the problem, which is the middle class and system that is set up wrong. Smer-SD is losing popularity in the polls since March, when tax returns were submitted. According to the analyst, the prepared benefits such as minimum pensions or railway transport free of charge for pensioners and students are not systematic elements. According to the opposition SDKÚ-DS chair Pavol Frešo, Róbert Fico has just launched the second phase of his personal campaign worth €250 million at taxpayers' expense.
