Curbing state spending
New appointees at the head of public companies will earn less lucrative salaries than their predecessors appointed by the previous Socialist government, Economy and Finance Minister Giorgos Alogoskoufis announced yesterday. Alogoskoufis said that many government appointees earned «significantly more» than their counterparts in the private sector. The move will bring savings, but it is largely a symbolic one underscoring the new government’s declared goal of fighting wasteful state expenditure. According to sources, the government is steering clear of its previously stated position of submitting a supplementary 2004 budget, even though the previous government’s expenditure estimates will almost certainly be exceeded. The government has now decided to implement the budget as well as it can, although it fears cost overruns from the preparations for the Olympic Games.
