SLOVAKIA’S outgoing finance minister, Ján Počiatek (Smer), has expressed scepticism about the fulfilment of comitments made by the new centre-right coalition before the general election.
Počiatek said after the last session of the outgoing cabinet on July 7 that he will not be surprised if the new government raises taxes, the SITA newswire reported.
He predicted that the cabinet led by Iveta Radičová would blame the outgoing government for some time after it took office.
“I even think they will take steps such as tax hikes and fail to meet many of the promises made before the elections,” Počiatek said, as quoted by SITA. The upcoming months will prove the honesty of their pledges related to wasting of public money and spending cuts, he said.
“It will be exactly reflected in the figures because the budget for 2011 and the following years has been elaborated and the volume of expenditures has been clearly set,” Počiatek said. “We will see whether spending will be lower, but I personally think that it will be higher.”
Počiatek stated that the current condition of the Slovak economy and the finances of the government are appropriate, given the impacts of the economic crisis.
