Athens has been opening the fiscal tap, just enough to show it’s listening.
Over the past several months, the Greek government has unveiled a carefully choreographed sequence of pay raises, bonuses, and tax cuts amounting to €2.5 billion by mid-2026. Officially, the aim is to support households squeezed by inflation and high living costs. Unofficially, it’s also a response to growing voter frustration: roughly eight in ten Greeks say they are dissatisfied with the government’s overall performance, while the cost of living remains their most pressing concern.
Recent polls suggest that the government’s greatest challenge lies not in political rivals, but in the strained personal finances of its citizens. Rising prices for food, fuel, and rent continue to dominate public worries, while low wages and stagnant purchasing power deepen the sense that Greece’s recovery has yet to reach most households.
Against that backdrop, the government’s spending drive has been presented as a “social dividend” — a way to turn fiscal stability into visible relief. The list of measures is broad but deliberate. Uniformed personnel are receiving retroactive pay increases worth €70 million. Low-income pensioners, the elderly, and people with disabilities will get a permanent €250 annual allowance each November. Low-income families facing soaring rents are eligible for rebates of up to €800, plus supplements for children. Heating subsidies totaling €250 million are already being distributed ahead of Christmas.
Further wage and pension increases begin in December, including a 2.4 percent rise in pensions and adjustments benefiting more than 670,000 retirees. Public and private sector workers will see modest tax relief reflected in their pay slips, and a new minimum-wage hike is due in April — part of the government’s goal to reach €950 a month by 2027.
After years of austerity, Greece now runs budget surpluses and enjoys renewed credibility within the eurozone, allowing the state to spend again — though selectively. Inflation has slowed to about 2 percent, but cumulative price rises close to 20 percent since 2021 continue to erode real incomes. Food and rent costs remain stubbornly high, leaving many households struggling to keep up.
This approach reflects a careful political calculus: relief without fiscal risk, spending without excess. “It’s a balancing act,” one analyst observed, “designed to show empathy without losing discipline.”
Whether that balance satisfies voters is another matter. The new payments may soften the winter months and signal attentiveness from a government under pressure, but for most Greeks, the fiscal tap still feels more like a trickle than a flow.
