BRATISLAVA, June 26, (WEBNOVINY) – The government has fulfilled several promises in the first year of the current four-year election term, but purchasing power and growth of real wages remain a problem, Prime Minister Iveta Radicova stated in a regular political debate program of the private television Markiza titled Na Telo. “We promised to stop the growing indebtedness, to tidy up public funds, to manage them transparently, start settling the debt of all indebted sectors as we inherited them, and also to resume economic growth. We have successfully fulfilled these promises,” she said.
Radicova stressed that Slovakia’s yearly employment growth was the highest among all EU countries, while the unemployment growth fell from 15.1 percent to 13.9 percent. At the same time, the number of job vacancies grew by over 11 percent. In order to improve the situation further, the government is working on a number of measures, in particular to improve the business environment, she noted.
The prime minister admitted that prices in Slovakia have been growing and real incomes decreasing. The state has reduced spending by seven percent. Decreasing the wages in the state and public administration reflected in an overall reduction of real wages, which also affects the private sector, she pointed out.
Iveta Radicova does not underestimate public protests. She assured that she listens to the citizens’ voices and talks with them. She added that she has four years to fulfill her promises and commitments, namely recovery, trust in the judiciary, eliminating corruption, transparency, and increasing the living standard. “This is what I fully concentrate on and I will fulfill these promises,” she said.
SITA
