KDH: Moody's Confirms Reality Coalition Lawmakers Are Ignoring

Bratislava, 22 June (TASR) - While Moody's latest assessment didn't downgrade Slovakia's credit rating, it highlighted the catastrophic state of public finances and delivered a devastating assessment of the government's fiscal consolidation efforts, the opposition Christian Democrats (KDH) stated on Monday, adding that the report holds a mirror up to coalition lawmakers in particular, who last week misinterpreted macroeconomic figures and expressed support for the government. "The confirmation of the A3 rating is no cause for celebration. The purpose of three rounds of drastic austerity measures for citizens was expected to improve Slovakia's ratings and position, but that hasn't happened; instead, we're treading water in stagnation. We're falling behind in competitiveness and are now 30 places behind the Czech Republic," said KDH MP Rastislav Kratky. KDH highlighted criticism of high structural deficits, which, according to the agency, weaken our ability to repay debts. Debt is projected to jump to as high as 68 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2028, up from a post-pandemic low of 55.8 percent in 2023. If we were reducing the debt, the rating could even have been improved, the report states. "According to Moody's report, if the consolidation had achieved its intended purpose, our rating would have improved. Despite the consolidation efforts, however, they are keeping the rating at the same level. In addition to the unexpectedly weak impact of consolidation on debt reduction, they also identify other risks, noting that the government is not taking political steps to address them. These include, in particular, demographics, the poor quality of institutions and the rule of law, dynamic developments abroad, and the threat to the drawdown of EU funds," added Kratky. According to the Finance Ministry, given the tense economic situation in the European Union, trade wars, global uncertainty, the oil crisis, and the economic slowdown among Slovakia's largest trading partners, the confirmation of the country's credit rating is welcome news. Following the publication of the rating, Finance Minister Ladislav Kamenicky (Smer-SD) emphasised that our economy is being dragged down by negative developments in Europe and, for example, by the EU's mistakes regarding overly ambitious climate targets. According to him, these are external factors over which the Slovak government has no control. am/mcs