Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, announced on Sunday that 200,000 households will receive the “social dividend” before Christmas. The extraordinary aid will be given to “those who are in greater need,” he said. The number of beneficiaries is therefore dramatically cut from 1,4 million in 2018.
The Prime Minister revealed the categories of the beneficiaries:
- a part of the long-term unemployed, families with many children and families with children with disabilities.
Excluded this year are low-income pensioners and obviously also the majority of the 500,000 long-term unemployed.
Mitsotakis did not revealed the total amount that will be distributed to vulnerable groups of the society, however, last October a minister had estimated that it would have been around 200,000 euros.
Citing finance ministry sources, media report on Monday that the amount will range between 500 and 1,000 euros. The Finance Ministry is expected to announce the amount of the aid for each category during the week.
Last year, SYRIZA gave €800 million to 1,400,000 beneficiaries who received amounts ranging form 200 to 1,200 euros.
PS With the new Greek definition of “middle class” the needy should be grateful if they receive the social dividend at all.
