Middle-class backlash over cash for poor 'could stop budget sweeteners'

A backlash against the billions of dollars spent on the poor in the policy address means the government will be able to avoid handing out sweeteners in next month's budget, a government source says.

Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying was accused of neglecting the middle class in his blueprint last week while promising more than HK$10 billion a year on initiatives for the underprivileged.

"[Financial secretary John] Tsang Chun-wah has all along disagreed with handing out too many one-off sweeteners to the poor in his budget … but it was very difficult for him to cut these initiatives as the government had been doing it every year," said a source close to Tsang.

"The government has noticed the recent anger of the middle-class as they regard the policy address has only taken care of the poor. Unlike in the past, the social sentiment has in fact created a window for us to cut the one-off initiatives this year."

In recent years the administration has adopted several budget relief measures to help the grass roots, including paying two months' rent for public housing tenants, providing an extra allowance to people on social security and electricity subsidies to all households.

But while the government wanted to cut such sweeteners, more attention would be paid to alleviating pressure on the middle class, the has learned.

Economist Dr Andy Kwan Cheuk-chiu said he was in favour of dispensing with sweeteners as he doubted their effectiveness.