Main opposition New Democracy (ND) leader Antonis Samaras addressed the last day of the party’s 8th congress in a southern Athens indoor stadium on Sunday by emphasising that ND’s goal is to relieve the country of the memorandum it signed with the EU and IMF.
“It (PASOK government) gave the keys away in signing the memorandum, which leads to a vicious cycle of recession and destruction,” he told party delegates and office-holders.
“As long as we are tied to the memorandum the country will be subjected to huge sacrifices but with minimal results. We say that Greece can exit from the memorandum’s commitments and stand on its own powers, and to exploit its assets and comparative advantages,” he added.
Moreover, Samaras, a former minister, repeated his charges of “PASOK’s crutches”, noting that “the battle against us by these crutches shows their fear for ND. Those who signed the memorandum say that nothing else could have been done, why then didn’t they take milder and more effective measures sooner, before they surrendered the keys to the country’s governance?”
Beyond ruling PASOK, Samaras also indirectly took aim at two rivals, former foreign minister Dora Bakoyannis, who was kicked out of ND’s parliamentary group for voting in favour of the memorandum, as well as Popular Orthodox Rally (LA.OS) leader George Karatzaferis, himself a former ND deputy.
“Those who back this policy as sidekicks to PASOK refer to a so-called vote of responsibility. Yet they didn’t know what measures they were voting for in the memorandum regarding social security and labour relations; politics is not stale smile or cheap shots in television windows, politics is an act of responsibility,” he added.
(source: ana-mpa)
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