Elections '96: News

THE PRIME MINISTER OUTLINED PASOK'S PRINCIPLES AND OBJECTIVES SPEAKING IN THE OPENING OF THE PARTY'S NATIONAL COUNCIL MEETING
Athens 3 September (M.P.A.)

Prime Minister and PASOK President, Kostas Simitis in his speech during the opening of the party's National Council meeting, which coincides with the 22nd anniversary of PASOK's founding, stated that today is the day of a new start for a political course unprecedented in Greece.
Mr.Simitis outlined the party's principles and objectives, as well as, the policy it will follow in the next four years. The Prime Minister stressed that the September 22 election victory will open a "new frontier" and a "new horizon" for PASOK and the country.
Mr.Simitis referred to the PASOK of the past, while he specifically mentioned party founder, Andreas Papandreou proposing to change the name of the Strategic Stadies Foundation into Andreas Papandreou Foundation.
He said that special attention will be given to the development of rural areas, while he added that his government will support the small and medium-sized businesses.
Mr.Simitis gave a special emphasis to the country's european orientation and to its Balkan policy, stressing that Greece must have numerous connections and that its presence must be strong in order to be able to mobilize support, while it should also undertake initiatives, mainly in the Balkans.
Referring to the turkish expansionism, mr.Simitis reiterated that Turkey acts in a distabilizing manner and wants "to play the role of regional power" in the Balkans, the Caucasus and the Middle East.
The turkish expansionism, said the Prime Minister, is the most serious and possibly the only threat for Greece and hellenism and the response to it will be a strong Greece in every way, warning that any one having designs against Greece should think twice.
Mr.Simitis strongly criticized domestic powers, such as the traditional left and the old right for professing isolationism in the name of a state protectionism which will lead, as he characteristically said, to the "albanization of Greece", while he also accused New Democracy of persisting in an out-dated "Thatcher-like neo-liberalism".
The Prime Minister said that the party's democratic operation constitutes essential proof that it can produce policy and called the center-left to a post-election dialogue, stressing that PASOK's ties with the center-left are ties of communication and unity.