Athens News Agency: News in English, 06-09-17

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Gov't will be merciless on corruption, PM tells ND central committee

[02] US policy harmful for region, PASOK leader warns

[03] KKE leader criticises ND, PASOK on corruption problem

[01] Gov't will be merciless on corruption, PM tells ND central committee

"We are particularly strict in every direction. We are in a constant clash with corruption. We do not tolerate any deviation from legality, we will not be partial to anyone. There will be no exception for anyone. The eras of tolerance, cover-up and impunity are irrevocably a thing of the past. Let no one have delusions. The social mandate is for zero tolerance to corruption and illegality. Our strength is the broad social alliance," Karamanlis stressed.

He added that the duty of the political leadership is to set the good example, and the government will not be partial to anyone, regardless of who he was, where he was, his political convictions, and what party he voted for.

The premier said that the most difficult battles were those that concern deeply-rooted pathogenies, and specifically mentioned tax evasion, contribution evasion, corruption, proboems that are not confronted from one day to the next. "Our position is clear. We do not hide the problems, but bring them to light and confront them," Karamanlis said, adding that the government was reinforcing the institutional framework for tackling corruption, tax evasion, and contribution evasion, outlining a series of measures that have already been taken, such as rendering breach of trust in a public service from a misdemeanour into a felony, and the creation of the Public Administration Auditors' Corps.

Karamanlis said that the path of reforms was being continued, and made special reference to the reforms in the State, the economy, and the health and education sectors. "The first goal, and an imperative necessity in the coming period were the reforms that were leading to the Education of the future," such as the upgrading of the public universities, the premier said, warning that populist backtracking was harmful to the entire society.

"We are holding and continuing dialogue, we want everyone's views. Refusal of dialogue is unfathomable, and reflects a deeply undemocratic, outdated and reactionary mentality," he said.

Karamanlis made specific mention of the dialogue on the major reforms, which he said would continue after the next general elections, focusing on the constitutional revision, the reform and decentralisation of the administrative structure, the reform of the social insurance system so that it will be just and viable.

Economy

The prime minister also spoke at length on the government's policy on the economy, noting that the doom-sayers had been belied and that the government had succeeded in its choice of mild adaptation despite the negative international state of affairs due to the high petrol prices.

Karamanlis underlined that the rate of growth of the Greek economy had reached 4.1 percent in the first half of 2006, nearly double the Eurozone average, while the deficit would be contained to below 3 percentage points by the end of the year, and the unemployment rate had already declined by 1.5 percentage points.

"The results of our policy thus far indicate that we are on the right path," the premier said, adding that it would continue in that direction with consistency and without populism. "We are escalating the reforms with bold changes in the structures of the state and the economy," he said, making special note of the taxation reform which, he said, would be completed with a reduction of the taxation rates, which would relieve the lower income brackets, and an increase in the tax exemption ceiling for natural entitites.

Karamanlis further said that the denationalisations would continue, and made particular reference to the Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation (OTE), noting that the government was currently seeking a strategic partner, aimed at boosting OTE's competitive operation and providing inexpensive quality services for the citizens, while at the same time ensuring the national interest.

Further reforms were the revision of the developmental law through simplication of the procedures for corporate licences, the national spatial plan and the individual spatial plans, reform of the legislation on bankruptcy, improvement of the public sector's operation with the creation of a fiscal audits department, and the plan for the abolition and/or merger of public services.

The premier wound up his address with an outline of his policy for next month's local government elections. "Our strategy is unwavering. It is a strategy of the modern social centre. We address ourselves to all the citizens. We will not sacrifice the interests of the local communities on the altar of acrimony, incomprehensible fanaticism, cheap populism. We are proving, in action, that we are a force of respnsibility," Karamanlis said.

ND secretary, other speakers

New Democracy party secretary Lefteris Zagoritis said that the phrase "zero tolerance" encapsulated the essence and substance of ND's stance on the issue of corruption, in his own address to the ND Central Committee meeting.

"Our position is clear-cut. The words 'silence', 'tolerance', 'concealment' do not express us. The rationale heard in recent days which says that all these are taking place and will continue to occur comes from the past, which belongs to the past. We abide by principles and values. The confrontation of corruption is a priority," Zagoritis said, adding that the "sick phenomena are being uncovered and punished, and this is the result of our own effort. We will not allow, and will not tolerate, those who are to blame for the past to become the champions of the present."

Turning to the October 15 municipal and prefectural elections, Zagoritis said that ND's strategic choice was that the local government electoral showdown should be based on the problems of the local societies, through comparison of the abilities of the candidates of all the tickets, and their platforms.

"They are elections of the local societies, and this is how we approach them. We support the most capable, the best, candidates, individuals with knowledge, a plan, and the ability to contribute to the local society," Zagoritis said.

Defence minister Evangelis Meimarakis told the Central Committee that the government had, from the outset, clarified that it was in a head-on collision with the issues of corruption.

"We do not want to be compared with PASOK (the main opposition party and preceding government) quantitatively with respect to how many instances of corruption there existed then and how many exist now. We want to be compared qualitatively, with respect to what we have done in these years (that ND has been in power), so that the instances of corruption are tackled and revealed, and for the citizen to sense the different attitude and perception being cultivated," Meimarakis said.

He said that two-and-a-half years ago (just before ND took over the government), the citizen considered the battle with corruption to be in vain, and had conciled himself with the phenomenon. Today, however, the citizen believes that the train of transparancy being driven by Costas Karamanlis was moving foward, picking up speed, and nothing will stop it, Meimarakis added.

Turning to the local government elections, Meimarakis said that "we must all be present in this battle, no one must be absent, but without giving them the political party character which some sides in PASOK wish to give them, without responding to the acrimony and polarisation that PASOK is trying to create".

The political parties are judged in the national elections. That is where we will be judged, and we believe that, with the help of the citizens, we will win, he said. Now, however, in the municipal and prefectural elections, the criteria are those of local administration, they are neither athletic, nor criteria of sympathy, nor criteria that can supposedly send a message, painlessly, to the government, Meimarakis added.

Interior, public administration and decentralisation minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos spoke at length on the shielding the supervisory mechanisms at both institutional level and infrastructures and personnel level which the government has been doing over the past two-and-a-half years.

He listed 19 measures which have untied the hands of the Public Administration General Insprector and the other supervisory mechanisms, as well as the intensification of inspections, which he said proved the government's political volition to eliminate corruption and mismanagement.

"All the phenomeny of lack of transparancy, of corruption and mismanagement, are not only not concealed, as was the case in the past, but instead are brought to light and put under the microscope," Pavlopoulos said, adding that corruption had been bred and grown to dimensions under the PASOK governments, due to the rationale of complicity and cover-up they cultivated, which proliferated the mentality of impunity.

He said the inspection mechanisms were under-functioning and the citizens, disappointed, were unable to assist in combatting the phenomena of corruption with the charges they submitted. Whereas today, the citizen perceived the change being made, and the political will that existed in that direction, and was assisting in the effort that was underway, Pavlopoulos added.

The minister spoke at length on the government's policy on regional development and reinforcing social cohesion.

"The hour of the periphery has arrived," he said, noting that 80 percent of the funds from the EU's Fourth Community Support Framework (CSF) will be channeled to boost the periphery.

In the two-and-a-half years of ND governance, he said, the municipalities and communities have been financially and institutionally reinforced with instituted resources, without withholdings or "creative accounting".

Pavlopoullos made specific mention of the THISEAS developmental programme, budgeted at 3.5 billion euros, which concerns the reinforcement of the first-degree local government.

Education minister Marietta Yannakou also spoke on the issue of corruption, saying that the mass media should be helping the government in combatting those phenomena. The media, however, was not playing that role but, on the contrary, there was a generalised attack against the government, she said.

The battle against corruption must take place at many levels, the minister added.

The meeting was also addressed by ND-backed candidates for several prefectures and municipalities, and MPs.

[02] US policy harmful for region, PASOK leader warns

Papandreou said that "if the collapse of the Soviet Union demerited socialism, then the current policy being implemented by the US on the Middle East, Iraq and Iran is harnful and could demerit democracy".

Regarding Turkey's course to the European Union, the PASOK leader assessed that the entire accession procedure was entering a critical stage.

"There is a chance that the European Union may change stance towards Turkey, and that the latter may lose interest. In such an eventuality, we will remain alone with the problems between us, including that of the (Aegean) continental shelf, the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and the minority," Papandreou said, adding that the Greek side did not want that.

Papandreou called on Turkey to fulfill its obligations and the requirements placed by the EU and, with respect to the Greek positions, reiterated PASOK's position calling for a new national strategy.

[03] KKE leader criticises ND, PASOK on corruption problem

Papariga mainly criticised the two mainstream parties -- the ruling New Democracy party and main opposition PASOK party -- saying that everyone was calling for the combatting of corruption, but were concentrating their attention on the "faces" and the "connections" which, although an important parameter, did not comprise a solution to the problem, since corruption was produced at individual level and reproduced by the immoral and rotten capitalistic system.

The KKE leader said that the institutional framework for transparancy, too, was not efficient, since the law was weak and was not applied.

Responding to criticisn of the KKE stance, Papariga said that her party was not giving up the effort for measures to be taken, and would not reconcile itself with any scandal, nor was it indifferent, "because indifference, too, is dangerous".

She stressed that this was not a fatalistic attitude, adding that the fight against corruption was part of the KKE's battle against the political choices of the capital, the fight for improvement of the people's living standards.

The KKE leader further referred to next month's local government elections, saying that there were no independent candidates, since all the candidates had some (political party) platform as a point of reference, even if they did not have the official backing of that party, adding that the policy of all the parties was apparent at the polls, as were the major problems of work, education, housing, health, infrastructures, the environment and culture.

Policy on all subjects, foreign policy, the Cyprus issue, the Aegean, and Greece's participation in imperialistic wars, were also being judged, she said.

Local government was not at all unrelated with all those, Papariga stressed, noting a recent law introduced by the government under which the local governments acquired significant authorities concering the everyday problems.

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article