Athens News Agency: News in English, 08-07-24

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

CONTENTS

[01] PASOK leader comments on state of economy

[02] Restoration of Democracy anniversary

[03] Two dead in tanker explosion

[01] PASOK leader comments on state of economy

PASOK's leader referred to the initiatives already undertaken by his party in the economic sector, stressing that PASOK would continue along the same road of responsible and creative opposition until the country was rid of the present government and it was replaced by a government that respected and cared about its citizens.

He stressed that ordinary people were being tested by the economic crisis and accused the government of lying when it said that the problems were due to the global economic crisis.

Papandreou went on to list a series of sectors where there were major problems, such as the competitiveness of the economy, corruption and lack of transparency, delays in refunds to farmers, the poor state of hospitals and lower standards of education and deficient fire protection measures, and stressed that the global economic crisis could not be considered responsible for all of these.

It was the policies of New Democracy that were to blame, which were leading the country into a total bankruptcy, Papandreou added. He stressed that what Greece now needed was a different economic policy, a new economic model and a new view of development.

We need a shift toward a green economy, a state of law and welfare and to investing in people, PASOK's leader underlined.

Turning to measures proposed by PASOK to lessen the burden of lower income groups, he called for an immediate reduction of public utility rates, strengthening state machinery against high prices, proposals for borrowers and measures to support fire-stricken areas.

He also called for the immediate payment of a one-off solidarity benefit to poorer citizens, estimated to cost 400-500 million euros, which would be levied from very specific sources, such as the additional taxes collected by the state from higher fuel taxes, stock option taxation and a flat-rate tax on big businesses and banks of 1-3 percent.

According to Papandreou, the above taxes could yield revenues of 800 million to one billion euros, enough to meet a demand for a heating benefit estimated at 200-300 million euros.

The main opposition leader said that the above proposals would be tabled as a draft bill in Parliament, while noting that the model of assisting the economically weaker members had been tried successfully in other countries.

The discussion at the meeting focused on preparing PASOK's alternative proposal for the economy by the end of August, so that it would be ready to present at the Thessaloniki International Fair in September.

Government response

The government responded on Thursday to the statements made by the PASOK leader with Minister of State and Government Spokesman Theodoros Roussopoulos saying in a statement:

"The levelling approach adopted by Mr. Papandreou does not of course reflect Greek reality. As it seems, he simply confuses what is happening in his party, considering that the same things are also happening in the country."

CAPTION: Main opposition PASOK leader addressing journalists at the party's headquarters after chairing a meeting on economic policy, on Thursday.

[02] Restoration of Democracy anniversary

Addressing the reception, Papoulias expessed his deep sorrow over an explosion at the Perama shipyard earlier in the day, in which, according to later reports, two people were killed.

Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis and his wife Natasha, Parliament President Dimitris Sioufas, main opposition PASOK leader George Papandreou and wife Ada, Coalition of the Left, Movements and Ecology (Synaspismos) leader Alexis Tsipras, who was accompanied by an immigrant girl from Sierra Leone, Popular Orthodox Rally (LA.OS) party leader George Karatzaferis, ministers and other officials attended the reception.

In his address, the president appealed to political forces to shield and protect the country's democratic regime.

"Our Democracy demands an agreement of the entire political system for its shielding and self-protection," the president underlined in his address during a traditional reception for the 34th anniversary of the restoration in Democracy in Greece, after a seven-year military dictatorship.

"We observe, some with sadness and some with anger, the revelations regarding phenomena which do not constitute an honour for public life, phenomena of long-lasting pathogenies which the citizens, not without reason, consider as a deep crisis of our representative system and finally as a crisis of Democracy," Papoulias added.

He said he shared "the citizens' disappointment and anger, when they ascertain that politics is regarded as a vehicle for personal enrichment, as a means for a wealthy life."

"Politics without morals is a very dangerous affair; it leads to the citizens' distancing from public affairs, to decay, to the emergemnce of extreme social phenomena," the president warned.

Papoulias also underlined that citizens should respond by choosing those who "in the course of their political life show a disposition for serving and dignity." The answer, he added, "cannot be but political and institutional: the parties have the obligation, vis-a-vis the people, to give account for the sins of few or many of their representatives, in a crystal clear and concrete manner...They have the obligation of persuading as regards the transparency of their operations."

Democracy "demands effective and transparent control mechanisms, exemplary sanctions, a framework for imposing legality and the state of law against non-transparency and illegal transaction. The attempt by financial circles to exert influence for the satisfaction of their interests is neither a new and certanly not a local phenomenon. But a Democracy which is armed with proper institutions operating speedily and effectively can win the citizens' confidence," President Papoulias concluded.

[03] Two dead in tanker explosion

Reports said that one of the dead men is probably a crew member while the identity of the second man has not been known.

Latest reports said that seven workers, five Greeks and two foreigners, were still missing, after a review of the list of workers employed at the time of the explosion.

Four slightly injured people were initially reported.

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