Athens News Agency: News in English, 10-02-19

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

CONTENTS

[01] Samaras all-out attack on government

[02] Porto Carras Casino robbed

[01] Samaras all-out attack on government

The main thrust of Samaras' address was on the significant problems faced by the Greek economy, which he attributed to its management by the past PASOK governments from 1981 onwards. He also criticised the handling of Greece's accession to the EMU (EU single currency), charging that "we entered the euro with a parity higher than that which would have preserved the competitiveness of the Greek economy".

"PASOK is suffering from 'the Titanic Syndrome'," Samaras said, adding that the government is "breaking up the domestic front with fact-finding commissions and converting a conjuncture in which the greatest unity is mandatory into a period of intense partisan clashes".

On PASOK's intention to set up a fact-finding commission on the economy, Samaras said that ND agrees with establishing a commission to investigate the management of the economic indicators "because we fear nothing in the least, nor have we anything to hide, and because the current state of the economy is not a matter of the last few years".

"We agree, and augment: Everything must be brought to light, the entire economic management must be examined thoroughly, not only from 2004 (when ND had taken over the government from its predecessor PASOK) onwards, not only from 2000 on, but from 1981 onwards," Samaras stressed.

He warned, however, that the proposal for a fact-finding commission on the economy "means that we will be poking our eyes out ourselves" because "don't delude yourselves, this slippery path will drag us to exo-European solutions...all these propel us to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and will be an acknowledgement of defeat of the eurozone, a blow against Europe".

Samaras also attacked Papandreou over his statement that Greece has "lost part of its national sovereignty", noting that many countries have reached a worse point that Greece, "but none declared that it lost its national sovereignty".

The main opposition leader further criticised the government on its bill on granting nationality to migrants, warning that Greece is "in danger of being converted into a magnet for illegal migration". "I forewarn that they are triggering explosions in Greece," he added.

Turning to ND's opposition tactics, Samaras stressed that "we are not conducting destructive opposition, tearing down everything in order to govern the ruins afterwards, nor are we engaging in passive opposition waiting for the government to fall like an over-ripe fruit. We are exercising progressive opposition, we are facing the situation as the future government".

He further clarified that "responsible consensus is one thing, and going along with a mistake is something else, responsible politics is one thing and co-responsibility in the mistake is something else".

"We are doing what is good for our country, but we are not co-governing," Samaras added.

[02] Porto Carras Casino robbed

Afterwards they put the banknotes in plastic bags and fled.

The amount of the stolen money is tentatively estimated to 500,000 euros.

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