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Athens News Agency: News in English, 05-09-11
CONTENTS
[01] Karamanlis: All pledges will be met; gov't dedicated to reforms
[01] Karamanlis: All pledges will be met; gov't dedicated to reforms
Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis on Sunday reaffirmed his government's
dedication to a high-profile policy of reforms, especially in the
bloated public sector, as well as tidying up the economy for the
benefit of Greek citizens, particularly those in the lower-income
brackets, as he said.
Speaking at an across-the-board press conference during the first
weekend of the 70th Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF), Karamanlis
noted that "we are in the middle of a difficult, uphill course ...
priority is on the fiscal condition, and we are continuing with
persistence in that direction".
Replying to press questions, the prime minister stressed on several
occasions that the government was obliged to take unpleasant decisions,
but noted that the first signs that its policy was yielding results was
already visible.
He explained that one could not exercise social policy "with borrowed
money", stressing that the living conditions of the less privileged and
economically weaker classes improves when the economy improves, whereas
those social groups face greater burdens vis-a-vis economic hardships.
The prime minister also reiterated that all pledges made by the
government still stood and would be fulfilled over a four-year period.
"All those who think that social policy can be exercised with words or
borrowed money are seriously deluding themselves. The priority is on
rendering the economy healthy. This is a policy of responsibility. It
is easy to exercise a policy of impressions, but then the burden falls
on the shoulders of the taxpayers," he said.
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