Athens News Agency: News in English, 06-12-27

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

CONTENTS

[01] PM meeting with minister of interior after return from Florina

[02] Papandreou sees police rife with political patronage

[01] PM meeting with minister of interior after return from Florina

Karamanlis returned to Athens on Tuesday after spending Christmas with his family in Florina, northwest Greece.

While in the city, the prime minister and his wife attended the local Florina custom of lighting a great fire in the central city square that symbolizes the fire lit by the shepherds to warm the newly born Jesus in Bethlehem.

During his stay in the Florina prefecture, at the northwestern Greek borders, the prime minister visited the picturesque Pisoderi in Prespa and the traditional village of Nymfeo and met with local people.

[02] Papandreou sees police rife with political patronage

"We honour the Greek policeman, who has a difficult task before him. On the other hand, we decry the intense party patronage and lack of meritocracy that the present government of New Democracy has imposed within the police, resulting in a lack of planning since we cannot have only 40% of the officers foreseen in units on active duty and on patrol, because in this way they cannot deal with real events that occur in neighbourhoods and in society," he said.

Papandreou promised to radically redesign the operation of the police force once PASOK was in power, so that the required force on active duty was available, and ensure that this was done based on merit, without party political bias.

During his visit to Kallithea police station, PASOK's leader was received by Attica General Police Director Asimakis Golfis, station chief Vaios Barbarousis and Kallithea Mayor Constantinos Askounis.

Papandreou toured the passport department and was briefed on the general running of the police station. During the meeting, Golfis called for restoring the organisation of the police force to the planning made in 1995 and reported problems in technical support for police vehicles.

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