Athens News Agency: News in English, 07-08-09

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

CONTENTS

[01] Papandreou again calls for immediate elections

[01] Papandreou again calls for immediate elections

Afterwards, and in comments to waiting reporters, Papandreou noted that "Greece was in the midst of a tragic impasse with the (current) New Democracy government."

He added, furthermore, that citizens' response to this situation is to say "enough"; "there is a choice of hope, dignity and certainty, which is none other than PASOK's programme for a just society with a redistribution of wealth."

Papandreou also said this week's announcement by the government of a new social cohesion fund for lower-income households shows the "government's panic". He also again said that "elections are the only solution, as the sooner they take place the better."

The committee was formed after a decision by Papandreou and is made up of party secretary Nikos Athanassakis and top PASOK cadres Evangelos Venizelos, Anna Diamantopoulou, Petros Efthymiou, Costas Laliotis, Christos Polyzogopoulos, Dimitris Reppas and Thanassis Tsouras. All of the committee members held top ministerial posts in previous PASOK governments, sans Polyzogopoulos, who served as president of Greece's largest union.

The election committee's meetings will also be attended by PASOK's new general director Rovertos Spyropoulos and the director of Papandreou's political office Pavlos Geroulanos.

The development comes arid a continuing cascade of press speculation claiming that early elections will be called by the premier in late September or early October. Elections in Greece are normally scheduled for March 2008.

Gov't response

Responding, later in the day, to Papandreou, Minister of State and Government Spokesman Theodoros Roussopoulos said that the PASOK leader's statements were "nothing but an anthology of wooden slogans."

"It is yet another proof that PASOK neither can nor wants to escape from its past of 'hard rock' and irresponsible populism," Roussopoulos added.

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