Athens News Agency: News in English, 08-07-19

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

CONTENTS

[01] PM: The people's confidence is my strength

[02] Nobelist Stiglitz addresses PASOK Nat'l Council

[03] Athens Newspaper Headlines

[01] PM: The people's confidence is my strength

"The citizens are well aware of this. The most serious problems that we face today (debts, deficits, high prices, unemployment, and corruption) are 'achievements' of an establishment regime of the past. Unsolved cases that are now being uncovered or investigated and dealt with (corruption in justice, stock markets, DEKA, land register, arms procurements, TOR-M1, Siemens) were born and grew yesterday," Karamanlis stressed.

In his speech, the premier also acknowledged that mistakes had been made by his own party, noting that he had never denied this, nor that there had been delays in taking action or that behaviour counter to the party's principles had occurred. He stressed, however, that he was not going to give "discounts on matters of principle".

Karamanlis underlined that these problems were "born and raised within a system of power that did not see, did not hear and did not react. They were born and raised under the cover of a system that sneered, smeared and denigrated those who dared talk about them. They were born out of ways of thinking that made graft a regime, corruption a daily practice, illicit transactions socially acceptable".

He accused past PASOK governments of tolerating kickbacks and illegality while protecting those responsible, even to the extent of passing legislative measures.

Karamanlis stressed that this situation had now changed and would continue to change, while those responsible for corruption would not be protected but made to answer for their actions.

"We dare to clash. We dare to reveal. We dare to investigate. These are our advantages. This is the difference between us. The institutions are working efficiently and Justice, with absolute independence, today has the say it deserves," Karamanlis said, emphasising the government's confidence in justice.

He also pointed out that the government had already announced the taking of all necessary measures by Parliament, including an investigating committee for the Siemens case when the investigating by justice had finished.

The premier expressed the opinion that a fact-finding commission on the issue would simply make things harder for the judicial investigation at present, as had occurred in the past.

He was particularly scathing about PASOK's attack on the justice system, accusing the main opposition party of "impersonating a public prosecutor".

"It is a bit much that those who tolerated the judicial corruption networks to become standard bearers of unfathomable irresponsibility. It is their right if they want to compete with their opposition party rivals in populism. But it is not anyone's right to repeatedly question the institutions," the premier stressed.

Karamanlis said that PASOK was attempting to cover up its own political inadequacy with extreme actions that harmed Democracy itself and of attempting to equate behaviours and revive practices of political polarisation and fanaticism.

He stressed that the party would soon realise its mistake and find out that Greek society would not put up with performances of demagoguery that inflated problems without providing any solutions.

"The country now needs, more than ever, the active participation of citizens in public affairs. It needs responsibility, seriousness and effectiveness," he added.

Regarding reforms, he underlined would he neither tire nor hesitate nor give in to the resistance of privileged special-interest groups and the setbacks of the global environment, whatever they may be.

Karamanlis also stressed that he would not be lenient in dealing with the practices, viewpoints and mindsets that clashed with the principles and pledges of the government to society, or compromise with "pressures that run counter to the national, social and collective interest".

"This is a message in every direction. My strength is your faith in me. My strength is the faith of the citizens," he stressed.

Karamanlis on government's work

The prime minister referred at length to the government's work in all areas, as well as the government's policy toward the victims of fire and earthquake in the Peloponnese, with the prefecture of Ileia being among the hardest hit.

He pointed out that basic infrastructure had been repaired in these areas and dozens of improvement projects planned, while compensation to the region's farmers exceeded one billion euros and the debts of local businesses and professionals had been settled and grants given under developmental law increased by 60 percent.

Individual victims had also received the larger subsidies, which exceeded 250 million euros, and further assistance had been given to the unemployed, pensioners and students in fire-stricken regions.

The Greek premier ended his speech by encouraging young people to become involved in politics and advised them to "deny those that deny them, ignore those that ignore them and doubt those that doubt them".

"Resist those that try to convince you that nothing can change. Reply with optimism, vision and new ideas. Reply with proposals, actions and boldness," the premier concluded.

Caption: Prime minister Costas Karamanlis addresses the ruling New Democracy (ND) party's youth organization ONNED conference in Ancient Olympia. (ANA-MPA/Y. Kormbaki)

[02] Nobelist Stiglitz addresses PASOK Nat'l Council

Stiglitz, a former chief economist at the World Bank, said that Right governments believe in barren development and do not truly perceive the essence of the market.

"The American government cares only about increasing GDP, but that doesn't mean that all the citizens live better, only a few of them. It concedes exclusive contracts to big corporations, creating monopolies and, even when the corporations do not operate with transparency or present clear signs of mismanagement, it continues to back them," Professor Stiglitz said, and attributed most of the hardships of the US economy to the war on Iraq, on which billions of dollars are being spent, which are lacking from the country's society.

Stiglitz pointed to the insecurity created in the public as one of the most significant factors obstructing essential development in countries governed by right-wing forces, adding that due to the lack of systematic security, the public hesitated in taking risks.

"And without risk, there is no development," he stressed, adding that one of the most fundamental rights of people was the opportunity to exhaust his potential, chiefly through education. "Even in the US, however, access to high-level education is available mainly to those who can pay for it," Stigliz said.

The Nobel laureate further attributed the soaring oil prices to the war on Iraq, adding that he was not at all optimistic.

He reiterated that the Left agenda on the economy could achieve more in that area, and indeed with respect for the environment and the true needs of the people.

"The Left approach is not simply more successful because it leads to better economic results, but mainly because the benefits of these results reach more citizens," Stiglitz concluded.

Stiglitz, together with George Akerlof of the University of California, Berkeley, and A. Michael Spence of Stanford University, won the Nobel in Economics, officially named the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences, in 2001, for "their analyses of markets with asymmetric information".

Sunday's session of the PASOK Political Council was also addressed by high-profile MPs Evangelos Venizelos and Anna Diamantopoulou.

Caption: American Nobel laureate in economics Prof. Joseph E. Stiglitz. (EPA/M. Remissa)

[03] Athens Newspaper Headlines

Prime minister Costas Karamanlis' letter of reply to FYROM counterpart Nikola Gruevski, the Siemens graft scandal, the economic crisis and the budget deficit were the main front-page items in Saturday's newspapers.

ADESMEFTOS TYPOS: " 'Graft' was the PASOK government's 'instruction' - Karamanlis at ONNED (ruling New Democracy party youth organization) Festival", adding that the prime minister launched a scathing attack on PASOK at the opening of the 3-day ONNED annual conference, taking place this year in Ancient Olympia.

APOGEVMATINI: "Skopje is a landmine against peace - Karamanlis takes Gruevski to task over his extremist stance", noting that Karamanlis, in a harsh and lucid letter, puts Gruevski in his place, giving him a lesson in diplomatic order, and making it absolutely clear that there is no 'Macedonian' minority in Greece, nor has there ever been one.

AVGHI: "Public finances collapsing, expenditures getting out of control - State reinforcements to be cut back".

AVRIANI: "Under Simitis (PASOK former prime minister), graft was a governmental instruction - Harsh Karamanlis attack on PASOK, at a gathering that marked the beginning of a head-on clash, which will lead to elections".

CHORA: "Karamanlis brandishes the whip - The premier determined to impose catharsis".

ELEFTHEROS TYPOS: "Scandal in hospital procurements uncovered by auditors".

ELEFTHEROTYPIA: "Siemens kickbacks for OSE (Hellenic Railways Organization) project", noting that arrangements for commissions of 7-8 percent for the radio communications network were recorded in Siemens' 'black' books in April 2005, at the time when the specifications of the project were being drafted.

ESTIA: "Karamanlis to Gruevski: There is no 'Macedonian' minority".

ETHNOS: "The Sunday holiday on the (negotiations) table - Multinationals (department stores) demand that stores remain open 7 days a week".

KATHIMERINI: "Athens puts 'brake' on Skopje - There is no 'Macedonian' minority, prime minister stresses" in reply letter to Gruevski.

LOGOS: "Only the name remains outstanding - Sharp reply by prime minister to Gruevski".

NIKI: "Veil of silence over the scandals".

RIZOSPASTIS: "Children's camps without fire safety standards in eastern Attica".

TA NEA: "Decline in base passing grades (for university entry) in 84 Schools".

TO VIMA: "Who fear Zorbas? - The sensitive investigations and the individuals implicated - The former prosecutor a hand grenade ready to explode for the government", referring to a draft law tabled in parliament on Thursday that abolishes the current Independent Authority against money-laundering (the National Authority for Combating the Legalization of Income from Criminal Activity) that is led by former public prosecutor George Zorbas, converting the money-laundering watchdog into a permanent collective body called the "Committee for Combating the Legalization of Income from Criminal Activity and Funding of Terrorism" to be led by an active prosecutor.

VRADYNI: "Veto, again - Clear-cut warning by Karamanlis to Skopje".

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