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

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

CONTENTS

[01] PM Karamanlis addresses rally in Egaleo

[01] PM Karamanlis addresses rally in Egaleo

Karamanlis said that he took the decision for early elections with the criterion of the national interest, adding that he chose to start the election campaign by meeting young men and women first and called on them not to abstain from the October 4 elections.

The prime minister further said that he himself described the difficult situation to the citizens, far from beautifications and illusions, stressing that difficult years lie ahead and noted that for this reason he announced specific and difficult measures in Thessaloniki.

"Our policy is necessary. It is not pleasant. In difficult times, responsibility with necessary decisions must prevail. It is here that our difference from (the main opposition) PASOK lies," he said.

Karamanlis went on to say that PASOK "proposes pleasant measures only and gives promises. It has no economic policy. Irresponsibility and wellwishing do not constitute policy, it is demagoguery and lead only to deadlock."

The pime minister also referred to the economic crisis in Europe and to its repercussions in other countries and said that our country stands at better levels than other countries, stressing that the reformist strategy followed by his New Democracy (ND) party was in the right direction.

"We are obliged to curb expenditures, to win the war with tax evasion and to carry out structural changes," he said and reiterated that he aimed at exhausting the four-year tenure and implementing his programme, but a mild political and social climate was necessary and accused the opposition of showing barren opposition and superficial populism.

Karamanlis referred to the measures that he has taken for the crisis until now and said that the Greeks have both memory and judgement.

"We are not promising miracles for unemployment, but we know who are they who took it from 3 percent and led it to 11 percent. We achieved a decrease and stabilisation, we created thousands of jobs," the prime minister said and added that reforms are necessary to tackle unemployment, deep reforms, the opening of closed professions that are crucial for the economy, simplification in establishing businesses, etc.

Karamanlis underlined that easy and pleasant solutions to major problems have been found nowhere and that whoever is interested in the country's problems takes difficult decisions.

Appealing to those who abstained from the Euroelections or who cast a vote of discontent against the ND party, he called on them to think soberly and to choose on the basis of the national interest.

"I shall only give one promise. I am and shall be in the front line of the struggle to fight for your expectations, to struggle for our common visions," the prime minister concluded and urged young people to "show them how battles are waged and how they are won."

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