Athens News Agency: News in English, 09-10-04

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

CONTENTS

[01] PASOK leader: 'Together, we will change Greece'

[02] 'Greeks vote for their future'

[03] 'Trust in the KKE'

[04] The 'forgotten' society's hour

[05] 'Retire' ND, PASOK

[06] 'Put EcoGreens in parliament'

[01] PASOK leader: 'Together, we will change Greece'

"I am certain that, together, we will change Greece. This is what we want, and we can succeed," the PASOK leader said.

"Today is a day of democracy. Today, every individual, with his vote, has equal power to decide on the country's future, on a better tomorrow for himself, his children and his family," Papandreou added.

[02] 'Greeks vote for their future'

"I hope and wish that everything will go well," the President added.

[03] 'Trust in the KKE'

She warned once again that a storm of anti-popular and anti-labor measures were on the horizon, adding that they would chiefly affect the 40-year-old and younger generations.

"No more disappointment. No more bowing to the false rationale of the 'lesser evil'," she said, stressing that "hope is a good thing, but when it goes into a wrong vote, it turns into a major weakness and ineffective defence".

She urged the people to trust in the KKE in order to inspire the popular counter-attack and safeguarding of the working people's last remaining heard-earned rights after the 'raids' by the New Democracy and PASOK governments.

[04] The 'forgotten' society's hour

"In this hour, the forgotten society, all those who in the preceding period did not have a voice of their own, speaks," Tsipras said, adding that "all these people known that what is truly at stake is not to change the party that governs us, but to change the policy that governs us".

"At this hour, we address ourselves mainly to the citizens who are disappointed in the two mainstream parties (ruling New Democracy and main opposition PASOK), regardless of whom they voted for until yesterday, and call on them to back SYRIZA (the SYN-led Coalition of the Radical Left parliamentary alliance) not only because our political life and society need a voice of our own, but because voting for SYRIZA is the best way to punish all those who belied their hopes, to punish and condemn the policy that lead to the greater poverty, to bigger unemployment and corruption," Tsipras said.

The SYN leader added that "we believe that, together, we can build a shield of social solidarity and protection against the crisis".

[05] 'Retire' ND, PASOK

Karatzaferis said afterwards that prime minister and ruling New Democracy (ND) leader Costas Karamanlis and main opposition PASOK leader George Papandreou are "two good guys from two good families" that have consistently governed Greece (alternately) over the past 35 years, "leading the country to bankruptcy, and concession of the name Macedonia to FYROM and the Aegean to Turkey".

"It is now time, after 35 years, for the Greek people to 'retire' them. Otherwise, our vote will be of no avail," Karatzaferis added.

[06] 'Put EcoGreens in parliament'

Chrysogelos said that there was a big wave of affinity with the Ecologists-Greens in the Greek society, and urged voters to turn that affinity into a political message of change.

He asked that his party be voted into parliament so that a new era in politics can commence and that the every day life of the people will improve.

Chrysogelos noted that the country is going through a big economic, environmental and social crisis, which means that "we need to change, now...the changes in both policy and our way of life must change, now".

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