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

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

CONTENTS

[01] Deliberations for electing new ND leader continue

[02] KKE on PM's address in Istanbul

[03] Elaionas mall not a go

[04] Greek Press Review

[01] Deliberations for electing new ND leader continue

Karamanlis announced his decision to resign from the party's leadership after ND's crushing defeat in the October 4 elections.

His first meeting was with former culture minister and one-time leader of his own Political Spring party Antonis Samaras, who afterwards spoke of an "all-powerful trend" within ND for "unity, ideological reinforcement and organisational refounding" of the party. He also spoke of a universal demand to give rank-and-file members a vote in the election of their leader.

Samaras said that he had outlined his proposals to Karamanlis and would also submit them at a meeting of the conference organising committee on Saturday evening. Among the issues stressed by Samaras, was that the extraordinary party conference to elect a new leader set for November 7 should last more than just one day and should make a decision to modify the party's charter in order to give a vote to ordinary party members.

There followed a meeting between Karamanlis and former foreign minister Dora Bakoyannis, who proposed two possible solutions.

The first was that the party conference take place as scheduled on November 7 in order to elect a new president, who would then promise to immediately initiate a process for the election of a leader by the party rank-and-file within a space of three months.

The second solution suggested by Bakoyannis was to immediately convene ND's Parliamentary group in order to elect a president and secretary and, in the meantime, the conference organising committee will continue the processes for the election of a new president by all party members, again in three months time.

Bakoyannis said that she intended to present both proposals at the conference organising committee that begins at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, chaired by Parliament President Dimitris Sioufas.

Caption: New Democracy President Costas Karamanlis walks down the steps of ND's party headquarters in Rigillis Street on Saturday, after meeting Antonis Samaras and Dora Bakoyannis. ANA-MPA - M. Marogiannis.

[02] KKE on PM's address in Istanbul

"The path of participation in the EU, that he proposed to the peoples of the Balkans for a peaceful solution to differences and cooperation, is the path that provenly increases the exploitation of peoples and aggravates the competing of monopolies and of the imperialist organisations. The EU, together with the US, is playing a leading role in the change in borders, it unleashed the war in Yugoslavia, it supported the Annan Plan for Cyprus and it is participating in the war in Afghanistan," it added.

[03] Elaionas mall not a go

This had ruled that the construction of the stadium itself, as well as of small retail shops and a parking lot serving the stadium's needs, were constitutional but had blocked the construction of a building to house City of Athens services and a shopping mall by the firm Babis Vovos.

Specifically, the court found that the construction of the stadium, small shops and the parking lot in open land within the inner city district of Votanikos were not contrary to Article 24 of the Constitution in spite of reducing total public open space because of the net benefit for the City of Athens from the handing over for public use of 1.6 hectares of open space in the Kountouriotika district of Alexandras Avenue, where the old Panathinaikos stadium is sited, as part of a twin urban redevelopment project.

Regarding the mall and municipal building, however, the court ruled that these reduced public open space to a greater degree than necessary for the transfer of the sports facilities, making article 12 of the 2006 law for the twin redevelopment project contrary to article 24 of the Constitution.

The CoS Plenum has therefore cancelled the acts of legislation allowing the construction of the municipal building and the mall, stressing that the statutes allowing the construction of the mall with a 1.6 building coefficient are not applicable because they were unconstitutional.

After the constitutional revision of 2001, when a Chamber judges a provision of a statute to be contrary to the Constitution, it is bound to refer the question to the Plenum, unless this has been judged by a previous decision of the Plenum or of the Special Highest Court.

Caption: ANA-MPA file photograph of the construction site for the planned mall being built by the firm Babis Vovos in Elaionas, next to the site of the future Panathinaikos Stadium. The building was well underway in May, when a first Council of State ruling blocked construction of the mall and a municipal building that originally formed part of the twin urban redevelopment project as unconstitutional. Next to the mall is a cleared area for the construction of the stadium, on which work has not yet begun.

[04] Greek Press Review

Developments in New Democracy (ND) after the decision of party leader Costas Karamanlis to step down, the premier's visit to Istanbul, a Bank of Greece forecast that the deficit will rise to 12 percent of GDP in 2009 and a freeze of extra tuition in state schools dominated headlines in Athens newspapers on Saturday.

ADESMEFTOS TYPOS: "The '4' reveal their cards ⦠While Meimarakis prepares for the smooth running of the [ND] conference".

APOGEVMATINI: "Extra support tuition 'frozen' in state schools - Shock in educational community".

AVGHI: "Strike one: Education".

AVRIANI: "Show of strength with three massive sweep-operations in Exarchia and the city centre in one day".

CHORA: "ND rank and file a 'volcano of rage' over Karamanlis' irresponsibility and betrayal".

ELEFTHERI ORA: "Costas sending the 'ring' [of succession] to 'little Dora' [Bakoyannis]".

ELEFTHEROS: "Put aside hatreds and shake hands for the sake of ND".

ELEFTHEROTYPIA: "George's [Papandreou] first package - New premier's intention is to win the game from the start".

ESTIA: "Anatomy of a rout - decision for early elections catastrophic".

ETHNOS: "Intrigues and secret alliances - Rafina departee (Karamanlis) leaves chaos in his wake".

KATHIMERINI: "Shock forecast for 12% public deficit in 2009".

LOGOS: "The battle for the 'blue' succession".

NIKI: "Ten 'breaks' for the market - Tiresias completed with bill in Parliament".

RIZOSPASTIS: "Premier the 'dealer' of big capital in Balkans, Southeastern Mediterranean".

STO KARFI: "Byzantium in New Democracy - The 'ring' goes to theoDora".

TA NEA: "Secret Karamanlis-Dora deal. 'You've handed her the ring' they accuse in ND".

VIMA: "A taste of things to come from Istanbul - Papandreou heralds policy of dynamic initiatives with Turkey".

VRADYNI: "New Democracy belongs to its people".

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