Athens News Agency: News in English, 09-11-10

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

CONTENTS

[01] ND leadership race heightens

[02] Fishing boat crew member missing off Thassos

[01] ND leadership race heightens

All three gave interviews that appeared in the Monday issue of the traditionally centre-right-leaning newspaper "Eleftheros Typos", which reappeared on news stands this week after a lengthy absence, with the same name but a new ownership.

From the speeches of the three contenders at ND's conference it is apparent that their campaigns will pivot around the party's ideological 'stamp' and what policy the party must follow in order to appeal to the broadest section of society.

Essentially, the argument will centre on which of the three candidates will be able to bring ND back into power and in what way. Many ND supporters believe that Dimitris Avramopoulos, the fourth candidate that dropped out of the race before the conference, will determine the winner in the tightly-run race between Bakoyannis and Samaras, depending on which candidate he decides to support.

Bakoyannis stressed that the party election involved a clear cut wager.

"I insist that ND must become a modern European majority party that spans the entire center-right. Diversity is our strength. We need to come close to society and especially to young people. To speak clearly to them and propose new ideas and present new policies based on modern positions on issues of today and tomorrow. That's the way we will succeed in making our party and its ideas more attractive and become again a predominant political power in Greece.

Samaras, by contrast, told the same newspaper that the crisis for the party could be overcome by adopting an unambiguous ideological and political stance.

"It is crucial for ND to recover its identity. Immediately afterward, it must once again attract its voters that did not go to vote in the elections. These are greater in number than those that chose [ruling] PASOK or the Popular Orthodox Rally (LAOS)," Samaras said.

The "outsider" Psomiadis has underlined that he will remain a candidate, despite of the pressures on him to bow out of the race, and he has not given any hint as to which of the front runners he will back during a second round.

"We must see how we will build the great united centre-right. How we will give ND a popular identity," he stressed.

Caption: ANA-MPA file photo of candidates for main opposition New Democracy leadership Dora Bakoyannis (L), Panagiotis Psomiadis (C) and Antonis Samaras(R).

[02] Fishing boat crew member missing off Thassos

The boat had set sail from the port of Kavala at about 6:25 in the afternoon, heading for the Astris fishing spot south of Thassos.

For reasons as yet unknown, the man fell into the sea and has been missing since.

Strong southerly winds blowing in the area on Tuesday morning were hampering a search and rescue operation that was immediately launched by port authorities.

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