Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 12-05-06

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

CONTENTS

[01] Samaras: 'Greece will not be left ungoverned'

[02] Venizelos: PASOK to call for nat'l unity gov't

[03] Tsipras: voters deal crushing defeat to austerity policies

[04] Abstention at record 40%, according to ministry estimate

[05] 'Time for those who betray Greece to be afraid,' head of extremist party says

[06] Ind'p Greeks party rules out cooperation with 'memorandum' parties

[01] Samaras: 'Greece will not be left ungoverned'

The first condition, Samaras said, is for Greece to remain in the Eurozone and the second is the changing of the Memorandum's (bailout package) policies, "so as to have growth and relief for Greek society." amna

Samaras said the policies implemented previously by PASOK have reached their limits as regards Greek society's endurance, charging that such policies did not include measures for growth, which he had repeatedly proposed, both in Greece and in Europe. www.amna.gr

"New Democracy party is emerging as the first party, something that increases its responsibilities, I understand the people's rage, but our party will not leave Greece ungoverned," Samaras added. amna

[02] Venizelos: PASOK to call for nat'l unity gov't

"All of the forces with pro-European direction should participate in such a government in order to have political legitimacy and acceptance abroad," as he said, adding that with the results of the May 6 poll preclude a government of the "old two-party system".

According to party spokeswoman Fofi Gennimata, PASOK will await statements by other parties, particularly leftist SYRIZA. amna

[03] Tsipras: voters deal crushing defeat to austerity policies

He stressed that the parties that had supported the policies of the memorandum were now a minority, who would only be able to scrape together a marginal majority in Parliament because of a skewed election law that distorted the people's will and the election outcome.

Tsipras said that Europe's leadership, especially that of Germany, had to understand that the result was a crushing defeat for austerity policies, with the Greek people "giving their mandate for a new day in our country, without memorandum of barbarous measures but with solidarity and justice in a path out of the crisis that will in any case be difficult".

He also stressed that voters proved through the ballot box that the path out of the crisis did not pass through bailouts and austerity. amna

He said that SYRIZA understood that its meteoric rise in this election did not reward a party or particular person but a proposal for a leftist government that would arrest the course of austerity policies and bailouts and promised that SYRIZA would do everything in its power to bring about a government that would terminate the Memorandum and loan agreements. www.amna.gr

Tsipras said his party would immediately seek to reach an understanding with forces on the political left, initially, so as to exhaust all possibility for "developments in a progressive direction".

[04] Abstention at record 40%, according to ministry estimate

This is higher than in the three previous elections, with abstention recorded at 30 percent in 2009, 26 percent in 2007 and 24 percent in 2004.

Caption: A bride votes in an election precinct near the central Greek city of Karditsa on Sunday, immediately after getting married.

[05] 'Time for those who betray Greece to be afraid,' head of extremist party says

"It is time for those that betray [Greece] to be afraid. We are coming. We are Greeks, nationalists and we will allow no one to doubt this," he said in a triumphant message. amna

Mihaloliakos attacked New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras as someone that had repeatedly slandered Golden Dawn and accused him of having already made a u-turn on the issue of forming a coalition government and holding repeat elections.

Members of the up-until-recently fringe party were gathering outside its headquarters in Athens and are waiting for the announcement of the official results. www.amna.gr

[06] Ind'p Greeks party rules out cooperation with 'memorandum' parties

Kammenos insisted that he would table his party's policy platform in Parliament and leave it up to individual MPs to decide whether they wanted to support it, including individual MPs from PASOK and ND that disagreed with their party's leadership.

Similarly, he said he was not prepared to participate in any "special purpose government" serving bankers and the past but was willing to take part in a "national purpose government". www.amna.gr

On the prospect of cooperating with the left-wing Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA), which looked set to come second in the elections, Kammenos noted that he had the same positions as SYRIZA on economic issues but differed on issues of foreign policy, illegal migration and relations with Turkey. amna

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