Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 14-12-31

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

CONTENTS

[01] PM Samaras accuses SYRIZA of ignorance and arrogance

[02] Preparations for upcoming elections begin in main opposition SYRIZA

[03] Independent Greeks leader: We will be the guardians of democracy and of the Constitution

[01] PM Samaras accuses SYRIZA of ignorance and arrogance

Addressing the ND executive secretariat, he said that "the election battle ahead is the most important Greece has had in decades," adding that "the people did not want it because it creates risks just when the country had exited the recession and was on its way to the day after."

He said that the country was dragged to elections by a minority comprising MPs from SYRIZA and Golden Dawn, adding that "this alliance of irresponsible and extremists has canceled out any potential for consensus. How can you reach a consensus when you are being blackmailed by a minority in parliament; can you consent to instability and destabilization in the country when Greece appears to be able to stand on its own feet again. How can you reach a consensus on division and the country's isolation?"

"We have the right to three things, the country's European course which they undermine, the economic growth that has just started and they want to cancel out and the democratic normalcy they boycott anyway they can," the prime minister underlined.

Referring to the presidential election, he said that despite the slander and blackmail most of the independent MPs voted for Stavros Dimas but there were a few that gave in to blackmail, adding that "even SYRIZA's Manolis Glezos did not tolerate the odd alliance between SYRIZA, ANEL and Golden Dawn, realizing which what the country's dysfunction is."

He referred to the recent opinion polls, noting that SYRIZA's lead is narrowing, and said "we will win the elections because only we have a policy and a programme. The economy has made huge progress but we have not exited the crisis yet. If SYRIZA wins the elections, and does half of what it says, we will get nothing from Europe because if SYRIZA does what it says the Greek economy will be 35-38 billion euros short. Where will they find this amount? What cuts will they have to impose? Soon after they will not have the 12 billion euros their programme needs. What will they do on February 28 when the two-month extension expires? Will they ask for a new one? How will they pay the state bonds? Will they declare cessation of payments?"

He underlined that "people know what will happen if New Democracy wins the elections. Within a month the [troika's] review will be completed and we will move on to the day after with the support credit line, political uncertainty will end, spreads will drop, we will be able to return to the markets, liquidity will increase. Dozens of investments are waiting to be made because we bring investments and they drive them away."

The prime minister added that, "theoretically, if nothing of all these was true, the country would have entered a period of major uncertainty and would have been on the verge of bankruptcy. This is no scaremongering. We have to say it because we are going to elections using truth as a weapon, not hiding truth. People respond negatively to another thing as well: to SYRIZA's unbelievable arrogance. Yesterday they even warned us not to take the governance documents with us."

"With each day that passes, odds turn against them. They seem intoxicated by arrogance based on ignorance and not on power. Our greatest ally is the truth, we will speak the truth and we will win. Our big weapon is responsibility. We, as a responsible power, will create the new Greece," the prime minister concluded.

[02] Preparations for upcoming elections begin in main opposition SYRIZA

Addressing an ongoing meeting of the party's Political Secretariat, SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras said that the party's goal was a single-party majority government, sources said. He also warned that the government would launch a "propaganda campaign to terrorise voters" in the next few days.

He also repeated that SYRIZA would not use its election tickets and state deputy positions as "bargaining chips" but would seek to broaden its electoral base. Tsipras cautioned members of the party to be extremely careful in their public appearances and statements during the brief pre-election period, stressing the need to defend the policy platform presented by SYRIZA at the Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF) as the basis of a programme for popular relief, especially for the party's credibility.

SYRIZA's Central Committee will meet on the weekend to complete discussion on the candidates to be included in the party's tickets, except for the list of state deputies. Sources in the party said that Democratic Left party leader Fotis Kouvelis will not be in the state deputy list but possibly run as a candidate in the 1st Athens constituency.

Meanwhile, senior SYRIZA cadre Yiannis Milios on Tuesday announced that he will not be standing for Parliament in the upcoming elections, adding that he would do his utmost to ensure SYRIZA's victory. "In this struggle, a decisive contribution will be made by forces in the party through the processing of positions and formulation of guiding lines for government policy. In this process, I am more useful and for this reason I will not be standing for election in any electoral district nor participate in any electable seat on the list of state deputies. At the same time, I will continue to be constantly present in forming Greek and international public opinion in support of our positions, participating officially in decisive meetings with international factors, as I do now," he announced.

According to Milios, this role was compatible with his position as head of economic policy in the party and would play a key role in forming the party's positions.

[03] Independent Greeks leader: We will be the guardians of democracy and of the Constitution

"It is an important day because the 'Samaras-Venizelos' parenthesis has closed. This duo that delivered the country's national sovereignty, the duo that accepted the country to be governed via e-mails and with orders by the troika, is now leaving with the vote of the Greek MPs," he said.

"From now on the Greeks must unite, the theories of the two extremes, the provocation mechanisms, the speculations and the blackmails have come to a halt. Greece must move united in order to regain its national sovereignty immediately," added Kammenos and asked the "The Constitution and the Democracy to be applied and elections to take place in a mild climate and a government of national unity to be formed which will not implement the foreigners' orders but the orders of the Greek people".

"We have defended what we promised to the Greek people until the end," said ANEL leader adding "For us the red lines are non-negotiable. Our promises to the Greek people are not part of our campaign. They are the guarantee for tomorrow. We will be the guardians of the principles and the values of the democracy, the Constitution and of the citizens' protection".

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