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Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 15-09-09
CONTENTS
[01] Popular Unity will be the big surprise in these elections, Lafazanis
says at TIF
[02] State funding for party election campaigns announced
[01] Popular Unity will be the big surprise in these elections, Lafazanis
says at TIF
ANA-MPA -- Popular Unity will be the big surprise in the upcoming
elections, party leader Panagiotis Lafazanis said on Tuesday while
delivering the customary press conference given by heads of parties
during the annual Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF).
Following his visit to the 80th TIF, Lafazanis predicted that the
newly-formed Popular Unity party that splintered from leftist SYRIZA will
play a crucial role in post-election developments, adding that its goal
was to rapidly rise to a government position. "We have to finish with
the memorandums and austerity policies. The national currency is not a
disaster," he said. He denied responsibility for toppling the SYRIZA-ANEL
coalition government, saying that it had "resigned in humiliation and did
not dare ask for a vote of confidence in Parliament because it was afraid
it would not get one." Lafazanis said that the differences within SYRIZA
dated back several years, with the Left Platform raising objections to the
agreement in February but believing that the then government would carry
the confrontation with the European establishment through to the end. He
also accused SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras of seeking to "ambush" Popular
Unity with snap elections. Lafazanis predicted that SYRIZA will cooperate
with the more centre-left PASOK and Potami parties after the elections,
while not completely ruling out cooperation with New Democracy as well.
[02] State funding for party election campaigns announced
ANA-MPA -- The sum of 1,766,000 euros and the additional amount of
353,200 euros in campaign funding will be divided among the parties
that elected MPs in the last general elections and MEPs to the European
Parliament, respectively. The relevant act was signed on Tuesday by
caretaker Interior Minister Antonis Manitakis.
Specifically, this act stipulates that the parties elected to the Hellenic
Parliament will receive 50 pct of the total party funding available
for holding this election, divided based on their electoral strength as
follows: SYRIZA 702,225.62 NEW DEMOCRACY 537,365.45 TO POTAMI 116,910.77
COMMUNIST PARTY OF GREECE (KKE) 105,737.58 INDEPENDENT GREEKS 91,822.68
PASOK - 90,505.14
The parties with MEPs in the European Parliament will then receive 10
pct of the same sum, as follows:
SYRIZA 113,199.14 NEW DEMOCRACY 96,840.56 ELIA (PASOK-LED COALITION)
34,182.66 TO POTAMI 28,154.82 COMMUNIST PARTY OF GREECE (KKE) 26,044.59
INDEPENDENT GREEKS 14,749.28
The sums corresponding to the far-right Golden Dawn party (121,432.76
euros and 40,028.95 euros, respectively) will be withheld due to a
suspension of the party's state funding imposed by Parliament. They will
be paid to the party without interest in the event that there is a final
court decision finding the MPs of the party now facing trial not guilty.
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