Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English, 09-03-30

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

CONTENTS

[01] PM Karamanlis: Nat'l interest comes first

[02] Party reactions to PM's address

[03] Papandreou meets with Biden, Brown in Chile

[04] Two new opinion polls

[05] KKE unveils Euro-elections platform

[06] Conference on global crisis

[07] Tourism-boosting measures to be announced

[08] Conference on tourism in Evia

[09] Conference on Balkan cooperation in agricultural sector

[10] Repatriated Greeks from former Soviet countries hit by econ crisis

[11] Mass participation in Earth Hour

[12] ND office firebombed

[13] The Sunday editions of Athens' newspapers at a glance Politics

[01] PM Karamanlis: Nat'l interest comes first

Addressing producer classes, Karamanlis reiterated that he is not concerned with transient popularity, but in "those policies that will secure a better morning after".

He also said that his concern was not "the office, but what I can do for the country".

The premier stressed that his first and foremost concern was the national interest, warning that now was not the time for party or personal expediencies, but rather, a national effort was required to resolve the "serious problems, which concern us all".

Karamanlis referred to the measures his government was taking, and would continue to take, for the sectors that are affected the most by crisis, noting that the first priority was the tourism sector, and stressing that even in the midst of this "stormy crisis" Greece "can prove to be a first-choice destination".

"My first and last concern is the collective, social and national interest, the unity and unanimity of the Greek, the present and future of our country. Everything else is other quarters' concern and anxiety. Everything else is the wishful thinking of those who see attaining the government as an exclusive end in itself. Everything else is just fireworks, scenarios and misinter-pretations of irresponsibility. They are not of concern to me. They are not of concern to us," Karamanlis stressed.

"I am determined to proceed steadfastly on the path of responsibility, the path I have believed in and believe in, for the good of our country, the path that we agreed on, together. This choice, this policy, requires strength, persistence and continuity. It requires perseverance and dedication to a goal," the premier continued.

On the developments regarding the global financial crisis and facing its impact in Greece, Karamanlis said he was determined to speak the truth, as hard as it might be, regardless of any political cost.

He said he would not 'caress ears' and endanger the country's course by doing so. "I don't care about temporary popularity. I don't care about passing impressions," he said, but rather "I care about Greece and the Greek society, the policies that are necessary in this global crisis, the policies that ensure a better morning after", adding that "I am taking, and will continue to take, for this purpose, all the decisions that are necessary".

Addressing himself to the opposition, Karamanlis warned that whoever claimed that "the effects of the global financial storm can be tackled with well-wishing and easy recipes is only trying to defraud the citizens", adding that whoever was giving out promises without calculation of their cost either does not know, or pretends not to know, what is going on in the world. Indeed, he added, whereas a climate of understanding and unity in efforts was prevailing throughout the world, in Greece there were some quarters that were protagonists in manufacturing pretexts for distancing themselves from every difficult decision, while efforts were being made to negate, distort and falsify the facts, and accused the opposition of irresponsibility and reactionism.

Karamanlis said he never faced, nor was facing now, any quandary whatever. Between the easy path of irresponsibility and the difficult path of responsibility "I made a clear-cut choice from the outset, and I will not diverge from that choice," he continued, adding that his government would not resort to populism "which can prove harmful for our country'.

"We will not dispense false promises in order to win passing impressions," he stressed, adding that he would continue to fight, at whatever cost, for the country to exit the crisis with minimal losses and to ensure all the conditions that will guarantee a better future for all the citizens.

The premier further made specific reference to the measures aimed at boosting tourism, noting that the government had promptly taken a series of steps and was intensifying its efforts and extending its interventions, such as a systematic projection of Greece, with increased funds, a drastic reduction in certain fees, subsidization of hiring of unemployed in seasonal units, and other steps.

Greece, he stressed, was a safe and hospitable country, and could prove to be a first-choice destination in this difficult year as well.

He also noted that since March 2004 approximately 980 new projects in the wider area of the Ionian Islands were incorporated into the 3rd Community Support Framework (CSF), with the overall budget exceeding 650 million euros, of which some 300 projects valued at more than 200 million euros concerned Zakynthos alone.

Earlier, Karamanlis toured various projects currently underway on the island, including the new municipal theatre and the new 160-bed hospital in Gaitani, which is slated for completion by the end of the summer.

[02] Party reactions to PM's address

Main opposition PASOK press spokesman George Papaconstantinou said that the country did not have the luxury, nor its citizens the patience, to occupy themselves with whether the prime minister was or wasn't concerned with posts and offices.

The problem, he said, was that the country at this time did not have a government that solved problems, nor did it have a government that cared about the ordinary Greek citizen or defended Greece abroad with credibility.

For all those reasons, the country needed now, more than ever, a change of course, Papaconstantinou said in a written statement.

The Communist Party of Greece, in a press statement, said that there was "no confidence" in the government's claims.

Most of the anti-popular measures had been decided before the crisis, together with the EU, and now they were being unveiled under the pretext of the global financial crisis, the KKE charged.

It also warned that ND's and PASOK's policy would become increasingly dangerous for the popular strata. Either one or the other, or both together in government, ND and/or PASOK would take even worse measures on social security and pensions, on labor rights, and on the workers' incomes, the KKE concluded.

The Coalition of the Left, Movements and Ecology (SYN) said that the prime minister had reiterated, in his address on Zakynthos, his determination to continue and intensify its "crisis policy", adding that Karamanlis had opted to "hide behind a petty political discussion lacking substance, which he himself is cultivating".

SYN accused the government over the "disgrace" of the increase in retirement ages for women in the public sector, the "disgrace of the sale of Olympic Airways, of the dissolution of labor relations, the reduction in remuneration and the layoffs".

It added that no one cared about Karamanlis' or PASOK leader George Papandreou's physical or psychological disposition, but what occupied the working people and the youth was a radical change of course for the country.

Popular Orthodox Rally (LAOS) press spokesman Kyriakos Velidis said that Karamanlis had failed to clarify whether he would remain at the helm of the ruling New Democracy (ND) party in the event that ND loses elections.

[03] Papandreou meets with Biden, Brown in Chile

Main opposition PASOK leader and Socialist International (SI) president George Papandreou met on Saturday with US Vice President Joseph Biden in the Chilean city of Vina Del Mar, on the sidelines of a dinner hosted by Chilean President Michelle Bachelet for international socialist leaders attending a summit for "a progressive solution" to the global economic crisis. Biden is on official visit to the South American country for bilateral talks.

This was the new US vice president's first meeting with a Greek politician since his assumption of the office in January.

During the meeting, Papandreou urged that US President Barack Obama also visit Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholemew during his upcoming trip to Turkey and Istanbul.

Papandreou also said that, when he takes over as prime minister of Greece, he will follow an aggressive diplomatic policy with the assumption of initiatives towards all the countries in the region, within the framework of international law, while he expressed hope that he will have the support of Washington regarding a policy of principles and rules, rather than a policy of two sets of standards and measures.

Biden replied that the US does not adopt the rationale of two sets of standards and measures, but also sought a policy with a framework and rules.

Papandreou also met with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and the two men agreed to hold another discussion ahead of the G-20 Summit in London, sometime after the Stiglitz Committee's meeting in New York on Tuesday, which the SI head would be attending.

He further met with Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, with whom he renewed their rendezvous in New York in the autumn, where da Silva's party's accession to SI will be discussed.

On Saturday evening, Papandreou attended the annual event held by the Greek community of Valparaiso for the March 25 Independence Day. In a brief greeting, Papandreou stressed the bonds between Greece and Chile.

Papandreou was due on Sunday to fly from Chile to New York, to attend the final session of the Stiglitz Committee before it submits its proposals to the G-20 summit.

[04] Two new opinion polls

A Marc opinion poll, the results of which appeared in the Sunday edition of Ethnos daily, indicated that, regarding voter intent for general elections, main opposition PASOK was prefereed by 34.8 percent of the respondents, marking a 5.1 percentage point lead over ruling New Democracy (ND), which was preferred by 29.7 percent of the respondents, followed by the Communist Party of Greece (KKE0 with 7.5 percent, the Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) parliamentary alliance with 6.5 percent, the Popular Orthodox Rally (LAOS) party with 4.1 percent, and the Ecologists-Greens with 2.9 percent.

Regarding voter intent for European Parliament elections, PASOK was preferred by 32.0 percent of the respondents, marking a 3.7 percent lead over ND, which was preferred by 28.3 percent of the respondents, followed by SYRIZA with 8.2 percent, the KKE with 8.0 percent, LAOS with 5.1 percent, and the Ecologists-Greens with 3.7 percent.

As for who was the most suitable for prime minister, the current premier and ND leader Costas Karamanlis was preferred by 41.6 percent of the respondents, posting a 1.5 percent lead over main opposition PASOK leader George Papandreou, who was preferred by 40.1 percent of the respondents.

In an MRB opinion poll, the results of which appeared in the Sunday edition of Eleftheros Typos newspaper, 83.8 percent of the respondents who said they had voted for the ruling Nd in the 2007 general elections believed that prime minister Karamanlis should not resign from the ND leadership in the event of a general elections defeat, while 14 percent said they would desire his withdrawal in such an eventuality.

Further, 54.8 percent of all the respondents said that Karamanlis should not resign.

To a question on who was the most suitable for prime minister, premier Karamanlis led with 32.6 percent of the respondents' preference, against 28.1 percent for PASOK leader Papandreou.

[05] KKE unveils Euro-elections platform

The party's platform for the Euro-elections will be presented during a press conference on Monday by KKE leader Aleka Papariga, while the party's top officials and Papariga will begin tours and addresses throughout the country.

The KKE's declaration notes that the people, with their vote, must "punish all the parties of the EU-one-way path", which are attempting to push-off the burden of the global economic crisis on the shoulders of the people.

It opined that the "argument" between the two mainstream parties -- ruling New Democracy and main opposition PASOK -- ahead of the Euro-elections aims mainly at "entrapping the people's exasperation, embellishing the EU, and ensuring their alternation in the upcoming national elections".

In a lengthy reference to the financial crisis, it accused the two mainstream parties of jointly voting in and implementing the EU policies, and therefore it called on the voters to stay away from ND and PASOK.

The KKE said that ND could and should suffer a strong blow, because in its five years of governance it had presented a tough, anti-popular face in its policy, as the representative of big capital, whereas PASOK neither wanted to, nor could, provide a true alternative solution, as it had the same strategy as ND and the same policy on EU issues and on domestic policy. It said that PASOK had been repeatedly put to the test, both as government and as main opposition, and has "neither changed, nor will change".

It also strongly criticised the Radical Left Coalition (the SYRIZA parliamentary alliance), stressing that it should be voted against in the Euro-elections for its opportunism and duplicitous character, as it wholeheartedly supports the EU on the one hand and on the other it protests over the consequences of the implementation of its strategy, bashing only the Greek 'handlings' and the 'practices' of materialization of those policies.

Finally, the KKE criticised the "nationalism and populist demagogy" of the Popular Orthodox Rally (LA.OS) party, which it said aimed at concealing its support for the policy that favours big capital and of hiding from the Greek people its reactionary, backward positions, racism and nationalism.

Financial News

[06] Conference on global crisis

Addressing an event on the crisis, held at a central Thessaloniki hotel on Saturday evening, Hatzidakis urged the people not to listen to the populists: "We've heard enough from them and we've paid enough because of them", charging that, with a populist policy, the first victims of the crisis would be the poorer strata, and not the more well-off who will survive".

Speaking with lights switched off to the bare minimum, given the decision of the event's organizers and the development ministry to take part in the global Earth Hour, Hatzidakis assured that the solidarity among the EU member states was a given fact, given that "there is no possibility that the economy of one country should catch a cold and the economies of the rest of the countries will not also fall ill".

However, he clarified, what was sought from all the EU governments, whether centre-right or centre-left, was that they manifest seriousness and responsibility, as well as devotion to the common fundamental directions because "if one country is indifferent on the crisis, the others are at risk of being impacted".

In the framework of the government's measures to boost the real economy, the minister said that a program for fortifying entrepreneurship in the manufacturing sector would be announced in a few days.

He stressed the need for reinforcing the sector of research, so as to increase the added value and competitiveness of the products produced in Greece. Regarding the taret of linking research with production, he announced that discussions were taking place for the creation of a small mixed committee comprising representatives of the country's research centers and the business community.

Hatzidakis said it was important that the country's research centers should work well and that the funds should be chanelled based on the work produced.

Addressing the event, World Bank director for Southeast Europe and Central Asia, Orsalia Kalantzopoulou, predicted that the global financial crisis would intensify in the coming period, especially in the poorer counries of Europe and Central Asia.

She said that the poorer countries would face a greater cost from the crisis, compared with the Us, Britain and Germany, because "their economies were weak when the crisis arrived".

As for Greece, she said that the expenditure efficiency index was very low, and therefor reforms were required so that "more will be done with much less".

National Confederation of Greek Commerce (ESEE) president Dimitris Armenakis said that "in Greece things aren'g as bad as in other countries, provided that we do not allow them to get worse".

He said the good psychology on the market was a weapon for weathering the crisis, and the climate of general consensus was a condition for "getting back on our feet", while he also called for measures to boost employment and liquidity in the real economy.

[07] Tourism-boosting measures to be announced

Speaking during a press conference on the island of Samos, Stylianidis also said that additional relief measures being advanced by his ministry in cooperation with the Tourism ministry would be announced on Thursday, aimed at ameliorating problems arising due to the crisis.

The minister further noted the ongoing upgrading of the country's airports and coverage of the operational gaps in civil aviation.

Stylianidis who is on Samos for the inauguration of the Wi Fi (wireless network) antenna in the areas of Karlovasi, Pythagorio and Vathy, earlier chaired a meeting of the local Prefectural authority, while he was also scheduled to meet with party officials and address a gathering in Karlovasi on the theme "Political developments: the next steps".

[08] Conference on tourism in Evia

Markopoulos noted the need for extending the dialogue throughout the entire country, and announced that similar conferences would be held in other regions.

Speakers at Saturday's session noted the need for a series of immediate interventions aimed at boosting the tourism industry which, according to professionals, will face problems over the coming period due to the financial crisis.

They also stressed the need for institutional interventions for modernization of the tourism industry.

[09] Conference on Balkan cooperation in agricultural sector

Glavakis noted that those three EU member countries have common interests in the agricultural sector and could advance those interests via cross-border cooperation.

"We must render Southeast Europe an area of prosperity of the citizen, where we will live side-by-side happily and in harmony, leaving behind the Balkan past with its enmities, disagreements and wars. If we can turn this sorrow into cooperation, then we will have many benefits," he said.

Addressing the event, development minister Costis Hatzidakis said that the good cooperation among Greece, Bulgaria and Romania would prove beneficial for all three countries.

Up until a few years ago, the Balkans were a region of tension and conflicts, he noted, adding that the EU was opening up a new era in that region. while the accession of Bulgaria and Romania had already started to function in a clear-cut stabilizing manner that gave developmental opportunities for all, the minister stressed.

Bulgarian MEP Petya Stavreva expressed appreciation for Greece's precious assistance to the two new members of the European family (Bulgaria and Romania) particularly regarding the matter of absorption of EU funds.

[10] Repatriated Greeks from former Soviet countries hit by econ crisis

The actual event was held in the northern city on Sunday.

The specific population group is the first to experience the economic crisis in Greece, according to the figures, as 60 pct of repatriated ethnic Greek males are employed in the ailing construction sector, which has already felt the effects of the global economic crisis.

Roughly 100,000 of repatriated Greeks live in Thessaloniki and a large number of them do not have a steady job, according to the figures.

General News

[11] Mass participation in Earth Hour

Many Greek residents joined the rest of the world in the WWF-sponsored Earth Hour global event, aimed at raising public awareness on environmental issues and climate change, by switching of lights for an hour between 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. (local time).

In Athens, the city centre and surrounding neighbourhoods, as well as in the surrounding districts, plunged into near darkness as many of the lights were turned off along roads and squares, historic and cultural monuments such as the Parthenon, the Temple of Poseidon at Sounion, the Ancient Agora, as well as the Parliament building, military units, sports fields, municipal buildings, Lycabettus Hill, parts of the Athens International Airport, and billboards along with outside lighting at the Athens Metro.

The Athens municipality also staged a music concert at Pnyx Hill across from the Acropolis, while various musical events, without lights and "unplugged", were staged in various other parts of the city.

A similar turnout took place in Thessaloniki and other cities and towns throughout the country.

The Public Power Corp. (PPC) also joined in the effort, switching off exterior lighting and lights inside its various facilities.

[12] ND office firebombed

[13] The Sunday editions of Athens' newspapers at a glance

ADESMEFTOS TYPOS: "Obama-Karamanlis meeting before the US President visits Ankara".

APOGEVMATINI: "The lists (of candidates) for Euro-elections - Íew faces in all parties".

AVGHI: "Éndividual (employment) contracts a 'carte blanche' to employers".

AVRIANI: "I am waging battle on front line - Karamanlis response to scenarios according to which he is abandoning the leadership of New Democracy".

ELEFTHEROS TYPOS: "84 percent (of ND voters say to Karamanlis) Remain at the helm, even if you lose" the elections.

ELEFTHEROTYPIA: "New games with (gender-based pension) equality".

ETHNOS: "Opinion poll: The ND leader fading - He's losing Euro-elections, and sinking in national elections".

KATHIMERINI: "Greece unprotected against unemployment".

LOGOS: "Karamanlis states: I am present on front line of battle".

NIKI: "Karamanlis 'escaping' before Euro-elections - (ND) helm passes to Dora (foreign minister Bakoyannis)".

PROTO THEMA (weekly): "Salaries in private sector, too, to be frozen - Ultimatum from European Central Bank to Papathanassiou (economy and finance minister)".

RIZOSPASTIS: "KKE central committee declaration on Euro-elections: Insubordination, reversal, for a Greece that fulfils people's needs".

VIMA: "Medicines a bomb - Health spending threatens the budget - State pays 5.2 billion euros - Fraud, bogus prescriptions and unnecessary examinations".

VRADYNI: "The 'closed' professions up in the air".

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