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Sunday, 22 December 2024 | ||
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Athens News Agency: News in English, 07-09-10Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>CONTENTS
[01] Papariga press conference at TIFCommunist Party of Greece (KKE) General Secretary Aleka Papariga on Monday dismissed the measures announcement by Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis and main opposition PASOK leader George Papandreou at the 72nd Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF) as "bait" designed to reel in votes during Sunday's polls and increase the loan market for banks.During her own press conference at TIF, she stressed that the money for carrying out the measures would in the end be paid by the people themselves. According to Papariga, true provisions for the people would be to establish a minimum wage of 1,400 euros a month gross, a minimum pension of 1,160 euros a month, a guarantee of steady work, adequate income, and accessing housing, free health care and education. Regarding the elections next Sunday, Papariga underlined that the object was not a changeover of New Democracy and PASOK governments and stressed that a hung Parliament would be a "partial victory". She said the KKE would take two factors into account: the extent to which the overall strength of the two-party system was reduced in the elections and how much KKE's own percentage was increased. At the same time, she stressed that her party could not tone down its positions in order to gain votes but sought to give a good "slap in the face" to bipartisanship and to the centre-left and centre-right scenarios. Regarding the Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA), Papariga said that in addition to ideological and programme differences they also addressed different social groups after 1996. She also criticised the two main parties on foreign policy, saying that their strategy made it impossible for Greece to play a positive role in the Cyprus issue and the Palestinian problem or to avert problems in the Balkans. Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |