Athens News Agency: News in English, 07-09-17

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

CONTENTS

[01] PASOK initiates post-election procedures

[01] PASOK initiates post-election procedures

Addressing a post-election press conference, Papandreou admitted that the message received from voters in Sunday's general elections was that the "people consider that we also share responsibilities for the situation prevailing in the country."

He said the election was "unfavorable" for PASOK, which "faces a crucial turning point", adding: "We will evaluate the people's message ... We waged our battle, but we have not managed to win ... we all took part in it, we all had a role to play and responsibilities to share, foremost of all, I myself."

"The broad democratic and progressive party needs deep reforms and fights for a just society," he said, adding: "We are not all the same and it would be good to prove it through positions, practices, self-criticism and high moral standard."

Venizelos-Simitis meeting, statements

Main opposition PASOK party senior MP Evangelos Venizelos on Monday met with Costas Simitis, a former party leader and prime minister, whom he said afterwards was a "guarantor of PASOK's unity".

Venizelos also endorsed speedy procedures for "resolving the issue" that has arisen in PASOK following its defeat in Sunday's general elections, "in order to exercise effective opposition" to the re-elected government of New Democracy.

Venizelos, who early Monday intimated at his candidacy for the party leadership following the election results, also said that his actions "are not individual ones, but express a trend of ideas", and ruled out the prospect of break-up of the main opposition party.

He said that current PASOK leader George Papandreou, with whom he said he had not yet been in contact with since the elections, "will always have a distinguished and top role in PASOK".

In a written statement earlier, Simitis described PASOK's electoral defeat as "painful", stressing that the top priority was the party's unity and its speedy restructuring "in order to ensure success in the next showdown" which, he predicted "could possibly come very quickly".

The former prime minister also endorsed the immediate commencement of the party's democratic procedures as the only means of "avoiding a long-term crisis", adding that PASOK and its supporters and officials must carefully examine the causes of the defeat.

Arriving at Simitis' office for their meeting later, Venizelos said that "the morning after finds PASOK defeated but not humbled", adding that the party was "liberated, united and with prospects".

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