Venizelos lets slip that Papandreou doesn't govern!

A strong clash took place during the cabinet meeting on Tuesday afternoon when Defense Minister Mr. Evangelos Venizelos effectively accused the Prime Minister that he does not govern, after asking him to “regain the capacity to give political direction to the country”!

Subsequently, however, the minister made a clarifying statement, returning to the meeting, arguing that the country’s political direction does not concern the government, but generally, the opposition, the unions and institutions…

Mr. Venizelos characteristically underlined that the fiscal issue is political and that consensus should be sought immediately in order to achieve social cohesion without resorting to elections, something which would aggravate the problem.

He called for political initiatives for agreements with social agencies, while he also requested the drafting of legal documents which would be voted on by a qualified majority of 3/5, 180 members, following the line set on Monday by Health Minister, Andreas Loverdos.

180, but not for the medium-term plan

Exiting the cabinet meeting, Mr. Venizelos once more clarified that the proposal for a law vote requiring a majority of 180 members should not include the medium-term plan for the economy.

Earlier, the prime minister had called for solidarity and determination among his ministers.

Mr. Papandreou stated that the main objective is to exit the crisis and achieve sustainable development.

“We have decided to move forward”, said the prime minister.

“Our message is to harness the country’s and the people’s strengths. To change Greece. We serve this message with actions, and this message should also be forward to the European Union, against all who would challenge the Greek effort and bet on its failure”, Mr. Papandreou stated.

The PM also noted that the steady progress that our country has shown guarantees its reliability during the EU negotiations, “despite the difficulties, despite the growing climate of misery, despite the climate of fatalism”.

“We are now determined, more than ever, to face the future with our heads held high”, he concluded.