“PASOK cannot govern and is being dragged into elections”

ND president Antonis Samaras blamed PM Giorgos Papandreou for the failure of yesterday’s talks on a coalition government and once again asked for elections.

“Elections which we are asking for and which will come not because of that but because PASOK is dragging itself to elections with its contradictions or its guilt, or even both. PASOK cannot govern and the people must provide the solution. PASOK is falling apart while we stand tall and unite the people who will soon decide a new political changeover”, Samaras said.

He also elaborated on yesterday’s talks with Papandreou: “Yesterday, he proposed a coalition government. I thought it was a historical oppportunity to collectively renegotiate the restart of the Greek economy that will allow our country to be consistent with its obligations and the lenders to get their money back. I thought it was a historical opportunity  and suggested to Papandreou that we could renegotiate both the memorandum and the mid-term. And he accepted my renegotiation proposal. Then, I stressed that he could not be a PM in such a government, since he has lost the trust both of society and the markets, and we must find another person of common acceptance. He conceded to this as well. A while later we found out from the media that it was he who had suggested this. It doesn’t matter. What really matters is that Papandreou had agreed to resign”.

There was no disagreement on the term of office of such a government either, Samaras said, and added, “I told him to keep the renegotiation as a specific mandate and move to elections once he achieves it. He replied that it couldn’t be short-lived because it would be like having a prolonged election period. I accepted this and was remained under the impression that we could achieve the golden mean”. Samaras also said that he had put forth the issue of elimination of the immigration law.

Subsequently, Samaras blamed Papandreou for the failure, saying: “While everything was pointing toward a historical opportunity, there was no such result. A few hours later he informed me that this initiative couldn’t continue. He dismissed what he had proposed or accepted himself. Finally, he backed off because he could not withstand the pressure from his own party, from those who are entrenched in power, and became their captive. Thus, within a few hours, the mutual initiative for the rescue of Greece turned into an agonizing rescue of PASOK’s power”.