"Elections of responsibility, participation and joint decisions", says Andreas Loverdos

The behavior of certain political parties and the indignation of the people, who in their own way engender and legitimize irresponsible demagoguery at this particular socioeconomic juncture, the mindless violence and jeering of policticians, are all leading the country to elections of responsibility and each citizen to assume their own responsibilities. Thus speaks health minister Andreas Loverdos in his interview to "Proto Thema".

He also says that a government of national unity is an open prospect, whether there will be ​​elections or not. He adds that he will attend the next Synod meeting in order to convince the hierarchy of the Church to lift its reservations about the new law relating to organ donation, and he also pays tribute to the late Nikos Themelis, to whom he owes his entry into politics.

- The international and European economic environment has deteriorated since the decision of July 21. How much does this impede our country’s efforts?

This deterioration is a reality. Greek citizens are more or less informed about the developments. Such information negates any excuse for introspective assessments and makes any attempt to adopt political views on the existence of other solutions for our country, supposedly closer to the people, quite unacceptable. Therefore, we must pay no attention to such vague suggestions, supposedly for other policy mixes, which in a demagogic way exceed the real needs of the country for wastage restraint, structural changes and organization and implementation of developmental policies. Indeed, the risks are far more now. But our own answer requires the application of all that we voted for in parliament in July, as well as our active European policy on the side of France and Germany, the Eurozone and the EU.

- The PM stated that "citizens require changes and not elections".

I agree with what PM Giorgos Papandreou said in his recent interview. This is a time for responsibility, not for political speculation, but responsibility for all, first and foremost for politicians and parties, but for the citizens as well.