Papandreou's dramatic calls to the Parliamentary Group

Prime Minister Giorgos Papandreou is on a race to maintain Parliamentary Group coherence, the lack of which has  resulted from the announcement of the tough fiscal measures and is threatening to put the government on a new downward spin.

On Thursday and Friday, the Prime Minister will see all members of his party at his Parliament office so as to convince them of the need to vote for the new measures.

Meetings have already begun, with the representatives of the Ionian Islands region attending first, while meetings will continue in that particular form (13 MP groups, the same number as the regions).

Speaking to the MPs elected in the Ionian Islands and Crete, Mr. Papandreou stated: “We are fighting a hard battle. It is a battle that the whole of Greece is fighting, and we must stand together. It is a battle fought for two years now, a battle that we must win, a Golgotha on which we have found ourselves after years of mismanagement and bad governance”.

After describing the the situation which the country finds itself in, the PM added that “there is no other way. The alternative path is bankruptcy, with a great impact on every Greek household. We are at a crossroads and it would be direly negative if we gave up on our effort. Not only would there be sacrifices, but they would also be for nothing”.

Mr. Papandreou tried to give the end of his speech a positive tone, stating: “We know it is hard, but now is our most important hour. This fight we must win. We will all pull through together, all of the Greek people”.