Confusion with the referendum

Lost in translation yet again, the political setting of Greece, dumbfounded, watches as chaos unfolds.

A few hours after the official announcement by PM Mr. Pikrammenos, according to which Mrs Merkel asked the President of the Republic Mr.Papoulias for a referendum in conjunction with the elections, Berlin denied the news as false.

From presidential circles the news was that their announcement was accurate but blamed the misunderstanding on a translation error.

Earlier, Merkel's representatives stated to the German News Agency that the accusations about a referendum are false. Earlier, the majority of Greek political parties had replied negatively to the German proposal.

According to the government's announcement, "Mrs Merkel expressed thoughts on a possible referendum parallel to the elections, featuring the question whether Greeks would like to stay in the Eurozone or not".

Press Representative Mr.Tsiodras also added to the announcement that "this is an issue beyond the responsibilities of an interim government".

Besides, Mrs Merkel reinforced the point that the EU is supporting the efforts of Greece to overcome its crisis and mentioned to Mr.Papoulias that "the EU wants to intensify the efforts of fighting unemployment within the EU. The issue of growth is the main topic of the Summit on May 23rd in Brussels".

After speaking with Mr.Papoulias the Prime Minister, Mr. Pikrammenos, contacted the heads of the political parties and informed them of the content of the discussions between Mrs Merkel and Mr. Papoulias.