Three crucial meetings for Samaras

An entirely critical and tight three-day program starts today for prime minister Antonis Samaras, with a series of meetings and consultations, always focusing on the economy.

 

Today the PM will chair the KYSEA meeting and on Thursday afternoon he will see the European Commission president Manuel Barroso, initiating the contacts in the government's effort to renegotiate the memorandum.

 

The aim of the visit is to review the economic situation in Europe and Greece. Reports say that Barroso will convey the position of our partners that Greece will remain in the euro, but must quickly implement all its commitments to prove that it is prepared to regain the lost ground and bring the program on the right track.

 

Earlier on Thursday, he will meet with Venizelos and Kouvelis, while in the afternoon he will have contacts with Vroutsis, Hatzidakis and Lykourentzos in view of the scheduled meeting with the Troika on Friday.

 

However Antonis Samaras already identified the immediate goals of his administration in his speech before the ND parliamentary group.

 

These are to "regain the trust of the people, without which no great work of reform can be completed, and reinstate the country's credibility abroad, which is essential to attract investments, create jobs, restore our competitiveness and the prestige of Greece, and exit the crisis. And that is exactly what we promise: That we will pull the country out of the crisis. By the time we took office, it was revealed that this year's recession may exceed 7%. Our first goal is to stop it and start the recovery. Unemployment today is approaching 24%. In four years it will be 10%."

 

He added that "first we will show that the country respects its objectives. Then we will show that we can implement what must be done. After that we will demonstrate that some things must change to reach our goals, particularly those that intensify and deepen the recession."

 

"The foreign subverters are stupid or irresponsible"

 

The prime minister did not hesitate to proceed with harsh attacks against those who "undermine the efforts of the country", hinting at not only the international media but also officials of our partners in the EU.

 

He said that "there are some foreign dignitaries that every so often anticipate that Greece will not make it. I think they subvert the national effort. We do everything we can to recover and they do everything they can to make us fail. I do not know if they do it consciously or out of stupidity, but they are irresponsible. And in any event, their views will not pass."

 

He attacked SYRIZA as well, speaking about some who accuse the government of not carrying out the renegotiation in three or four weeks; that is, the targets of four years. He directly blamed those who accuse the government that "it did not take action that would have led to the international isolation of the country. We are here to raise the prestige of Greece, not to isolate it from the rest of the world."

 

He also addressed the unionists, saying that "there will be no immunity of the unions and the powerful, but also no impunity for the unlawful."

 

He concluded by saying that we must win back the time we’ve lost and together do what we did not do for so many years. "And all this even if some are trying to block us, or prevent us. Their will will not pass."