KAPTAAN
Prime VIP
Greek Prime
Minister George Papandreou on
Saturday ruled out snap elections
and said his government would
succeed in bringing Greece out of
the crisis by the end of his term in
2013.
Thousands of demonstrators
returned to the central Athens for
the first time after the summer to
protest against unpopular
austerity measures in exchange
for more EU/IMF funds on the day
the ruling socialist party met to
mark its 37th anniversary.
"Citizens will judge us in 2013,"
Papandreou told a party
conference. "By then, we will have
achieved bringing Greece out of
the crisis and will have completed
so many and important reforms."
But three opinion polls published
in Sunday newspapers showed
the main conservative opposition
New Democracy party had
widened its lead by 0.6-5.1
percentage points over the
Socialist government, which has
seen its popularity wane as
austerity bites.
An Alco survey for Proto Thema
newspaper, carried out Aug. 30-
Sept. 2, showed some 22.2
percent of Greeks would vote for
New Democracy versus 17.4 for
socialist PASOK. In its last poll in
June, support for New Democracy
was 21.3 versus 19.6 for PASOK.
About 67 percent of those
questioned were against snap
elections and about 76 percent
said they could not afford the
new one-off taxes Greece has
imposed to shore up its public
finances and wanted growth
boosting measures instead.
In another sign that Greeks were
fed up with austerity and
galloping unemployment, some
75 percent of people aged
between 18 and 24 said they
wanted to leave the country.
"THE INDIGNANT" ARE BACK
Another poll carried by MRB for
Sunday's Real News showed New
Democracy widened it lead to
23.7 percent from 22.9 percent in
June. PASOK lost 2.2 percentage
points, dropping to 18.6 percent.
About 87 percent said they could
not stand any more sacrifices,
while 72 percent foresaw major
social unrest in coming months.
Political analysts see snap
elections on the horizon and say
the next few months are critical
for the government as Greeks
return from summer holidays to
tougher austerity measures.
The government must also
convince disgruntled lawmakers
and an angry public that belt-
tightening will pay off.
The "indignant" protest group,
which had camped for weeks
before the summer in front of
parliament, came back on
Saturday, shouting slogans
against Greek politicians.
A crowd of several thousand
protesters packed Syndagma
Square, holding banners reading
"We owe nothing, we sell
nothing, we are not paying".
Unlike the violent protests in June
when Greece approved a five-year
austerity and privatisation plan,
the crowds on Saturday were
peaceful.
The government's failure to meet
the fiscal targets set by its
international lenders is also
complicating Papandreou's task.
An official close to the inspectors
said late on Thursday that the
2011 budget deficit will be at
least 8.6 percent of GDP,
compared to a target of 7.6
percent.
On Friday, Greece and an EU/IMF
inspection team interrupted talks
on a new aid tranche after
disagreeing over why Athens has
fallen behind schedule in cutting
its budget deficit. Discussions are
due to resume on Sept 14.
The deputy leader of Germany's
junior coalition partners, the FDP,
said on Saturday the interruption
of talks was a blow to the stability
of the euro and called on EU and
IMF to push Athens to reaffirm its
will for reforms.
Minister George Papandreou on
Saturday ruled out snap elections
and said his government would
succeed in bringing Greece out of
the crisis by the end of his term in
2013.
Thousands of demonstrators
returned to the central Athens for
the first time after the summer to
protest against unpopular
austerity measures in exchange
for more EU/IMF funds on the day
the ruling socialist party met to
mark its 37th anniversary.
"Citizens will judge us in 2013,"
Papandreou told a party
conference. "By then, we will have
achieved bringing Greece out of
the crisis and will have completed
so many and important reforms."
But three opinion polls published
in Sunday newspapers showed
the main conservative opposition
New Democracy party had
widened its lead by 0.6-5.1
percentage points over the
Socialist government, which has
seen its popularity wane as
austerity bites.
An Alco survey for Proto Thema
newspaper, carried out Aug. 30-
Sept. 2, showed some 22.2
percent of Greeks would vote for
New Democracy versus 17.4 for
socialist PASOK. In its last poll in
June, support for New Democracy
was 21.3 versus 19.6 for PASOK.
About 67 percent of those
questioned were against snap
elections and about 76 percent
said they could not afford the
new one-off taxes Greece has
imposed to shore up its public
finances and wanted growth
boosting measures instead.
In another sign that Greeks were
fed up with austerity and
galloping unemployment, some
75 percent of people aged
between 18 and 24 said they
wanted to leave the country.
"THE INDIGNANT" ARE BACK
Another poll carried by MRB for
Sunday's Real News showed New
Democracy widened it lead to
23.7 percent from 22.9 percent in
June. PASOK lost 2.2 percentage
points, dropping to 18.6 percent.
About 87 percent said they could
not stand any more sacrifices,
while 72 percent foresaw major
social unrest in coming months.
Political analysts see snap
elections on the horizon and say
the next few months are critical
for the government as Greeks
return from summer holidays to
tougher austerity measures.
The government must also
convince disgruntled lawmakers
and an angry public that belt-
tightening will pay off.
The "indignant" protest group,
which had camped for weeks
before the summer in front of
parliament, came back on
Saturday, shouting slogans
against Greek politicians.
A crowd of several thousand
protesters packed Syndagma
Square, holding banners reading
"We owe nothing, we sell
nothing, we are not paying".
Unlike the violent protests in June
when Greece approved a five-year
austerity and privatisation plan,
the crowds on Saturday were
peaceful.
The government's failure to meet
the fiscal targets set by its
international lenders is also
complicating Papandreou's task.
An official close to the inspectors
said late on Thursday that the
2011 budget deficit will be at
least 8.6 percent of GDP,
compared to a target of 7.6
percent.
On Friday, Greece and an EU/IMF
inspection team interrupted talks
on a new aid tranche after
disagreeing over why Athens has
fallen behind schedule in cutting
its budget deficit. Discussions are
due to resume on Sept 14.
The deputy leader of Germany's
junior coalition partners, the FDP,
said on Saturday the interruption
of talks was a blow to the stability
of the euro and called on EU and
IMF to push Athens to reaffirm its
will for reforms.
