Athens News Agency: News in English, 08-07-21

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Premier to chair inner cabilet meeting on Tuesday

[01] Premier to chair inner cabilet meeting on Tuesday

"The citizens are well aware of this. The most serious problems that we face today (debts, deficits, high prices, unemployment, and corruption) are 'achievements' of an establishment regime of the past. Unsolved cases that are now being uncovered or investigated and dealt with (corruption in justice, stock markets, DEKA, land register, arms procurements, TOR-M1, Siemens) were born and grew yesterday," Karamanlis stressed.

In his speech, the premier also acknowledged that mistakes had been made by his own party, noting that he had never denied this, nor that there had been delays in taking action or that behaviour counter to the party's principles had occurred. He stressed, however, that he was not going to give "discounts on matters of principle".

Karamanlis underlined that these problems were "born and raised within a system of power that did not see, did not hear and did not react. They were born and raised under the cover of a system that sneered, smeared and denigrated those who dared talk about them. They were born out of ways of thinking that made graft a regime, corruption a daily practice, illicit transactions socially acceptable".

He accused past PASOK governments of tolerating kickbacks and illegality while protecting those responsible, even to the extent of passing legislative measures.

Karamanlis stressed that this situation had now changed and would continue to change, while those responsible for corruption would not be protected but made to answer for their actions.

Regarding reforms, he underlined would he neither tire nor hesitate nor give in to the resistance of privileged special-interest groups and the setbacks of the global environment, whatever they may be.

Karamanlis also stressed that he would not be lenient in dealing with the practices, viewpoints and mindsets that clashed with the principles and pledges of the government to society, or compromise with "pressures that run counter to the national, social and collective interest".

"This is a message in every direction. My strength is your faith in me. My strength is the faith of the citizens," he stressed.

The prime minister referred at length to the government's work in all areas, as well as the government's policy toward the victims of fire and earthquake in the Peloponnese, with the prefecture of Ileia being among the hardest hit.

He pointed out that basic infrastructure had been repaired in these areas and dozens of improvement projects planned, while compensation to the region's farmers exceeded one billion euros and the debts of local businesses and professionals had been settled and grants given under developmental law increased by 60 percent.

Individual victims had also received the larger subsidies, which exceeded 250 million euros, and further assistance had been given to the unemployed, pensioners and students in fire-stricken regions.

The Greek premier ended his speech by encouraging young people to become involved in politics and advised them to "deny those that deny them, ignore those that ignore them and doubt those that doubt them".

"Resist those that try to convince you that nothing can change. Reply with optimism, vision and new ideas. Reply with proposals, actions and boldness," the premier concluded.

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