Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 14-05-10

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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

CONTENTS

[01] Venizelos calls for 'responsible vote' that supports 'stability'

[02] Tsipras: 'Those implementing memorandums must go'

[03] ND, SYRIZA 'neck and neck' in Public Issue poll

[04] Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in Germany for 10-day visit

[05] Mitrentse's 'Meta-Library' at Thessaloniki Book Fair on Sunday

[01] Venizelos calls for 'responsible vote' that supports 'stability'

Speaking during a televised press conference for all local channels in Larisa, central Greece, Venizelos emphasised that "without the 30 PASOK MPs there is no government, no stability, no national prospect" and repeated that voters must cast their vote "with full knowledge of their responsibilities and the consequences".

Replying to those who accused him of seeking to 'blackmail' voters, Venizelos said that his accusers were the same people that would rush to raise an issue of government legitimacy after the elections. PASOK was raising the issue now, speaking clearly, and saying that the election result must not give the impression that the government was shaky and lead MPs to say that they cannot back legislation.

He underlined that the key wager in the upcoming elections was not whether New Democracy or main opposition SYRIZA would come first but whether government stability - in which PASOK was a key component - would be preserved.

"The government cannot limp along with no legitimacy. We either have a government that has the understanding, the tolerance of society, or we don't. For ND to come first and 'who gives a toss about PASOK', that's only there to help, that can't happen. If PASOK did not exist, nothing would exist," Venizelos underlined.

At the same time, he appeared confident of a good result in the elections and that "the heart of voters belongs to the party," adding that citizens did not want elections, feared the thought that stability might be disturbed.

[02] Tsipras: 'Those implementing memorandums must go'

"[Prime Minister Antonis] Samaras is the political product of the crisis. The system's spare that was dragged out of 15 years of disrepute in order to serve his far-right cronies, the memorandums," Tsipras said, in an attack on the prime minister in person. "The only thing that's certain is that the crisis will eliminate Samaras. We pick up the glove. Let's see who is the new Greece and who is the old."

He emphasised the significance of the upcoming elections, warning that "at these elections we are voting about our lives" and said those preparing to explain away their crushing defeat at local elections should bear in mind that SYRIZA had not been in charge of any region or large municipality but now had a chance in all of them.

[03] ND, SYRIZA 'neck and neck' in Public Issue poll

With respect to voter intentions in the upcoming European elections, SYRIZA just eased ahead by half a percentage point, with 18.5 pct to ND's 18 pct. On the other hand, ND appeared to be closing the gap since it gained 1.5 pct, compared with the main opposition, which lost 1.0 percent. The two parties were absolutely equal with respect to general elections.

The remaining parties received the following percentages: Potami - 5.5 pct, Elia (PASOK) - 4.5 pct, Communist Party of Greece (KKE) - 4 pct, Golden Dawn - 3.5 pct, Democratic Left (DIM.AR) - 2 pct, Independent Greeks - 1.5 pct.

[04] Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in Germany for 10-day visit

The Ecumenical Patriarch will start off his official visit in Stuttgart, where he will be received by Baden-Wurrtemberg Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann on Saturday. On Sunday, he will lead a mass at the Greek-Orthodox "Annunciation of the Virgin" Church in Esslingen, after which he is due in Frankfurt for meetings with the president of the Evangelical Church of Hesse and Nassau and of the Evangelical Church of the Palatinate, as well as a visit to Frankfurt's St. Bartholomew Cathedral.

He will then travel to Bonne, where he is due to meet the German Synod of Catholic bishops on Tuesday, before heading to Berlin on Wednesday and Thursday, for meetings with German President Joachim Gauck, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Green Party co-chair Cem Ozdemir and the Turkish ambassador to Berlin.

The next stop on the Patriarch's itinerary is Munich, where he will meet Bavaria's Prime Minister Horst Seehofer, be named honorary lecturer at Munich's Ludwig Maximilian University and speak at a symposium organised by the city's Roman Catholic Archdiocese on "Ways of sustainable living and preserving creation".

He will wrap up the visit on May 19 by going to the former Nazi concentration camps in Dahau and visiting the Jewish monument, Catholic chapel, Evangelical Church and the Orthodox Church of the Resurrection.

[05] Mitrentse's 'Meta-Library' at Thessaloniki Book Fair on Sunday

Mitrentse, now an established artist working mainly in London, explained that she will set up a participatory, interactive installation on the floor with members of the public, in what she called a "site-specific activity" within an event organised around books. Visitors will be asked to add their own favourite books for lending in order to expand the content and 'catalogue' of the Meta-Library.

The main body of the installation is made up of dozens of books selected by the multidisciplinary artist from the libraries of the State Museum of Contemporary Art and National Bank Cultural Foundation, as well as titles proposed by their respective staff, which will make up an ephemeral 'Meta-Library'.

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article