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Anastasia Balezdrova

Hours before the vote of confidence in the new cabinet of Greece, which is supported by both major parties and the Greek far-right LAOS, GRReporter talked to the person in charge of public relations in New Democracy, Simos Kedikoglou. He explained why his party supports and participates in the new cabinet and gave the grounds for the request to hold early elections on 19 February.
 
The "blue" deputy called on the Bulgarian government to revise its position on the construction of the Burgas - Alexandroupoli pipeline. "This is a project that may be of great benefit to Bulgaria and Greece, and put both countries in a significant position on the energy chessboard. I fully understand the reticence with regard to environmental consequences, however, I believe that modern technology allows us to find solutions to all questions. In this way, we can keep our environment clean and take advantage of the economic benefits this pipeline brings." 

Mr. Kedikoglou, in his speech today, Antonis Samaras once again refused to sign the document binding him to the contract of October 26 and justified his refusal. A little later, it became clear that Brussels would pay the sixth tranche of the bailout without this signature. What is your comment?

I think Antonis Samaras was clear. He signed the contract of political leaders under the auspices of the President and all members of New Democracy will give a vote of confidence in the government of Lucas Papademos to fulfil the conditions for the payment of the sixth tranche and for Greece to stay in the euro area. What more is necessary to convince them? I agree with what Antonis Samaras has said – that he does not understand how a personal signature could be more important than the decision of political parties’ leaders or than the decisions of the Greek Parliament.

New Democracy commits in every possible way with the implementation of the agreement of October 26 and 27.

Antonis Samaras recalls in his statements that political leaders have agreed to hold early elections on February 19. How will the party respond if the government fails to fulfil the purposes for which it has been formed by that time?

This has been agreed between the leaders of political parties. And here, I would like to explain to your readers why elections are necessary. This is because in addition to the economic issues, there is a serious political problem in Greece with the Parliament’s democratic legitimacy. The Greeks do not feel that today's Parliament represents them. They believe that they were deceived in the last elections in 2009 and their vote was taken based on false promises. Therefore, they want to be allowed to express their position on the formation of a Parliament that will express this position.  Then, a strong Greek government able to negotiate with our European partners and to govern the country in this very difficult period will be formed.  Otherwise, the anger we see during protests will become a social explosion. This is what we should prevent before everything else.

If necessary, there would be an extension of several weeks, but a possible plan for extending the mandate of this government would undermine its prestige, as Antonis Samaras said. I am saying this because the government of Lucas Papademos is able to survive within this framework and to meet the specific objective. If the government deviates from its goal, then its legitimacy will again be under question.

When and under what conditions would New Democracy withdraw its support to the government?
 
We have no reason to withdraw our support if the agreement between the political leaders is respected. My personal opinion is that acts like that of convening PASOK ministers by George Papandreou to discuss a change in the electoral law undermine the new government. Honestly, I do not understand what George Papandreou was thinking when organizing that meeting. Anyway, I have this problem with the leader of PASOK. I could not figure out what exactly he had had in mind when he announced he would hold a referendum.

I would like to believe that the internal struggle for leadership in PASOK which has begun will proceed normally and that there will be no political games to the detriment of the government of Lucas Papademos.

What is the different solution New Democracy offers for the Greek economy?

As Antonis Samaras said in Parliament, pursuing the same policy of tax increases without any increase in revenue, the market "draining", the growing recession and the imposition of new taxes under the particular conditions exacerbates the problem. It does not solve it.

Today, he called for the repeal of the extra property tax, which is imposed through electricity bills to citizens who are unable to pay it. I also know farming families who do not possess these resources. In this hard crisis and in winter, the electricity of obviously poor people should not be cut off. We should take care of them. We should not sacrifice some people to save others.

Does this mean that you intend to cancel the extra taxes if you win the elections?

We intend to implement the goals set by our European partners, which we approve too. We are willing to meet our obligations and I think that Europe has already understood that this policy of constant stringent economic measures would make Greece fail and they would not get back their money. And we want to pay it back.