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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.

The only way is to start developing the Greek economy. Measures are necessary in this direction and we have already made suggestions. One of them is to reduce tax rates to be competitive with Bulgaria, for example. Here I can give the following example: A friend of mine has a factory in Inofyta and one in Bulgaria. Operating costs of the plant in Greece are three times higher than of the plant in Bulgaria. This means that it is necessary to facilitate business operations, create a favourable environment for investment and promote exports. Because among other things, in the last 15-20 years, Greece has consumed more than it produces and imported more than it exports.

To achieve these things we need to change the tax system. For example, export companies in Greece pay huge amounts of VAT, which is not returned for a long time. This makes them uncompetitive with Italian companies, for example. Investing in our country should become just as attractive as it is in Bulgaria, which is also a member of the European Union. And in all cases, more attractive than investing in Turkey, a neighbouring country that is not an EU member but offers a lot more to investors.

All this is related to the presence of an efficient state administration, which does not exist here. What is the position of New Democracy on cutting the public sector? How could it happen?

We support its cutting. The Greek public sector is very large. An acquaintance of mine, a foreign diplomat, jokingly said that Greece was the last Soviet republic in Europe. When I asked him why, he replied, "Because of the percentage of employees in the public sector compared with the total number of employees and how the Greek economy is dependent on it. In practice, you are the last Soviet republic in Europe." Perhaps the definition of the diplomat is exaggerated, but certainly it is not groundless. Therefore, the large public sector becomes a burden that places obstacles to private sector development. Surely, changes are necessary, but on the other hand, it is impossible to throw tens or hundreds of thousands of people into the streets. Their transition to different employment arrangements should be carried out smoothly, because we cannot afford a further increase in unemployment. We have already reached the limits that Greek society is able to endure. Therefore, we have proposed another plan for the labour reserve that reduces government spending without throwing away tens of thousands of people as if they are useless. The aim is to emerge from the crisis all together. This is true for Greece and I think it should apply to the rest of Europe. This crisis is the first serious test for the European Union and the famous European solidarity. Europeans have proved that we are good to each other in good times. Now, when it is hard, will we be able to show that we are as good as a team? This is the decisive bet for Europe.

What is your position on privatizations and utilization of state property?

State property utilization should be carried out in the best possible way. Under these conditions, we will not get even a tenth of the expected revenue. Therefore, an action plan is necessary and appropriate conditions that will bring the best possible results.

However, there are things that could and should be carried out very quickly. I am talking about the privatization of many state enterprises. A typical example is the Greek State Railways OSE. The need to privatize this company is huge not only because its maintenance costs Greek taxpayers two million a day but also for the sake of the company. Today, railways carry out only 2% of total transportation in Greece, while the corresponding rate for Europe is between 20 and 30%. I think the economy will benefit from improving the railways. I know that there is investor interest in the railways from Russia. It is clear that this country has extensive experience in this field. One such investment will not only help the economy, but also our finances, because we understand the problems resulting from the loss of two million euros daily. I think that privatization should take place as soon as possible and I really do not understand why the government of George Papandreou did nothing about OSE for two years. I have even found out that they have refused to provide information to interested investors. The Greek government has responded to the demonstrated interest with silence.
 
One of the oldest members of New Democracy, Sotiris Hatzigakis, was disaffiliated two days ago. Today, another one, Panos Kamenos, is expected to be diasffiliated if he keeps his threat of not giving a vote of confidence in government. What is your comment?

The only thing I could say about the case of Mr. Hatzigakis is that "the principle shows the man." I say this because in the ministries entrusted to him he acted in a way typical for the times gone by. And this is the most modest definition I could give. I do not think he is the most appropriate person to complain about the democratic mode of action in the party. I do not want to say anything else because he is no longer a member of New Democracy.

Panos Kamenos’ case is different. We are friends and I respect him. Nevertheless, I do not think he has the right to believe that he is "more sensitive" than other members of New Democracy. He violates the team spirit in this way. We have reached an agreement because of the need to save the country. When you sign a contract, you give and take. We have to support the government of Lucas Papademos for the specified period of time and for the implementation of specific objectives.

However, since Antonis Samaras has become the leader of New Democracy, seven deputies have left it.

At the beginning, they said that New Democracy would split, but it did not happen. Most of these seven cases were voluntary. The colleagues were willing to go another way. Ultimately, we live in a democratic country and this is their right. Sole judge of all are people. I believe that the majority of my colleagues in the party understand and agree with the leader’s positions.

A very serious problem in Greece is illegal immigration. According to recent data by Frontex, 300 people enter the country every day and the majority of them come through the land border between Greece and Turkey. What measures are necessary?

There is a political problem and New Democracy has stressed it several times. Besides the problem with the geographical location of Greece in the outskirts of united Europe and in close proximity to the Third World and Asia, we have the law of George Papandreou’s government. It gives hope to every illegal immigrant that he or she could become a European citizen and thus attracts even greater numbers of immigrants. Therefore, there must be a change in this law and we have already said that we would cancel it when we come into power .

Furthermore, we need to change immigration policy completely. There must be reception centres to carry out control. Those who have the right to asylum should receive it, but others have to be sent back to their home countries within a specified period of time.

What do you think about the project of placing a fence along the border with Turkey?

If I am not mistaken, the length of the land border is 200 km, and the fence will be around 10-15 km long. As far as I understood, traffickers will simply have to shift towards the north part of the border. Therefore, I do not think the fence will be particularly effective. We have to discourage them with how we deal with illegal immigration. I am not talking about violent methods, but about the manner in which the authorities in the Netherlands are acting. There are centres in which all cases are considered and where it is determined who can stay in the country with legal documents and who should return. The chaotic situation of not knowing the exact number of illegal immigrants in Greece should be put to an end.