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Konstantinos Mitsotakis: Populism in Greece has no future

12 October 2010 / 10:10:45  GRReporter
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The Honorary President of New Democracy Konstantinos Mitsotakis sharply criticized the present President of the party Antonis Samaras, openly defining him as populist in an interview for Mega TV. "I'm sure George Papandreou will be the last Greek politician who became prime minister through soothing the voters. Populism is out of date already," said with sarcasm Mitsotakis in conversation with the journalist Olga Tremi, Yiannis Pretenderis and Pavlos Tzimas. "The more reasons Papandreou had to say before the elections that the country had money and they would be allocated to the poor and needy, the more reasons had Samaras to say that he could cancel the budget deficit within 18 months without sacrificing the people," said the famous politician.

He expressed his deep disappointment with the former Greek Prime Minister and President of New Democracy Kostas Karamanlis for he has not conducted the necessary reforms for five and a half years in power and has virtually deserted from power scared by the disastrous state of the Greek financial system. "New Democracy had to put the public finances in order during that time. I have been waiting continuously for a change in its policy, but it didn’t happen. We are greatly responsible for this period and I will not forgive this. I was in constant conflict with Karamanlis. I warned him many times that the country goes to bankruptcy and he knew it," admitted Konstantinos Mitsotakis.

The Honorary President of New Democracy did not hide his bitterness of how his party lost the October 2009 elections. "I did not agree to early elections. We had to take measures the moment we realized the financial problem, even if we failed, but having heads up. And not to throw the hot potato to the others," said the politician openly. He firmly declared himself against the formation of a parliamentary commission to investigate the causes of the economic collapse of Greece and defined the proposal as "comic and funny." Both parties are guilty, but to a different extent. Andreas Papandreou started the loans policy in 1981. Greece was already a bankrupt country even in 1990. Then my government came. And if our efforts at that time were successful, Greece could have landed normally. Then Simitis came. He tried at first and then gave up," recalled Konstantinos Mitsotakis. 

Mitsotakis was the Prime Minister of Greece in the period 1990-1993. His policy of releasing the economy from the administrative and bureaucratic constraints imposed by the state and the privatization were firmly opposed by the Greek people and his government was overthrown in no time. He is the father of the former foreign minister in the government of Karamanlis Dora Bakoyannis, who was expelled from New Democracy after she voted in favour of the Memorandum between Greece and the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission and the European Central Bank. The official position of Greece's largest conservative party was against the Memorandum.

Political observers in Greece expect Dora Bakoyannis to announce the formation of a new center-right party in the coming days.

Tags: Konstantinos MitsotakisNew DemocracyEconomic crisisPolitics
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