Almost 50,000 people gathered for yet another day in Syntagma Square on Sunday, as the indignants gathered for the 26th day. Their movement is expected to reach its peak on Tuesday, when the parliament debate that started on Sunday will culminate in a confidence vote in the new cabinet. A handful of other main plazas across cities in Greece hosted the same type of event
Meanwhile, nearly half of the respondents to an opinion poll favour rejection of the 'Memorandum 2' by parliament so as to force immediate general elections. According to a Kapa Research poll, appearing in To Vima newspaper on Sunday, 47.5 percent of the respondents nationwide were in favour of parliamentary rejection of the 2nd Memorandum so that early elections would be held immediately.
The poll, conducted nationwide on June 14-15, also indicated that more than one-third of the respondents, and specifically 34.8 percent, were in favour of ratification so that Greece would receive the next tranche of the EU-IMF bailout loan, while 17.7 percent of those asked declined comment.
In parliament the New Democracy party said that it will not give a vote of confidence to the government in which not even prime minister George Papandreou believes in, and because he is persisting in a policy that only creates new problems, Samaras said.
He also accused Papandreou of "not daring" to proceed to the creation of a "national salvation government", but instead created a partisan government aimed at gluing together his ruling Pasok party, thus opting to prevent the collapse of his party instead of the unity of the Greek people.
Samaras reiterated his firm positions that a renegotiation of the terms of the Memorandum, jump-starting the economy and restoring social cohesion are the only conditions for consensus, and criticised the government of carrying on with the same, wrong policy 'recipe" that would lead the country to an absolute dead-end.
The main opposition leader further accused Papandreou of "hiding behind the Troika's insistence", without negotiating.
Samaras also charged an "orgy of populism" around the word "consensus", warning that the climate of consensus was not being enhanced but, on the contrary, was being undermined, by the prime minister's own associates who were distorting ND's positions abroad.
He warned that he will not tolerate this to continue, stressing that when he himself goes abroad, he wars the "national jersey".
Samaras said that parliament was being asked to give a vote of confidence to a government of "partisan gluing" that was made up of "cadres who until yesterday were blaming each other", in order to salvage Pasok, and not the unity of the Greek people.
ND, he added, will persist with the position that the only way for Greece's salvation is elections.
"We will not destabilise the country. It has been destabilised enough by the government. We do not want to govern ruins tomorrow. We are not the same as Pasok. Regardless of the outcome of the vote of confidence, the government has permanently lost the confidence of the people. That is irreversible," Samaras concluded.
Combined Reports (ANA)
Combined Reports (ANA)
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