Samaras: Gov't has fooled society

The SYRIZA-ANEL government has fooled Greek society and the nation is now facing a dead end, main opposition leader Antonis Samaras told MEGA Tv on Wednesday.

     “We’re at a dead end; the government has fooled society. At this point it has to clash either with our creditors, or with itself,” the leader of New Democracy said.

According to him, the people’s mandate was to avoid a Grexit, but that uncertainty has returned after the elections.

     “If the government doesn’t pay what it owes to the ECB and the IMF the possibility of a Grexit returns,” he said.

The leader of the conservative party slammed the government on a number of issues, including the economy, migration, public order and especially on the way it handled the issue of convicted terrorist Savvas Xiros, noting that it jeopardized Greece’s relations with the United States which is the only power supporting the country in its negotiations with its lenders.

Moreover, he also said that since the February 20 agreement, the government has not tabled any proposals.

ND Ordered To Evict Offices At Syggroy Ave., Property Seized Due to Advertising Debts

The New Democracy party is being evicted from its headquarters on Syggroy avenue on account of debts to the banking system, as well as others to advertising agencies. Just like PASOK, the conservative New Demoracy party is up to its ears in debt; especially after moving its party headquarters to Syggroy avenue. It's position cannot be compared to the socialist PASOK party and ND is undoubtedly in a better position to pay back this debt to the Greek state, but nonetheless it is drowning in debt and has now come face to face with the law.

On Tuesday afternoon the party officially received a document that was issued by the owner of Spot Thomson, Dimitris Mavros, indicating that measures have been taken to confiscate all party accounts (or at least this is what a report on defencenet claims).

The reason behind the property seizure order concerns the party's outstanding debts to the particular company.

The order was not the only slap that was endured by the party on Tuesday since it had already received an eviction notice from the owner of the building where the ND offices are housed. Apparently the building originally belonged to a company owned by businessman Babis Vovos but after the company declared bankruptcy its ownership fell into banking hands, and the banks now want their money back.

Defencenet also claims that many ND workers have not been paid for a while, but HellasFrappe could not confirm this information. The only thing that is certain is that the eviction from Syggroy, as well as the seizure of property, is a huge blow to party leader Antonis Samaras (as well as his followers) who had initially decided to make the move from Rygilis St.

Source in Greek - Defencenet

NO WAY SHERLOCK - Bakoyanni eyes New Democracy presidency

When asked about the presidency of the New Democracy party, veteran MP Dora Bakoyanni said that she would do “whatever is necessary” to keep the party together and even hinted that she may run for party president herself.

Speaking on SKAI tv, Bakoyanni said that “procedures are escalating” within New Democracy, while she argued that her party needs to establish itself in the center right.

She was highly critical of the Antonis Samaras-led government, noting that “if we had the guts, the structural changes would have closed.”

Bakoyannis is the eldest of four children of veteran Greek politician Constantine Mitsotakis, who was prime minister of Greece from 1990 to 1993 and leader of the New Democracy party between 1984 to 1993. She was married to Pavlos Bakoyannis, a respected journalist and politician and had two children, Alexia and Kostas. In 1989, members of the "November 17" terrorist group assassinated her husband, then a Member of Parliament, as he entered his office building.

Bakoyannis lost to Samaras in the election for the party's leadership in 2010 when all of the supporters from Costas Karamanlis decided to ignore her candidacy. In fact, most Karamalikoi (or strong supporters of Karamanlis) are convinced that she helped to bring down his presidency because she was flirting with interests that were not in line with Karamanlis' foreign policy line. Since then she has repeatedly demanded his resignation (directly and indirectly).

The reasons are many, one of the most prominent of which began when her father’s government fell in 1993. Following the fall-out with Mitsotakis, Antonis Samaras left the New Democracy party and set up his own smaller party called Politiki Anoixi (or Political Spring) to show his dissatisfaction with the weak position of Mitsotakis on the “FYROM” issue."

Dora Bakoyannis was expelled from New Democracy on May 7, 2010, on the grounds of having defied New Democracy's line and voting "in favor" of a salient piece of legislation introducing the harsh austerity measures that were required for European Union-International Monetary Fund backed lending. She continued to hold her parliamentary seat, originally secured by New Democracy, as an independent. On November 21, 2010, she founded her own political party called the Democratic Alliance.

Later on she rejoined ND.

Earlier this year and during a party conference she called for an emergency congress to decide ND's future, and discuss all issues from the party's functioning and internal democracy, which she particularly emphasised, to organisation, strategy and individuals.

Bakoyianni has always been a reputed favorite of the Bush Administration and rival of Karamanlis, and she retained her post as Foreign Minister when Karamanlis was elected for a second term in 2007.

Declassified reports published on the well-known Wikileaks site only prove that American diplomacy in Greece was closely monitoring the development of local politicians, their attitude to official Washington and its policy during Karamanlis' rule. They also prove that the Americans clearly favored Bakoyiannis (and Dimitris Avramopoulos) and viewed her as the heir to the ND throne (something that we all know never happened because Karamanlis showed his favoritism towards Samaras).

One example of this is a telegram that was sent to Washington and noting that Bakoyianni is an old friend of the United States. In the telegram, "the most popular mayor of Athens since the age of Pericles" is described as "moderate in foreign policy and particularly active against terrorism because of her personal terms after the murder of her first husband, Pavlos Bakoyannis." Dora Bakoyannis is a "supporter of the approximation of Greece with Turkey and supporter of its European perspective."

Read Telegram by clicking HERE

To respond to the attacks that she was chosen by the Americans, in a conversation with the US Ambassador Charles Rhys she asks: "Did you see my picture on the front pages of today's press, which is placed against the American flag? Well, it does not annoy me." The telegrams connected with terrorism show the concern of Americans for the possibility of the organization "November 17th” continuing its activities, and the suspected presence of Islamic terrorists among illegal immigrants in Greece.

HF Team

Samaras positive on joining a unity government to keep Greece in eurozone

In an interview with the Bloomberg news agency,  opposition leader Antonis Samaras said on Thursday that he is willing to join a unity government and offer a political rescue that would secure a financial bailout to stay in the euro.

      "If the plan is to keep Greece in the euro area, we will provide support," said Samaras because "Exit would signal a total catastrophe."

In the interview, Samaras questioned Tsipras' commitment to the single currency, he said it's the only conceivable economic path for Greece.

     "For the euro area, the spillover effect from Greece leaving the euro is not going to be today as big as it would have been four years ago," Samaras said. "But it's still going to be huge, and it's going to be a political disaster," he said.

The government should honor the commitments made in February's deal to extend the bailout, said Samaras.

     "If they ideologically decide they won't abide by this agreement, then you may have a default," he added.
     "Euro-area countries which have lower GDP per capita than Greece, countries which have elections and countries which have themselves gone through a program won't give us any more money if they see that the government is not abiding by its commitments and it's behaving in an anti-European manner," noted the leader of ND.

He dismissed criticism he's not supporting the government, saying his party "voted in favor of the two bills the government brought to parliament."

According to him, the Greek Premier is undermining Greece's credibility by making overtures to Russia.

     "When you are in Europe and ask Chinese, Iranians, Russians to finance your deficit, don't you send a signal to the rest of Europe that you are not really a serious pro-European?"

Source: Bloomberg

New Democracy: Greece has no more money

While speaking on MEGA Tv on Wednesday morning, New Democracy spokesman Costas Karagounis slammed the SYRIZA-ANEL government by saying that Greece lost two months over this negotiation and the bottom line is that the country has got no money.

     "In other words, we were discussing how to get money without a memorandum and we eventually got an extension of the memorandum without money. This is the bottom line."
The ND spokesman then said:
     "We are living on the money we left behind; however, they used up all this money, we don't have a realistic plan for the day-after while the market has paralysed and the real economy has suffered consequences." 

Source: MEGA tv

Samaras speaks out to doubters, while Dendias escalates action

Main opposition New Democracy party leader Antonis Samaras is presently considering his options and despite the fierce criticism by prominent party members this past week he is also reportedly considering potential alliances.

Some MPs, who have been rather vocal about the need for a leadership change, include Dora Bakoyanni, Nikos Dendias and Evripidis Stylianidis.

Samaras and his close allies are in the opinion that the party has overcome the hurdle and that the leadership matter has closed, but there are plenty of MPs in the main opposition party that believe otherwise.

As such, and in the framework to further entrench his position in the party, reports are claiming that Samaras is going to offer prominent positions to some of the younger and newer party members. He has repeated that he is not bothered at present with appointing new VPs,

(Kyriakos Mitsotakis – brother of Dora Bakoyanni – is apparently thirsting for this role.)

Former Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni is also another player who has been rumored to be considering the position of secretary of Political Planning, while former basketball player Vasilis Kikilias has been tipped for a similar post in the party.

Meanwhile, reports that are not in favor of Samaras claim that some MPS (or namely Dendias, Evangelos Antonaros and Marietta Giannakou, (members of the party’s “internal opposition”) are escalating their actions in order to prepare for an intervention. The same reports claim that even younger party officers (such as Yannis Economou, Vasilis Tokakis and Stathis Stathopoulos), are planning on initiating a political debate within the party.

As such and while speaking on SKAI Tv earlier this week, Dendias expressed his hope that the ND party would not splinter into smaller groups and said that the conservatives must reexamine their ideological message, "we must not become a far right groupuscule of 4%-5%, not fascist, but democratic”.

(Editor's note: Of course that is Dendias' opinion, because from what we know, ND lost plenty of its support because it shifted to the left! If ND re-shifts back to the Right it will regain the support it lost to other smaller parties such as Golden Dawn, ANEL, Drasi and LAOS. MPs such as Dendias and especially the Mitsotakis family are very comfortable with the idea of working alongside left-centrists -or so they say- like PASOK, the Potami party and others. Whereas the Karamalikoi -or those who still support Costas Karamanlis and account for two thirds of the party- are dead set against this move. The Mitsotakis family did enough damage to ND by attempting to shift the party to the Left in the early 90s, and there is no sense in repeating the same mistakes today. Samaras may have made mistakes while governing alongside Evangelos the Large, but he can now correct things by following a more Karamaliko frame of mind because it is the only force that will keep the party together.) 

References: SKAI Tv, Kathimerini, To Vima

Samaras: Those who want me to resign should say it now

The leader of the main opposition, New Democracy (ND), said on Thursday he’s not planning to resign from his post, but called on party members who want to question his leadership to do it now.

     "I’m not 'married' to my post. But I won’t give up the battle at such a difficult time. I also considered an extraordinary conference, but they [government] would present it as a symptom of a major introversion for our party," Antonis Samaras said at ND’s parliamentary group meeting.
     "If someone believes it is better for the party or the country, one should raise the issue of party president now, and assume the responsibility of activating the statutory procedures you all know," he added.

Samaras claimed any comment by a party official would be used by the government to show ND is fragmented at a crucial time. He went on to announce he will hold a national conference to discuss party policy.

Nonetheless, ND MP Dora Bakoyiannis openly questioned the leadership.

Real.gr, enikos

Tsipras outlines gov't's priorities - Samaras says he should be ashamed

The first draft bill to be tabled by the SYRIZA government is going to relate to the humanitarian crisis in Greece, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told his cabinet late on Friday evening.

In his address, the Greek PM expressed his satisfaction over the required ratification by EU parliaments of the agreement Greece reached with its creditors, which he said wrapped up a first round of laborious and tough negotiations.

     "Our European partners were forced to accept something that seemed taboo up to now, that the memorandums and the policies implemented in Greece over the last five years were not simply socially catastrophic but financially ineffective as well," he said.

According to him the government is obligated to begin a series of sweeping reforms that are needed, in order to fight tax evasion, deal effectively with corruption, overhaul the public sector, restart the real economy and deal with the humanitarian crisis.

The first bill is set to be introduced in the new week and aims to provide free electricity and foodstuffs to well over 300,000 Greek families. At the same time, the government plans to introduce a housing program for 30,000 people and call for a restriction in the number of evictions, which reached a high during the five years of the bailout memorandum.

The new legislation is also going to include a provision to relieve 3.7 million taxpayers, including small and medium-sized enterprises, that came to owe more than 5,000 euros each without any hope of repayment.

A separate bill relating to non-performing loans to the state is also expected to be introduced. According to Tsipras, it is going to include a clause relating to outstanding payments to insurance funds and aims to lift laws leading to the arrest and jailing of taxpayers who owe up to 50,000 euros to the state. The bill also plans to restore the status of reports by the finance ministry's financial crimes squad (SDOE), allowing for immediate action to be taken on suspected tax evasion cases.

The prime minister also said that it is the first time that all audit material accumulated over the years, including the so-called Lagarde list of large Greek bank deposits abroad and cases from the unit processing funds from criminal activities, had been consolidated and would help in the pursuit of tax evaders.

He also said that the primary home of families (or "first home") will be protected by a regulation that is also going to be filed in the new week and "put an end to the anxiety of hundreds of thousands of our fellow citizens, workers and pensioners who are in danger of losing their home," over real estate taxes. According to the Greek PM this measure will be an emergency regulation and will affect only homes whose official value does not exceed 300,000 euros.

Turning to the issue of the state broadcaster, Tsipras said that on March 5th the bill for ERT (the former state broadcaster shut down by the Samaras government in June 2013) is also going to be tabled. It aims to reinstitute the broadcaster (which is now replaced by NERIT) with an upgraded program. He said that this is not going to burden the state budget and therefore is not part of the ongoing negotiations with Greece's creditors.

(A SYRIZA MP said on Friday that electricity prices would be hiked so that the expenses for ERT will be paid.)

      "The government must show readiness at every level and in every sector in order to be resolving practical problems on a daily basis and promote continuing reforms that will make life easier for Greek citizens and that will streamline the public sector," he stressed.

Justifying the decision by Productive Reconstruction, Environment and Energy Minister Panagiotis Lafazanis to revoke the architectural and electrical engineering licence at the Skouries gold mine in northern Greece's Halkidiki peninsula, Tsipras said the move was required following serious charges and a review was necessary to ensure the company kept the licence obligations.

The government wants to defend two priorities it has, the environment and public interest, and will serve the interests of workers and the Greek people with unwavering consistency, he added.

Finally, the premier said that in the following week the government would table a proposal for the drawing up of a committee to investigate the memorandums, the conditions under which they were accepted and the political liability of everyone who contributed to the country's bankruptcy and forced it into borrowing.

The premier called on all ministers to work together with the minister of administrative reform, thus make everything ready faster, and advised cabinet members to work hard in order to honour the people's mandate. "I call on you to use fewer political slogans and do more work: Less talk and more action," he said.

On Saturday the PM addressed SYRIZA's Central Committee. He said that:

      "We are at the start of a great and difficult battle... We are not going to escape from our commitments." 

He referred to a turbulence in the first month of SYRIZA's governance noting that Greece is not Europe's pariah's any more that follows orders and only implements memorandums.

     "The people feel that they regain their lost dignity. The humanitarian crisis is the main issue of the discussions. We have made allies on international and European level in order to get rid of the self-fuelled crises. We said a lot of 'no' despite the unbearable pressures" noted Tsipras and reiterated that "the troika and the memorandum are history". 

Following his speech main opposition New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras said that "Tsipras should be ashamed. He charges me for the European People's Party announcement, the context of which he has co-signed in the last decision of the Eurogroup."

Samaras noted that EPPs announcement said that Greece had made a huge progress in the last years and should keep its commitments.

      "He (Tsipras) must be in a great despair and fear to refer to such nonsense and to make up imaginary enemies to justify his own lies and impasses..." said Samaras.

Samaras noted that the 'bridge' Tsipras' prepares is for the next memorandum to which he is leading us and that for this reason, as he said, he will give account.

     "If he believes that by attacking me and our partners he can become a European politician, he has not a single idea what's going on. He does wrong not only to himself but also to the country which is in Europe and will remain in Europe. Shame!" concluded Samaras.

Combined Reports: ANA-MPA

New Democracy Slams Gov't On Release Of Migrants From Detention Centers

The main opposition New Democracy party called on the government to guarantee the safety of Greek citizens earlier this week following its decision to shut down migrant detention centers. At the same time the conservative party slammed the government for wanting to grant Greek citizenship to well over 300,000 illegal immigrants.

      "The government suspended the deportation of dozens of irregular migrants and opened wide the gates of the detention centres, casting them adrift wandering the streets," New Democracy spokesman Costas Karagounis said adding that at the same time the SYRIZA government will grant Greek citizenship to 300,000 irregular migrants.

"Unfortunately, they demolish what was built with strain. Unfortunately, they put their obsolete ideas above the public interest," Karagounis noted.
He then called on SYRIZA to stop the demolition, to restore the operation of detention centres and proceed with their return to their country of origin.

Meanwhile, a report in kathimerini said that the government released more immigrants and asylum seekers from detention centers across Greece on Thursday. In fact some 315 persons have been released from a total of six camps. The figure included 17 unaccompanied minors who were transferred to a reception center in Volos, central Greece.

According to the article in Kathimerini, 110 people have so far been released from the center in Amygdaleza, north of Athens, 15 from Xanthi, 41 from Paranesti in Drama and 17 from Evros (northern Greece). Another 128 persons have walked out of the detention center in Corinth in the Peloponnese, while four have left the Hellinikon center in southern of Athens.

Commenting on the issue, Alternate Minister for Immigration Policy Tasia Christodoulopoulou said on Thursday that the process would continue until most centers close down.

New Democracy Says Varoufakis’ Proposal Is "Exact Copy of Bailout”

According to a 12-page “non-paper” that was issued by the main opposition New Democracy party, Minister of Finances Yanis Varoufakis list of reform proposals (that resulted in the loan agreement extension) is an exact copy of the bailout. The non paper points out that extracts from Varoufakis’ list have been copied from the previous bailout agreements.

ND notes that the government is trying to fool Greece’s creditors (by promising to complete the program) and its MPs (who were told the agreement is a “bridge” program, rather than a bailout extension). At the same time the main opposition underlines that the recent agreement is far worse than the controversial “Hardouvelis email”, which included commitments to increase Value Added Tax (VAT) on islands and reduce pensions, among others.

ND To Vote In Favor of Loan Agreement Extension

Main opposition New Democracy party parliamentary spokesman Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that ND is planning to vote in favor of the agreement for the loan extension, if it is tabled in Parliament. Speaking to Parapolitika radio, he said that “a large part of the Varoufakis email has been ‘copy-pasted’ from the damn bailout” and predicted that a third bailout was imminent.

Mitsotakis argued that while a third bailout “is not good for the country”, the recent agreement includes “common sense reforms” that are set to allow Greece to set aside “the false bailout-versus-anti-bailout dilemma”.

Asked to comment on the budget shortfall, Mitsotakis noted that it is going to be very difficult for the government to cover, while he estimated that SYRIZA is not going to be able to explain how it will cover “major funding needs” in March.

A Review Of The Former Govt's Fiscal Achievements

New Democracy (ND) deputy and former alternate finance minister Christos Staikouras provided a summary of the financial achievements of the previous government in response to statements by Alternate Finance Minister Dimitris Mardas.

Staikouras said that Greece had a primary deficit of 6 billion euros (2.9 percent of GDP) in 2011, while it is expected that 2014 will close with a primary surplus of 2.9 bln euros (1.6 pct of GDP), therefore during the previous government the annual primary balance improved by about 9 bln euros (circa 4.5 pct of GDP), while the country achieved a "significant and nationally needed primary surplus" for two years in a row.

In 2011, he said, the budget deficit was 21 bln euros (10.1 pct of GDP), while 2014 will close at around 4.5 bln (ca. 7.5 pct of GDP), therefore under the leadership of former prime minister Antonis Samaras the annual deficit was reduced by 16.5 bln (ca. 7.5 of GDP) and ended below 3 pct of GDP, the prerequisite set by the EU's Stability and Growth Pact.

Outstanding debts of the state to the private sector were 8.8 bln at end-2012 and dropped to 3 bln by end-2014, reduced by about 70 pct during the last two years, he pointed out.

     "I am of the hope that the present government will also take one more step, in 2015, towards the further reduction of the budget deficit. It remains to be seen," the ND deputy said.

ANA-MPA

Leading New Democracy MPs Meet To Discuss Change in Leadership

Ahead of the forthcoming meeting of the New Democracy's parliamentary group, and just before the party's political committee is to convene at the end of the month and while ND leader was in Brussels attending the EPP meeting, several top MPs from the conservative party attended a dinner earlier this week to discuss the future of the party. The central message: The party has to now turn a new leaf.

All participants expressed their concerns about the course of the ND party, as well as talked about the government’s negotiations with Greece's partners. So far so good, but when they raised the issue of party president, the discussion became even more interesting.

As such, over the next few days a group of the attendees will speak with former Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis to try and find out what his intentions are about the future of ND, as well as if he would take any initiatives.

HellasFrappe believes that Karamanlis will refuse and rather pass on the torch to a much younger party representative (some are hinting that it could be the Governor of Macedonia-Thrace Mr.Tzitzikostas).

We also believe that Karamanlis will work on the sidelines so that the party remains united.

We will have more on this story as it develops in the days to come.

Samaras: I hand over a country without deficits, which is emerging from the crisis

In statements at the Zappion building press centre (central Athens) following his party's defeat in the Greek national elections, outgoing Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said on Sunday that "the Greek people have spoken and we all respect their decision".

     "My conscience is clear. I took over a country on the verge of disaster. We withstood, we averted the worst, we pulled the country out of the recession and the deficits, we laid the foundations for growth and an exit from the crisis. We created a new tradition of consensus and coalition governments.
     "Today I hand over a country without deficits, which is emerging from the crisis in an orderly way, is a member of the European Union and the euro. I hope that the next government will preserve these gains," the outgoing premier said.
     "We were forced to take painful measures and some mistakes were made but we averted the worst," Samaras stressed.
     "I hand over a country without deficits, with security for citizens, a country that is making an orderly exit from the crisis. I hand over a country that is a member of the European Union and the euro. For the good of the country, I hope that the next government preserves these gains. I have a clear conscience because I told the people the truth right to the end. I hope that my predictions are not proved true," he added.

Turning to the election results, Samaras noted that:

     "It is not pleasant, but ND withstood and is on its feet, despite the very difficult measures that we were forced to take. It seems that ND has lost only two points in relation to 2012 and remains ready to play a role as a guarantor of European stability, security and the reforms. Its role will be crucial, I guarantee that it will play this role to the utmost." 

Samaras Tells ANT1 That SYRIZA Risks Excluding Greece from ECB's plan (VIDEO)

During a televised interview on an ANT1 morning talk show with host George Papadakis, Prime Minister and New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras lashed out against main opposition Syriza claiming that with its policy, the party risks excluding Greece from the European Central Bank’s government bond-buying programme.

Speaking to Papadakis, Samaras said that though the ECB has warned Greece it would not be included in the plan unless it successfully concludes its troika review, Greece's main opposition party SYRIZA continues to claim it is not going to accept Greece's participation in a bailout program and wants to renegotiate its agreement with its lenders from scratch.

     "This means that for a whole year, while it will be 'raining' money, we won’t get a single drop," he said.
     "They (SYRIZA) were celebrating on Thursday and obviously they hadn’t read that for Greece to get the money the review needs to be concluded. This is the whole point and SYRIZA didn't take that into consideration."

Asked on those who accuse him for scare-mongering, he said:

     "When someone says I will not pay any debts and interest, I will print money, when someone says Cosco would better drop into the sea, when countries like China give jobs and hope to the people, when you say police and the Coast Guard will patrol unarmed, then who is creating fear? No one knows what SYRIZA wants today. Fear describes what they believe in."

Pro-SYRIZA Reporter Calls Samaras "A Wanker" - Government Outraged

The Greek government slammed the main opposition SYRIZA party at the weekend, after the director of its affiliated radio station, "Sto Kokkino", went on a rant and insulted Prime Minister Antonis Samaras by calling him "a wanker".

Addressing an event where he had been invited in Lamia on Saturday, Costas Arvanitis, the director of SYRIZA-backed "Sto Kokkino" radio station, commented on some reports in the French media, according to which Samaras had apparently attempted to use the Charlie Hebdo massacre to serve his anti-immigration agenda during the election campaign.

      "They (the government) are building fear... instead of telling us what happened and why it happened, he was telling us what will happen if [SYRIZA] comes to power. And of course it's not a coincidence the title used by the French media: 'It's hard to be loved by a wanker'," Arvanitis said and added, "this comment is unfortunately for the country's prime minister. And it's very tough on me to be calling the prime minister of my country a wanker. And the problem is not that they're saying it, it's that he is," he added.

During an election speech in the city of Halkida, in Evia, on Jan. 7, Samaras spoke about the massacre, and slammed SYRIZA's proposal to grant Greek nationality to immigrants living in Greece.

     "Some people in Greece have not realised it, SYRIZA wants to hand out nationalities and insurance to all immigrants. You see what is happening in Europe. Today in Paris we had a massacre with 12 dead and here some people are inviting foreign immigrants." 

Following the comment, government spokesman Stefanos Anagnostou and New Democracy spokeswoman Maria Spyraki both demanded Arvanitis' resignation saying his behaviour was "unthinkable".

Replying to Spyraki, Arvanitis said that the fact that she is demanding his resignation only reveals the government's continuous policy of attempting to silence criticism in the press which has led Greece at the bottom of the worldwide list in freedom of speech.

(Editor's Comment: What he did not say, however, is that he is one of the cry-babies who lost a fat state pay check when ERT closed down. And.. he did not dare criticize his party leader Alexis Tsipras of becoming chummy chummy with the Greek Orthodox Church, when we all know that Alexis has confessed that he is an atheist. Obviously Samaras is going to use it for political gain... didn't Alexis' appearance at the Piraeus port on Epiphany day aim for the same thing? The releasing of the dove from an atheist next to the Archbishop of Greece was priceless. LOL. Arvanitis should think before he speaks because if he wants to exercise criticism against the Greek premier then he should do this with solid arguments about national issues... Ever wonder why SYRIZA does not dare to address any of our public issues? But wait... SYRIZA does not address issues related to our security either, in fact some of its MPs not only applaud terrorists -such as certain members of November 17- they also want to disarm the Greek police force. And let us not even touch the subject of immigration because SYRIZA wants to legalize all the illegal immigrants in this country! Instead of addressing issues like this, Arvanitis chose to go with personal blow below the belt, a predictable Leftist strategy. Another thing that he did wrong, in our opinion, is that he gave a reason to the foreign press to criticize Greece. HellasFrappe believes that when we as citizens step foot out of Greece our hands and feet should not have a political color, but only the ethnic colors of blue and white. Finally, this former ERT reporter should also get accustomed to the Greek proverb "χεσε ψηλα και αγναντευε" - or to put it into simple terms in English... sh**t high and watch . Meaning: that he should expect criticism for his words because when you  sh**t high and watch , sooner or later it is going to come flying down straight on your face.)

Sources: enikos, Youtube, LamiaReport

Greek PM: Syriza has a hidden agenda (VIDEO)

As the election campaign kicks off, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras accused SYRIZA on Friday of preparing to make unilateral moves that are aimed at sparking a Greek default if it ever comes to power. The comments come after the main opposition party attempted to distance itself from suggestions by one of its own MPs that it just might stop repaying the country’s debt.

     “We will win and that will be the end of populism in Greece,” he told party officials at a gathering at New Democracy’s headquarters on Sygrou Avenue in central Athens.
     “Our weapon is the truth, our banner is responsibility. They [SYRIZA] have a secret agenda.”

The Greek prime minister reiterated the comments that were made by SYRIZA MP Giannis Tolios where he argued that if his party comes to power then it could stop paying Greece’s debt.

     “SYRIZA will take unilateral action that will cause a default,” said Samaras.
     “At their conference, they said they would not pay interest or principal – that is the definition of a default.”

Tolios repeated the comments in a radio interview on Friday but SYRIZA spokesman Panos Skourletis insisted that a leftist government would not make any moves that would lead to a so-called credit event.

sources: enikos.gr, ekathimerini.com, alpha tv

Tweet War - Georgiadis Slams Attica Governor for Ignoring Church Service on New Year’s Day

The election campaign has indeed kicked off and this is very profound in the social media. Conservative MP Adonis Georgiadis, who is known for his tweets, slammed (SYRIZA-backed) Attica Governor Rena Dourou in a message on Thursday for not attending a special church service that was held on New Year’s day. In an obvious attempt to include religion in the pre-election campaign, Georgiadis described Dourou's absence a "disgrace."

Dourou's absence comes as no surprise because she took a non-religious oath in parliament when she was sworn in as governor, and she has repeatedly declared her belief in the separation of church and state as have other SYRIZA MPs. The surprise, however, is that Gerogiadis used the issue of religion in the pre-election campaign.

The tweet war continued when her deputy, George Karameros. After receiving word of the ND spokesman's message, he justified her absence by sending his own tweet which claimed that she was at a civil protection meeting. He also did not hesitate to accuse Georgiadis of poaching for votes.

(He is right. Religion should be kept out of every election campaign.)

     “The church unites, you divide,” he told Georgiadis while Left.gr news site likened him  to an ‘inquisitoner’.

Georgiadis responded right away saying that Karameros and SYRIZA must learn to take criticism, but he did wish them a happy new year.

New Democracy election campaign focuses on “responsibility” & “truth”

The general elections at the end of January are critical for both the conservative New Democracy and its party leader Prime Minister Antonis Samaras. The new election campaign, according to press reports, will focus on “responsibility” and “truth”.

The conservatives may have consistently trailed behind the main opposition SYRIZA party in opinion polls, but Samaras has continued to be a more suitable Premier. It is thus expected that this will ultimately sway voters to reject SYRIZA and disprove the recent polls. This fact alone has begun shrinking the gap between the two contending parties.

It is expected that this will also reign in Samaras' rhetoric throughout the election campaign.

He has already noted that SYRIZA aims to pull out Greece from the Eurozone and bankrupt the country.

Samaras is also expected to be the central figure in New Democracy’s campaign, in an effort to attract undecided voters who abstained from the 2012 elections. However, this will not be enough, so the strategy will also focus on attracting centrist voters who are concerned over political stability.