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Greek Socialists Swept from Power
Greeceâs conservative party has swept to power in the general election, ousting the socialists after more than a decade in power. With most of the votes counted, Costas Karamanlisâ New Democracy had won about 46% against 40.5% for George Papandreouâs Pasok. Mr Karamanlis acted immediately to try to dispel fears that the 2004 Athens Olympics would not be ready by August. I wonder how much this was a factor in the voting? "The Olympic Games will be the best and safest," Mr Karamanlis said. Even before making his victory speech, he met the chief organiser of the Athens Olympics, Gianna Angelopoulos, to discuss strategy to get stalled projects ready for August. A number of key construction projects remain unfinished, and are now under enormous time pressure as the start of the games approaches. Mr Karamanlis also hailed the Greek decision to throw out the socialists. "It is a new start for all Greeks," he said in his first televised speech as prime minister-elect. Mr Papandreou conceded defeat soon after voting ended when exit polls showed New Democracy with a five-point lead. Mr Papandreou and Mr Karamanlis are members of the two dynasties which have dominated Greece since the 1950s "New Democracy has won the elections. I wish Karamanlis success in his work for the good of Greece," he said. Pasok had been in power almost continuously since 1981. Provisional estimates say New Democracy will end up with 170 of parliamentâs 300 seats. Difficulties may arise next year when the Greek parliament is due to elect a new president. If the conservatives fail to persuade 180 MPs to accept their candidate, there will have to be new elections. Another pressing task for New Democracy is to see through negotiations aimed at reuniting Cyprus before it joins the European Union in May. "We will all together, united, give the great battle to safeguard a just, functional and European solution to the political problem of Cyprus," and weâre happy if it takes a long time for Turkey to be admitted to the EU Mr Karamanlis said on Sunday. Revellers celebrating the conservativesâ victory on the streets of Athens said a change at the top had been long overdue. Costas Karamanlis will be Greeceâs youngest-ever premier "We had that regime for 20 years," one told the BBC. "No matter if they were good or bad, they had to change... and I think that the attitude towards the people will change." wishful thinking? if it isnât working, changing it at random isnât likely to fix things Our correspondent reports that the new prime minister is offering a more northern European-style administration. but this might help He said his priorities would be education for the new generation, more jobs and reform of agriculture, and he promised what he called a human, inclusive state for all citizens. The man tipped to become the new finance minister, George Alogoskoufis, has said that New Democracy has been given a clear mandate for economic reform "to make Greece more competitive". Mr Alogoskoufis has previously called for tax cuts, investment incentives and market deregulation. He recently listed his priorities for development as agriculture, tourism, shipping, energy production, transportation and telecoms. I was in Greece in 2000. Not interested in going to this yearâs Games, though. Posted by: rkb 2004-03-08 |
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