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Greece's conservative government narrowly wins confidence vote
Published in Saudi Press Agency on 30 - 09 - 2007


Greece's re-elected government
narrowly won a vote of confidence in its program Sunday,
following a three-day debate marking the outset of its new
term, according to AP.
As expected, Conservative Prime Minister Costas
Karamanlis's government won the midnight roll call vote on
straight party lines, 152 to 148. Main opposition Socialist
PASOK voted against, as did the Communists, the Left
Coalition and the far-right populist LAOS party, holding
its first-ever parliamentary representation.
«I am determined to do all I can to push the country
forward,» Karamanlis said in wrapping up over 12 hours of
debate. «The problems which we face are many, there is no
time to lose.»
More than 60 of the 300 deputies spoke at the first
legislative session since the Sept. 16 election.
Highlighting his program featuring pension and education
reform, Karamanlis rejected polarization and insisted his
governing approach was inclusive. «Our choice is to go
forward with dialogue, understanding and synthesis,» he
said.
He also defended his decision _ unveiled after the
election _ to push ahead with a new electoral law. Nearly
every Greek government since democracy was restored in 1974
has altered the electoral system, but his surprise
announcement was widely denounced by the opposition as
opportunistic or worse, and several Socialist deputies
including Evangelos Venizelos, a candidate for his party's
leadership, attacked Karamanlis personally.
The change would only take effect after the next
elections, due by September 2011.
Karamanlis' New Democracy party dropped 13 seats from its
165 in the previous parliament. The current system gives
the winning party a 40-seat bonus, and he indicated this
could rise «without harming proportional representation.»
Socialist leader George Papandreou accused the government
of weakening Greece's international position while hailing
past successes by his own party _ which he served for five
years as foreign minister _ in dealing with Macedonia and
bringing Cyprus into the European Union.
Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis insisted that Macedonia
compromise on the issue of its name. «Under these
(present) terms, there can be no progress in (Macedonia's)
European and Euro-Atlantic prospects,» she said, adding
that Greece favored Turkish membership in the EU but
«without blank checks.»
Papandreou also challenged the government to do much more
to help farmers and to reconstruct regions damaged by huge
forest fires in August, which killed more than 65 people
and overshadowed the election campaign. Earlier he had
criticized government plans to sell off the public power
corporation and Olympic Airlines «to foreign giants ... at
bargain-basement prices.»
Parliament on Monday begins debating the 2008 budget.


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