Athens, 30 May 2011
On the government’s privatization programme and the probable role of foreign investors:
· “There is a serious, responsible programme for privatization, capitalization on public assets, and this will be carried out in the appropriate, systematic manner, and whoever can contribute to this operation’s being carried out more effectively is welcome to help, but control will remain in our hands. There is no doubt about that.”
· “The Prime Minister was very clear in what he said to Mr. Samaras at the meeting of party leaders. He said that he is open on this issue – and he means it, he believes it; open to our collaborating in all sectors and there being proposals from the opposition, even as to persons who can contribute. Let’s not forget that this is a national situation.”
On the offensive articles in some foreign newspapers:
· “These are fantastic scenarios. We read a lot, we hear a lot, but some things cross the line, and we have to be clear on this. Comments like the ones you referred to [regarding a supposed impending coup in Greece], as well as others, like the one we read in a Netherlands newspaper, where we saw a Turkish flag in Santorini, and we reacted immediately to this.”
· “I wouldn’t have expected this from the Netherlands side, in particular, because I remind you that some weeks ago it was Greece that helped the Netherlands government get three captive military personnel out of Libya. The Netherlands government isn’t responsible, of course. This is what we call freedom of expression, but even here I think there are certain boundaries, and we said this clearly, conveying our strong displeasure to the Netherlands side.”
· “I take no comment lightly – and there may be a bit of truth in some comments – and we react to these comments appropriately and decisively every time. But what I want to underscore is that we should focus on what we have to do and do our jobs right. And this is the most serious and responsible reply to all the comments being made about our country.”