PM says won’t allow GD to set political agenda, Venizelos sees stability as key goal
The coalition government is determined to safeguard political stability despite differences of opinion between the two parties, Deputy Prime Minister and PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos told reporters after talks with Prime Minister Antonis Samaras on Friday.
“Noone can undermine the country’s stability,» Venizelos said following the meeting during which the two coalition leaders are said to have assessed the political fallout from a secretly-filmed video featuring former cabinet secretary Panayiotis Baltakos suggesting that the government tried to influence a judicial probe into the neofascist Golden Dawn.
During the meeting, in comments broadcast on television, Samaras said he will «not allow any criminal organization to set the political agenda.» «It is I who battled against Golden Dawn from the beginning and I will not allow a criminal organization to regulate the country’s political life,» he said.
“We obviously have differences with New Democracy,» the PASOK leader said, «but we have cooperated to save the country.» He added that PASOK had also cooperated with the right-wing LAOS in a previous coalition government. «The progressive axis within the government must be boosted,» he said, without elaborating.
In a clear dig at the main leftist opposition SYRIZA, Venizelos said it was tragic for the democratic rule of law that certain political forces were adopting claims made by members of Golden Dawn who face criminal charges in a bid to make political gains.
