Coalition leaders try to rally MPs for elections
PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos is due to address his party’s MPs on Friday in a bid to boost their morale a day after Prime Minister Antonis Samaras sought to drive his lawmakers on to the local and European Parliament elections later this month.
Samaras said Greece finds itself at a “historical crossroad” and called on ND deputies to “fight until the last minute” to win the May 25 European vote. He said that the country’s stability was at stake in these elections and suggested that a victory for SYRIZA could undermine the country’s adjustment efforts.
The leftists labeled Samaras’s speech as “divisive scaremongering.”
“Mr Samaras is trying to fool the Greek people by telling them there will be no more memorandums,” said SYRIZA spokesman Panos Skourletis, who focused on the daily problems faced by many Greeks as a result of the long recession.
Venizelos will have to face increasing concern in his party about the likelihood of it performing poorly on May 25 as part of the Olive Tree alliance. PASOK MP Costas Skandalidis suggested on Thursday that the party should hold a conference after the election to analyze its result. Other lawmakers, such as Fofi Gennimata and Filippos Sachinidis, spoke of the need for PASOK to be overhauled.
Venizelos is expected to present a “national recovery plan” aimed at reviving economic growth and job creation.
