ND goes on the offensive

Government set to annul decisions on Vatopedi; ministers head for countryside

In a two-pronged attack that it hopes will reverse its fortunes in the opinion polls, the government is preparing legislation that will tidy up its property transactions with the Orthodox Church while ministers will be dispatched to various parts of the country on a charm offensive.

One of the scandals that has been a thorn in the government’s side over recent weeks is the land exchange deal with the Vatopedi Monastery on Mount Athos. The two sides swapped several properties, leaving public coffers with an alleged shortfall of some 100 million euros because state-owned land, including areas around Lake Vistonida in northern Greece, had been undervalued.

Now, Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis is considering pushing through an amendment that would annul any government decisions that led to the deal taking place. The Justice Ministry has recommended to Karamanlis that decisions going as far back as 1998, when PASOK was in power, should be scrapped.

New Democracy is hoping that this will help settle the issue so it will no longer weigh down the party.

After experiencing a rough ride in the polls, the ruling conservatives are looking for ways to boost their ratings and it emerged yesterday that 20 government ministers would this weekend be making visits to various parts of the country. Another two charm offensives will take place in the next few weeks.

“This is not a time for personal politics and cheap shots,” said Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis after meeting with Karamanlis yesterday. “We have to work hard because people have problems to deal with.”

The government is also trying to put to rest the issue of rebels within the party. On Friday, Karamanlis challenged those who disagree with him to bring down the government and party secretary Lefteris Zagoritis insisted yesterday that the party would not accept anyone stepping out of line.

In a poll published yesterday, ND trailed PASOK by 1.2 percent. The GPO survey gave the Socialists 29.2 percent, an increase of 4 percent since August.