Crisis talks end with no apparent breakthrough
An emergency meeting chaired by President Papoulias on Friday, which brought together Prime Minister George Papandreou and his political rivals in a bid to reach some level consensus on a new package of austerity measures, finished in the early afternoon with indications that little common ground had been found.
According to state television channel Net, at the beginning of the three-and-a-half-hour meeting, President Karolos Papoulias called on all opposition leaders to cooperate for the sake of the country. ?It is our historic duty to come to an understanding,? the president was quoted as saying.
But it seemed that little agreement was reached.
Emerging from the presidential mansion, the leader of the far-right Popular Orthodox Rally (LAOS) Giorgos Karatzaferis, indicated that certain politicians had put their personal concerns first. ?Certain people put their position above the good of the country,? he said.
In comments from her office after the meeting, the leader of the Communist Party (KKE), Aleka Papariga, called on the Greek people not to give in to «coercive dilemmas.”
