PM?s TIF security cost 2 mln euros
The heavy security laid on last weekend when Prime Minister George Papandreou addressed politicians and entrepreneurs at the Thessaloniki International Fair with his state-of-the-economy speech has cost the cash-strapped state some 2 million euros, sources have told Skai.
The mobilization of a record number of police officers — some 7,000 were patrolling the streets of the northern port city — along with the cost of accommodating so many officers for an average of seven days each pushed the cost of security at the annual trade fair up to nearly 2 million euros, up from 800,000 euros last year when the repercussions of Greece?s debt crisis were just starting to be felt. Adding to the bill was the fuel needed to run the extra police vehicles and anti-riot vans and the cost of transferring from Athens to Thessaloniki a water cannon — of the type using during the London riots in August — as well as a large metal fence that was set up outside Parliament in June when controversial reforms were voted into law amid violent protests.
