ND leader accuses PM of ‘blackmail referendum’
Prime Minister George Papandreou has placed the country in the middle of an international storm because he is only interested in protecting his own interests, said New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras speaking to the party?s parliamentary group on Wednesday.
Regarding the referendum announced by his rival on Monday, Samaras noted that at times of crisis voters do not respond to the actual questions put to them, but to those posing the question. He said he objected to the way the government was turning multiple dilemmas into a ?yes? or a ?no? and noted that a referendum could return «like a boomerang» to haunt Greece.
Samaras noted that he has always made it clear that it was not the country?s debt deal which was in question but the actual terms of the deal. He said that the referendum would not differentiate between the two. «Who will accept the responsibility in case of the wrong outcome?» he asked.
Dubbing the PM?s surprising move as a «blackmail referendum» he asked for it to be scrapped and be replaced by elections.
In his speech Samaras repeatedly referred to the government as «dangerous» while stressing that Papandreou?s actions were endangering the sixth tranche of the EU-IMF bailout loan and creating turmoil on global markets.
Samaras also reiterated his position regarding his unwillingness to cooperate with the current government in the formation of a national unity government.
