Venizelos says PASOK is the party for Greek recovery
PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos sought on Wednesday to move the election debate beyond discussions about Greece’s bailout as he spoke during a televised press conference.
He argued that the Socialist party was the sole political power taking part in the upcoming elections with a complete program aimed at leading the country to recovery. Venizelos added that PASOK will act as a «catalyst» in the formation of a post-May 6 government.
Highlighting his experience earned as the «Finance Minister who managed to reduce the country’s public debt by 50 percent,» PASOK’s candidate repeated some of the fiscal proposals he had made at a recent presentation of the party’s election program in Athens, including the idea of a reformed tax system based on a broad party consensus, the gradual withdrawal of the solidarity tax and the special property tax being merged with other taxes.
If asked to form a government after the elections, Venizelos said he would explore options on the left and the right of the political spectrum.
At the same time he accused New Democracy chief Antonis Samaras of not taking on full responsibility with regard to certain tough political decisions. He also criticized the conservative chief for not agreeing to a televised debate before the elections.
In response to accusations made by SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipas that both PASOK and New Democracy leaders were «political crooks», Venizelos claimed the left-wing coalition was trying to lead Greece to destruction outside the European Union and the eurozone.
On the subject of the rise of Golden Dawn, Venizelos said that «nothing is more dangerous than a society lapsing into fascist-leaning behavior.”
