Simitis: I’m ready to be flexible
PM Costas Simitis, facing stiff resistance from members of his own PASOK party, told a meeting of its Executive Bureau last night that he was prepared to make changes to a proposal for a new electoral law. But he also called on cadres to toe a common line. Two issues have raised the strongest protests among PASOK members: the party leader’s ability to draw up a list of candidates for Parliament in some constituencies, and allowance for double ballots, in which voters can vote separately for parties and candidates. Parliament Speaker Apostolos Kaklamanis, who was outspoken in his criticism of these two proposals in an interview with Ta Nea newspaper on Monday, complained yesterday that his comments had been misrepresented. But he voiced the same reservations again at last night’s meeting. «We are fighting to change the electoral law because only when you take initiatives do you win the battle,» Simitis said. «We are ready for compromise and retreat if this is proved necessary by dialogue.» But he added, «The position of our cadres in public should be uniform.»
