Debate terms settled
PASOK leader George Papandreou and New Democracy leader Costas Karamanlis, the protagonists in the March 7 elections, appeared to decide on terms of a televised debate yesterday when their representatives agreed on the broad principles of the duel. After intensive negotiations, PASOK’s Nikos Athanassakis and ND’s Theodoris Roussopoulos have agreed that there will be one debate, probably on Thursday night, during which all themes will be covered: the economy, foreign policy, education, health and public administration. Journalists will also be able to ask questions on other issues. The two men will have up to one-and-a-half minutes for each reply. Details such as how many journalists will be involved and who they are to be have still not been worked out. Athanassakis said yesterday the debate would be about 90 minutes long. The small leftist parties have complained that they have been left out of the debate. «No one should pay any attention to the debate, because the best debate is held in the fields, where the greenhouses have been destroyed and there are demands for compensation,» Aleka Papariga, head of the Communist Party, said in Marathon, while visiting farmers who suffered damage from the recent blizzard. «Everything else is just window-dressing,» she added.
