Despite the fact that the Conservative Opposition refused to support the plan agreed between Greece and international creditors, Papandreou was confident that the package of spending cuts, tax hikes, and privatisations would finally go ahead.
“It is a moment of historic importance. If everybody resists, worse things will come, perhaps even bankruptcy,” Papandreou said at the news conference, at the summit of European Union leaders in Brussels.
The new bailout package for Greece, includes up to 30 billion euros from the private sector to help Greece cut its huge public debt.
“We have had many meetings with the banks and insurance companies. There is no difficulty,” French President Nicolas Sarkozy told reporters after the summit meeting. However, no new money will be given to the country unless the Greek government enacts deep cuts.
The government won a vote of confidence this week with 155 out of 300 votes in Parliament, showing how tight the June 29 vote on its austerity package could be.
The ”Indignants” continue to protest in Athens and other cities and an opinion poll made on Friday showed that Greece’s conservative opposition is 2.1 points ahead of Pasok as well as that three quarters of Greeks are opposed to tax hikes and spending cuts.
At the EU summit in Brussels, Papandreou promised to push through radical economic reform after Venizelos clinched agreement with EU and IMF inspectors on extra tax rises and spending cuts. The aim is to plug a 3.8 billion euro funding gap within an agreed five-year austerity plan worth 28.4 billion euros.
(Source: athensnews)
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