The Prime Minister Antonis Samaras was a guest speaker at a Monday evening conference on “Democracy under pressure”, where he accused opposition leader Alexis Tsipras of populism and extremism, in response to his speech in Thessaloniki.
Mr. Samaras, who spoke at the International New York Times and Kathimerini sponsored event, argued that despite the problems, the Greek people have not embraced extremism and populism. In his speech he indirectly referred to SYRIZA as enemies of reforms using false promises for quick solutions.
Aside from criticizing the opposition, Mr. Samaras spoke about his administration’s achievements of the past two years, stressing how the country was on the verge of collapse yet now has primary surpluses. Mr. Samaras appeared confident that there would also be a primary surplus in 2014, which would cover the country’s obligations for 2015.
The PM also highlighted the importance of Greece’s return to the markets two years prior to initial estimations and expressed his gratitude to Greece’s partners, while stressing that the implementation of reforms will continue. Mr. Samaras defended his reform program and stated that while it is not possible to change everything over night, patience is required.
