The president of PASOK Evangelos Venizelos told his party members on Wednesday evening that September will be “decisive” without, however, further elaborating on any developments. With the next troika review scheduled for September though and Mr. Venizelos’ commitment that there will be no new bailout deals or new measures, it is likely that he may have referred to the talks for debt relief.
In his speech the PASOK leader referred to the National Recovery Plan, the details of which will be presented at the upcoming International Fair in Thessaloniki, where the focus will be on employment. Mr. Venizelos also referred to a study by the National Bank which suggests that it is possible to create 750,000 new jobs over the next six years.
The PASOK leader reflected on the coalition government’s policies and lambasted the Minister of Administrative Reform Kyriakos Mitsotakis, without naming him, while denouncing any attempt against public sector employees. Mr. Venizelos pointed out that the government’s tax policy on heating oil was a failure and favored offsetting debts and relieving small business of the VAT.
Additionally, Mr. Venizelos criticized main opposition party SYRIZA and its attempts to create an opposition front against the coalition government. The PASOK president commented that the upcoming Presidential election should not be a “stress test” for Parliament and argued that the “Olive Tree” must be supported, as it was rather successful in recent elections.
Despite having spoken harshly of DIMAR in the past, Mr. Venizelos was pleased with current discussions – “better late than never”, he commented – and argued that what was said in the past should be forgotten. Mr. Venizelos was also critical of newer parties such as The River for focusing on advertising campaigns and underlined that anyone who was arrogant towards PASOK has paid for it.
