Main opposition New Democracy (ND) on Saturday demanded that finance minister Yiorgos Papakonstantinou be immediately sacked, in the aftermath of the EU-IMF troika's press conference on Friday and the government spokesman's late-night reaction.
ND press spokesman Yiannis Michelakis rejected the government's criticism of the troika rejected the government's reaction as "hypocritical", calling it a "post-midnight theatrical farce", and accused the government of having decided the measures together with the troika, while also charging that it was the government's tolerance that allowed the troika to become so brazen and to insult the dignity of the Greek people.
Michelakis, in a statement, further said that Friday's "televised abolition of the government by the troika, which insulted the dignity of the Greek people, had already been effected with the Memorandum the government signed in jubilation". He added that the "delayed indignation" by the government aims only to dupe the Greek people, who felt rage over the "insulting attitude of the foreign partners of the government".
ND further charged that the members of the government "knew full well both the intentions and the decisions of the troika" and had decided them together with the troika, and personally blasted the prime minister that the troika representatives were given the go-ahead by Papandreou himself. "How else can one explain the unbelievable ease with which they want us to sell off the state assets or the insulting references to the people's reactions to the harsh measures?"
The main opposition spokesman further recalled the proposals for exiting the crisis that had been submitted in July 2010, in which ND insisted on exploitation of the state assets "and not selling off the family silver".
source: ANA
