New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras vowed to “take back” Greek cities from unregistered migrants in a video address.
In a message posted on his Facebook page and on YouTube, Samaras vowed to renegotiate the Dublin II Regulation, which allows EU states to send back asylum seekers to their entry country, trapping immigrants in Greece and other frontier countries.
Samaras also said he was building an alliance with those frontier countries, including Spain, Portugal, Malta and Cyprus to try and shift EU policy.
New Democracy is facing hardening opposition from the right, on illegal immigration and opposition to the terms of the EU-IMF loan deal, with the general election just two weeks away.
A rise in support for the extreme-right Chryssi Avghi (Golden Dawn) and a strong showing by the populist Independent Greeks party has rattled New Democracy, which is having greater difficulty than Pasok in drawing in undecided voters in early campaigning, and has weeded out centrists from inner city ballots.
More specifically, Samras said that “Greece today has become a centre for illegal immigrants. We must take back our cities, where the illegal trade in drugs, prostitution, and counterfeit goods is booming. There are many diseases and I am not only speaking about Athens, but elsewhere too.”
He also noted that: “At long last, we must impose order, and make sure the law is observed. The citizens believe no one cares, no one can change anything, no one can police them, or can only police them inadequately, and that (criminals) are easily released from prison, even though newly-built prisons exist and for some reason are not operating.”
Source: Athens News/gw
