New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras last week accused PASOK of giving away the keys to Greece, as he made his first speech as party president at the New Democracy party congress in Athens, ahead of announcing his policies for getting Greece out of the economic crisis.
Samaras has seen his party slip in the opinion polls following its heavy general election defeat last October. But in his first opportunity to address more than 4,400 conservative delegates since taking charge of ND last November, he suggested his party is ready to go on the offensive.
First, he attacked PASOK for its handling of the economic crisis and its decision to sign an emergency loan agreement with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.
“PASOK handed over the keys to the country by signing the [EU-IMF] memorandum, which leads to a never-ending cycle of recession and destruction,” he told his audience. “The memorandum is leading us to a dead end. We are searching for a way that Greece can get out of this agreement as soon as possible so we can implement a different mix of economic policy.”
Samaras said that ND would set out its ideas for exiting the economic crisis on July 7.
Samaras then attacked ex-Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis, who he recently expelled from New Democracy and the right-wing Popular Orthodox Rally (LAOS) for supporting PASOK’s austerity measures.