Gov’t on mid-term fiscal policy vote

Government spokesman Elias Mossialos on Monday clarified that the vote on the medium-term fiscal policy raises no vote of confidence or political party discipline issues.
“The government received a vote of confidence last week and we do not dictate to PASOK or other political party MPs what to do. Everybody realises that the country is going through critical times,” he stressed.

Mossialos expressed optimism that the medium-term programme and the law executing it will be approved by all PASOK MPs reminding that their approval is Eurogroup’s precondition for the fifth aid instalment.

The government spokesman stated that the meeting of Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos with PASOK MP Alexandros Athanassiadis, who has expressed opposition to the medium-term programme, was held in a good atmosphere adding, however, that the PASOK MP is firm on his positions.

Mossialos cited a “hypothetical scenario”, when commenting on the reference made by government vice-president Theodoros Pangalos, who said in an interview he gave to a Spanish newspaper. Pangalos was quoted as saying that the army and tanks will be called in to guard the banks in case Greece goes bankrupt.

The government spokesman stated that there is no such issue because the EU Summit meeting decisions guarantee the country’s operation for the next three years.