GREECE: Greeks say the country must stay in the eurozone ahead of Sunday EU Parliament vote

Record ID: 695317

  • Title: GREECE: Greeks say the country must stay in the eurozone ahead of Sunday EU Parliament vote
  • Date: 24th May 2014
  • Summary: ATHENS, GREECE (MAY 24 2014) (REUTERS) PEOPLE WALKING ALONG SQUARE, PARLIAMENT BUILDING IN BACKGROUND PARLIAMENT BUILDING GREEK FLAG ON ROOF OF PARLIAMENT BUILDING VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WALKING IN SQUARE (SOUNDBITE) (Greek) ATHENS RESIDENT, ELENI SKOUTARI, AGED 70, SAYING: "We must vote in favour of Europe, because it is Europe that we are dependent on. We are not relying solely on ourselves, that's what I think." (SOUNDBITE) (Greek) AGED 79, PENSIONER, GEORGE DELIGIANNIS, SAYING: "Greece must remain 100 percent within Europe. If we do not stay within Europe we will have internal problems. They will stop giving us money, they will stop providing us with many things." (SOUNDBITE) (Greek) AGED 67, PENSIONER, TAKIS, SAYING: "Right now we are having the stability and growth needed and we are moving forward with steadiness. We cannot turn back now, we must not, no way. What SYRIZA and some other parties are proposing is not the solution." (SOUNDBITE) (Greek) AGED 52, UNEMPLOYED, STELLA, SAYING: "For the European elections what is important is to change the course of the European south. For Greece I believe that SYRIZA will be elected." (SOUNDBITE) (Greek) AGED 50, WORKER STEPHANOS GIALAMAS, SAYING: "I can think of many government members that we should vote for again, so that we maintain stability. So they can go on stealing as they did for so many years." VARIOUS OF PEOPLE ON SQUARE WALKING PAST GEORGE KAMINIS CAMPAIGN KIOSK VARIOUS OF PEOPLE ON SQUARE WALKING PAST NEW DEMOCRACY EU CAMPAIGN KIOSK PEOPLE WALKING ACROSS SQUARE
  • Embargoed: 8th June 2014 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Greece
  • Country: Greece
  • Topics: European Union,Economy,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA4ICZLIDFU49PG7VFKHRG1T48Y
  • Story Text: Athens residents on Saturday (May 24) said Greece's future was linked to Europe and the upcoming European Parliament elections were important for the country's prosperity.
    Greek political parties on Friday (May 23) made their last stands before the European Parliament elections on Sunday (May 25), seen as a vote for, or against, a bailout program authored by the European Union (EU).
    The government of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, who has led the country out of the crisis and back to a surplus, is playing the growth and stability card, calling on voters to stick with the current conservative governing party when choosing European parliament members representing Greece.
    A pensioner from Athens Eleni Skoutari said that the Greek people needed to come to the polls and cast their vote for candidates backing Greece's EU membership.
    "We must vote in favor of Europe because it is Europe that we are dependent on. We are not relying solely on ourselves, that's what I think," said Skoutari.
    Another pensioner, George Deligiannis, said Greece had only one prospect for its future and that was to stay as close as possible to its European counterparts.
    "Greece must remain 100 percent within Europe. If we do not stay within Europe we will have internal problems. They will stop giving us money, they will stop providing us with many things," said 79-year-old Deligiannis.
    Athens pensioner Takis said that stability and growth was what Greece needed to move forward.
    "Right now we are having the stability and growth needed and we are moving forward with steadiness. We cannot turn back now, we must not, no way. What SYRIZA and some other parties are proposing is not the solution," said Takis referring to Greece's main opposition party, the radical leftist SYRIZA.
    But for others, like 52 year-old Stella who lost her job one year ago due to layoffs, the vote is a chance to try alternative policies and to end the painful austerity measures implemented in Greece and in other southern European countries.
    "For the European elections what is important is to change the course of the European south. For Greece I believe that SYRIZA will be elected," Stella said.
    Worker Stephanos Gialamas mocked the prime minister's statement calling for Greeks to vote for stability, he said that by voting for the current government they would be allowing them to continue stealing from the people.
    "I can think of many government members that we should vote for again, so that we maintain stability. So they can go on stealing as they did for so many years."
    The last opinion polls showed a slight lead of SYRIZA, which is also a frontrunner for the key post of Athens prefect in the second round of local elections to take place on the same day.
    One unknown factor is the extreme far right Golden Dawn party, third in opinion polls and fourth in the first round of local elections last week, despite the fact that six of Golden Dawn's deputies, including its leader, are currently in jail and several more face charges of criminal activity.
    The outcome of the European elections could signal how a national vote may play out, although analysts say voters tend to use it more as a tool to send a message to their governments and the EU.
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