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Markets are saying pretty much what I'm saying too: that Greece is doing what it can, but that Greece is not going to be able to carry the weight of all of Europe and the other problems that Europe has.

George Papandreou

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George Papandreou
Age: 72
Born: 1952
Born: June 16
Diplomat
Former Prime Minister Of Greece
Politician
Sociologist
St Paul
Minnesota
George Andreas Papandreou
Saying
Problem
Greece
Able
Markets
Going
Carry
Much
Weight
Europe
Problems
Pretty

More quotes by George Papandreou

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I never thought of politics as a profession.
George Papandreou
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When I was growing up in the United States and Sweden, I never thought about becoming a politician.
George Papandreou
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Today I want to send a message of optismism to all Greeks. Our road, our path, will be more stabilised. Our country will be in a better situation. We will be stronger.
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The real problem in Greece is not cutting taxes, it's making sure that we don't have tax evasion.
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Despite the deep reforms we are making, traders and speculators have forced interest rates on Greek bonds to record highs.
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Politics also means educating people. It's important to speak openly with our fellow Greeks, to tell them what our problems are and that we have to change something.
George Papandreou
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Countries are not like financial markets. Social change cannot be executed as swiftly as credit-default swaps. You cannot sell short on social commitments and practical responsibilities.
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We in Europe have great capacities.
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How can a parliamentarian or a leader in a country say, on the one hand, that we're going to support Greece but at the same time say that Greeks are lazy?
George Papandreou
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Unfortunately, corruption is widespread in government agencies and public enterprises.
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I think there is a heritage which I’m proud of, which is a fight for democracy, a fight for social justice, a fight for freedom. My grandfather went to jail or exile six times in his life, fighting for his principles for democracy, or for his country. And my father twice.
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I have been supporting the European Union, but we are still a work in progress. We have to become more of a United States of Europe. We should talk about electing a president of the E.U., rather than having one selected from the heads of government.
George Papandreou
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I never thought about becoming a politician. But during the military dictatorship, my grandfather was put in prison six times and my father twice. If my family and my country didn't have this history, I might be a professor somewhere today.
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My hope is that we will turn Greece into maybe the most transparent country in the world with everything on the web.
George Papandreou
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An elected government making huge changes with the consent of its people, is being undermined by concentrated powers in unregulated markets-powers which go beyond those of any individual government.
George Papandreou
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But sovereign debt is a wider question not only in Europe but across the globe. While every country is a unique case, I think it's not an issue of countries acting on their own. We need a more coordinated strategy not only in Europe but around the world.
George Papandreou
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The Marshall Plan was after destruction, and the U.S. came to our help and obviously this was very, very important for the future of Europe. I think now we have all the capabilities of doing it on our own and, in a sense, we have to.
George Papandreou
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The more there is a European solution to a theoretical, but possible, problem in the markets, the less we will have to talk about an I.M.F. solution.
George Papandreou
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It is important that the Greek people make decisions on important developments.
George Papandreou
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Greece's history in the drachma was an up-and-down history, a roller coaster.
George Papandreou