ΒΟΜΒΑ ΑΠΟ ΤΑ WIKILEAKS: (*NTOKOYMENTO) Ο ΤΖΙΤΖΙΚΩΣΤΑΣ ΡΟΥΦΙΑΝΕΥΕ ΤΟΝ ΚΑΡΑΜΑΝΛΗ ΣΤΗΝ ΑΜΕΡΙΚΑΝΙΚΗ ΠΡΕΣΒΕΙΑ!..

(ΣΤΗΝ ΦΩΤΟ Π ΤΖΙΤΖΙ ΜΕ ΤΟΝΒ ΑΜΕΡΙΚΑΝΟ ΠΡΟΞΕΝΟ) 1/9/2011 21:05 Οι βουλευτές της ΝΔ Απ. Τζιτζικόστας, Χρ. Σταϊκούρας και Έλσα Παπαδημητ...

(ΣΤΗΝ ΦΩΤΟ Π ΤΖΙΤΖΙ ΜΕ ΤΟΝΒ ΑΜΕΡΙΚΑΝΟ ΠΡΟΞΕΝΟ)

1/9/2011 21:05
Οι βουλευτές της ΝΔ Απ. Τζιτζικόστας, Χρ. Σταϊκούρας και Έλσα Παπαδημητρίου συζητούν με την πρεσβεία για τα εσωτερικά του κόμματος και της κυβέρνησης.

http://bit.ly/qKIcpY

A View From the Chamber: New Democracy MPs Discuss Early Elections, the Far Right,
C O N F I D E N T I A L ATHENS 001255NOFORN
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL:2019/07/17
TAGS: PGOV, ECON, GR
SUBJECT: A View From the Chamber: New Democracy MPs Discuss Early
Elections, the Far Right, and Reform

REF: A. ATHENS 1033; B. THESSALONIKI 31; C. ATHENS 935

CLASSIFIED BY: Daniel Speckhard, Ambassador, State, EXEC; REASON:
1.4(B), (D)

1. (C) Summary. In an effort to take the pulse of the governing
New Democracy (ND) party, Polcouns and Poloff on 13 July met with
two junior deputies, Apostolos Tzitzikostas and Christos
Staikouras, and a vice-president of the Parliament, Elsa
Papadimitriou, to discuss the government’s agenda. Each of the
deputies was eager to demonstrate that the government of Prime
Minister Konstantinos Karamanlis retained vitality and a commitment
to reform. They noted that the government would be pressing ahead
with efforts to restructure the bloated government bureaucracy and
loss-making state-owned enterprises like the Hellenic Railway
Organization. The two junior MPs played down the possibility of
early elections this fall, noting Karamanlis would attempt to
rebuild public confidence in his government and hold out until a
potential stalemate over electing a new President forced a general
election next March. Papadimitriou, however, made a plausible case
for the possibility that Karamanlis could pull the trigger early in
order to force two rounds of elections within the next year.
Although dismissive of the populism of the rightwing Popular
Orthodox Rally (LAOS) party, the deputies nonetheless expressed
concern about the party’s growing popularity and its ability to
draw support from ND’s ranks. All interlocutors rejected the
possibility that Karamanlis would cooperate, formally or
informally, with LAOS. Instead, two of them noted that a grand
coalition with PASOK would not be out of the realm of possibilities
if neither major party could achieve a parliamentary majority in
the next election. End summary.

2. (C) Polcouns and Poloff met on 13 July with Apostolos
Tzitzikostas and Christos Staikouras, two junior New Democracy (ND)
deputies, and with Elsa Papadimitriou, a long-serving ND deputy and
the second of seven vice presidents of the Hellenic Parliament, to
discuss the governing party’s agenda in the wake of the European
Parliamentary elections in June. Each in turn offered opinions
that reflected individual interests and concerns, as well as the
priorities of their constituencies. Tzitzikostas, who represents
Thessaloniki’s first district, displayed the most concern regarding
the rise of the Popular Orthodox Rally (LAOS), which has made
significant inroads, particularly in northern Greece (refs A and
B). Staikouras, a London-trained economist from Lamia, said that
the economic crisis dominated the concerns of his constituents, who
paid little attention to nationalist issues. Papadimitriou’s
political pedigree stems from family ties to the former Center
Union of George Papandreou’s grandfather and namesake. She openly
acknowledged center-left sympathies despite over 20 years as a
member of ND and described her shift from the Papandreou’s
Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) as a «matter of aesthetics.»
She claimed that ND maintained her seat in the Argolis solely based
her personal popularity, since the region’s voter base was
primarily center-left.