Greece's Karamanlis rules out snap elections, cabinet reshuffle

08/09/2008

ATHENS, Greece -- Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis on Sunday (September 7th) ruled out the possibility of holding snap elections because of growing public discontent over his economic policies. "It is not realistic to think about resorting to early elections; we have a lot of work before us," he told a press conference in the northern city of Thessaloniki. He stressed that the government received a "strong mandate" from voters in elections last year.

Karamanlis also downplayed speculation of a possible cabinet reshuffle to replace ministers involved in alleged wrongdoings. "There are no cases of inappropriate behaviour. No accusation can be valid until it is probed," he noted. On Saturday, thousands rallied in Thessaloniki to protest the government's tax measures and the wave of graft scandals involving cabinet members currently being investigated by prosecutors. (ANA-MPA, ERT, In.news, Kathimerini, Reuters - 07/09/08)