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" I would like to see Greece as a case study, an opportunity for Europe to strengthen its coordination of fiscal policy. "

George Papandreou

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" We have made major reforms in Greece. When I took over after a landslide victory we had a mandate for change and I knew my major focus would be re-organizing the state. "

George Papandreou

" 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

" Despite the deep reforms we are making, traders and speculators have forced interest rates on Greek bonds to record highs. "

George Papandreou

" The structures in Europe in a globalising economy need to be modernised, need to be more integrated, need to be stronger. "

George Papandreou

" 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

" We Greeks want change. We know there are problems in our system. We have great potential but we need to manage our country well. Now that hasn't been done over the last decades. And that is, of course, what we are paying for. "

George Papandreou

" Europe has a lot of strength. We need to pool that strength, and I am very much in favour of that - more of a deeper political union. "

George Papandreou

" As long as I feel I am doing what I think is right and just for my country, for the Greek people, that is enough for me. Saving Greece from this crisis was the first thing on the agenda. We are now on a much more normalised road. "

George Papandreou

" I would say we are a friend in need and I am sure that the Greek people would very much welcome the choice of the British people to come and enjoy Greece, first of all, but also that would be a sign of support. "

George Papandreou

" Previous governments, particularly the one before I took over, mismanaged the economy quite badly. "

George Papandreou

" If we had a consensus we wouldn't have to go to a referendum. "

George Papandreou

" In ancient Greece, politics and the market were not decoupled. "

George Papandreou

" 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

" People would say you look weak if you're not cursing the opposition and driving around in a big black car while always wearing a tie. Above all, to be 'strong' you're always supposed to be giving orders. "

George Papandreou

" We are on a difficult course, on a new Odyssey for Greece, but we know the road to Ithaca and have charted the waters. "

George Papandreou

" The unemployed in Greece can get a voucher and choose a training program somewhere in Europe to be retrained during this crisis and when this crisis is over, we make sure that that person hasn't fallen off the cliff and can come back into the labor market with new skills to find a job. "

George Papandreou

" It is important that the Greek people make decisions on important developments. "

George Papandreou

" 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. "

George Papandreou

" I have a deep sense of responsibility to my country and Greek people. "

George Papandreou

" We are a country with great potential. We have the political will to make deep changes in a just and equitable way, to put our country back on a development path, to meet the challenges of a new world. "

George Papandreou

" When I was growing up in the United States and Sweden, I never thought about becoming a politician. "

George Papandreou

" Europe is a strong market for the U.S. If it has problems, if there's a lack of consumer confidence, if there's a deeper recession, this will deeply affect jobs in the U.S. "

George Papandreou

" Markets themselves are looking for stability, and I think we have underestimated the capacity of Europe... to actually create a more stable framework for the whole issue of debt management, bonds, and so on. "

George Papandreou

" 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

" There are certain moments in the history of a nation when the choices made define the decades to come. "

George Papandreou

" The fact that we're going through a crisis is an opportunity for Europe to be more coordinated and more integrated. We're actually talking about a European Monetary Fund or euro bonds, about guarantees for countries, about economic governance in the European Union. That shows the strength of Europe. "

George Papandreou

" Greece has great strengths, but much of this potential has been wasted. That's because of a wider political system, but also because of a lack of an institutional framework. "

George Papandreou

" Unfortunately, corruption is widespread in government agencies and public enterprises. Our political system promotes nepotism and wasting money. This has undermined our legal system and confidence in the functioning of the state. One of the consequences is that many citizens don't pay their taxes. "

George Papandreou

" There is this concept of politics as a dirty game. "

George Papandreou

" You can theorise about the options you have but in reality they are very specific. "

George Papandreou