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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. "

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

George Papandreou

Interest Rates

Interest

Deep

" 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. "

" 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. "

" 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. "

" 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. "

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

" 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. "

" 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. "

" 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. "

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

" At times of distress, we all like to recall the advice of fathers and mothers. The best advice my father gave me was to keep faith and deep confidence in the potential of the Greek people; nurture the belief that they can do things. "

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

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

" 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. "

" We're very proud to be part of the eurozone. But this comes with obligations and it is crucial we show the world we can live up to those obligations. "

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

" 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. "

" I have always said I will be in politics to serve as best as I can and it will take me wherever it will take me. "

George Papandreou

Politics

Said

" 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. "

" Every leader wants to put his or her imprint on the work that they do, and grow up in specific eras. "

George Papandreou

Work

Grow

" If we were the problem, it would be very convenient - kick Greece out, everything's fine. What would happen to Spain, what about Portugal, what about Italy, what about the whole of the euro zone? We need more cooperation and less simplification and prejudice. "

" 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. "

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

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

" 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. "

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

" Many people have been pontificating, and patronizing, and moralizing, and scapegoating, saying you Greeks, you are the problem. I would say we Greeks have a problem. We are not the problem. "

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

" This idea that you're a successful tough guy if you evade taxes and deceive the state has got to change. "

" Very often, people will come out and say, 'Greeks aren't doing things, Greeks aren't making changes, there's no reform,' That is hogwash. We have made a huge effort. The Greek people have made a huge effort. "