PM overcomes cliches

The forum was organized jointly by Le Nouvel Observateur and Kathimerini news daily and was held in the Music Megaron. The PM started out with one of his favorite subjects, the upcoming stabilization of the Greek economy, which he predicted will soon cut back the “extremist vote”, obviously referring to the popularity of neo-nazi Golden Dawn party.

“We need to overcome all cliches burdening Greek society”, he said, adding that the country should attempt to restore the balance through convergence of ideas. “The country is reaching economic growth and we are righting wrongs and injustices”, he added.

In an attempt to regain some moral ground from the left wing opposition, he pointed out that social justice and security are not any one party's monopoly. Responding to opposition SYRIZA's arguments, he mentioned that “no one can redistribute a surplus they can't produce” and accused them of “trying to return the country to an era where this heavy debt was created – an era of false growth via loans”.

It was the closest thing to a pre-election speech for ideologues. The prime minister is going on the offensive with one eye on the European elections and another on potential early parliamentary ones.