Further cutbacks in state spending will not be achieved by cutting wages and pensions nor by imposing more taxes, nor by shedding state sector jobs, government spokesman Yiorgos Petalotis emphasised on Monday.

 

"There is no chance that measures will be taken to cut wages and pensions, nor taxation beyond that we have announced, nor also dismissals," the spokesman assured reporters when asked to comment on the talks begun earlier the same day between Finance Minister Yiorgos Papakonstantinou and EU-IMF inspectors visiting Athens before the 2011 budget is tabled on Thursday.

 

According to the spokesman, there were margins for further cuts in wasteful public-sector spending and the government would do its utmost to rationalise the way the state operated.

 

"We will try and will succeed in not reducing the income of citizens further," he said.

 

On the issue of raising taxes, Petalotis said that the "existing parameters were open" and that there would not be changes to certain "basic issues".

 

Concerning a statement made by Prime Minister George Papandreou criticising Germany's tough stance on a future debt-restructuring mechanism, Petalotis said that this expressed "our country's experience on how the EU must proceed, what is meant by the principle of partnership and community solidarity that we had said must be displayed from the start".

 

Germany has been pushing for a system that would require bondholders to cover some of the cost of a future bailout to debt-ridden eurozone members, rather than just tax payers. Papandreou on Monday warned that this tough stance could "break backs" and become a self-fulfilling prophecy, forcing some economies to bankruptcy.

 

Petalotis pointed out that Greece was the first country to try and obtain financial support from its partners in the EU and "thus necessarily became a pool of experience and knowledge concerning the crisis and how this might be overcome".

 

The spokesman also denied that any negotiation was underway to remove "harsh" terms from the Memorandum for the bailout mechanism to Greece or to extend the repayment schedule, stressing that there was no discussion on this with the EU-IMF troika nor any official request of the Greek government.

 

 

Petalotis stated that in Sunday's second round of local government elections the people reaffirmed their strong will for radical change in all sectors, a message also sent in the first round of the vote a week earlier.

 

Commenting on the election results, he added that the people voted for stability and chose the candidates that will undertake to materialise the Kallikratis local government reform.

 

"We are determined to succeed having as an ally the democratic forces of progress and the will for substantive change," he said, stressing that "the government has three years of intensive and creative work ahead". He added that together with "the political and social forces, regional authorities and the people -- displaying a strong sense of responsibility and patriotic duty -- we are called to promote the necessary major changes the country needs to get out of the crisis without jeopardizing security and cohesion."

 

"Consensus and national understanding are necessary," he said, pointing out that "those who can realize that should assume their share of responsibility" and that "all political forces should rise to the occasion."

 

He said that it should be realized that "putting the people before bogus dilemmas leads nowhere and that was the lesson learned in Sunday's elections", adding that "the people know who is getting the message and who isn't."

 

Petalotis stated that there is common ground on which consensus is possible in order to get out of the crisis quickly and steadily, "this does not mean that the political forces will abrogate their main principles or that the government will give way because simply there is no room for that."

 

Asked to comment on the proposals the prime minister will make to the political leaders to ensure their consent, Petalotis stated that a framework will be ready when the process for the materialization of the call for national understanding and consensus is launched.

 

Responding to a question on whether the government will request setting up a fact-finding parliamentary committee on the economy, the government spokesman stated that "we should not confuse consensus with impunity".

 

On whether the election law will be up for discussion, Petalotis commented that it was among the pledges undertaken by the ruling Pasok party.