Cracking up: Greek finance minister opposes referendum

Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos opposes holding a referendum on the country’s eurozone bailout package, a finance ministry source said on Thursday, breaking ranks with his prime minister. Prime Minister George Papandreou’s government is already teetering on the verge of collapse due to a row over his shock announcement on Monday of a referendum, and two more defections from the socialist parliamentary group would wipe out its majority and probably trigger early elections. [caption id=“attachment_122635” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Venizelos originally supported Papandreou’s plan. His change of mind came after he attended an emergency summit in Cannes on Wednesday . Reuters”]  [/caption] Venizelos originally supported Papandreou’s plan. His change of mind came after he attended an emergency summit in Cannes on Wednesday when the leaders of France and Germany made clear Greece would have to leave the eurozone if voters rejected the 130 billion euro loan package. “Under these conditions a referendum is exactly what the country does not need. He would not have objections if all our pending issues such as the loan installment and the completion of the bailout plan had been sorted out,” the source told Reuters on condition of anonymity. “It was a very difficult meeting,” the source added, referring to talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Read Evangelos  Venizelos statement below: Upon arrival to Athens from Cannes at 4.45 am, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister of the Hellenic Republic, Evangelos  Venizelos, made the following statement: Greece’s position within the euro area is a historic conquest of the country that cannot be put in doubt. This acquis by the Greek people cannot depend on a referendum. The country must feel safe and stable and that is the first requirement in order for it to be truly safe and stable. Greek banks are totally secure, as an integral part of the European banking system. This was apparent last night from the discussion in Cannes. What is important is for the sixth tranche to be disbursed, without any distractions or delay, according to the decisions of Eurogroup of October 26, which came as a result of 10 hours of hard negotiations. The next step is to activate, before the end of the year, the new support programme that provides Greece with an additional 130 billion euro and leads to a reduction of Greek sovereign debt of about 100 billion euro. The completion of these processes is a national project.

Papandreou’s bombshell announcement on Monday of a referendum and a vote of confidence plunged Greece into a political as well as an economic crisis. A number of members of the ruling socialist party (PASOK) have called for the referendum plan to be dropped and Papandreou’s majority has fallen further, with PASOK holding just 152 seats in the 300 seat parliament. The parliamentary vote of confidence is expected very late on Friday. Agencies