George Papandreou Quotes

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.

Unfortunately, corruption is widespread in government agencies and public enterprises.

I am proud of being a Greek of the diaspora.

The Greek people do not want to exit the euro, and I believe the Greek people already have shown that they have made major sacrifices to stay within the Eurozone.

Greece's history in the drachma was an up-and-down history, a roller coaster.

This is global governance in the making. But we must agree, and agree to a binding commitment.

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

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

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 never thought of politics as a profession.

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

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.

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

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

We in Europe have great capacities.

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.

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.

An elected government making huge changes with the consent of its people, is being undermined by concentrated powers in unregulated markets-powers which go beyond those of any individual government.

If you put all the European countries together, we are the biggest economy in the world.

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

The real problem in Greece is not cutting taxes, it's making sure that we don't have tax evasion.

There is this concept of politics as a dirty game.

Everyone needs to carry out his own personal revolution.

I will always be upfront with the Greek people, so we can solve the country's problems together.

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?

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

We had about 60 regions in Greece and now there are only 13. It'd be like cutting down 50 states to 13 and making it more efficient.

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.

My hope is that we will turn Greece into maybe the most transparent country in the world with everything on the web.

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

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.

We stand united, facing the big responsibility to change our country into a nation of justice, solidarity, humanity and green development.

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.