JOURNALIST: The citizen’s majority, according to polls, would like to see after the election a cooperation between the political parties, especially between ‘Nea Demokratia’ and ‘PASOK’. Are you of the same opinion?

D. AVRAMOPOULOS: Cooperation and understanding between the political parties stand necessary, regardless of the election result. That was also the statement made by Antonis Samaras, who is the country’s potential Prime Minister. They should all realize that a self-sufficient government is a political goal, yet not an end in itself.

It is a tool and a vehicle for the exertion of authority during a critical period for Greece, so as to ensure political stability, social peace and perspective. It should be noted here that achieving majority does not recant the need for responsible and patriotic co operations.

At the same time, I would like to underline that each one of our political moves shall be made in the direction towards national unity.

JOURNALIST: How could cooperation between the two political parties become actual practice?

D. AVRAMOPOULOS: I believe I already answered. Currently, with the transitional government under Papademos, the two political parties cooperate as far as the basic issues inhered in the mandate the government has received by the Hellenic Parliament, while at the same time maintaining their, necessary for democracy, views and positions, which they express through a constructive parliamentary utterance and procedures. The culture of understanding, synthesis and cooperation does not recant the ideological differences of the parties, nor the different approaches to political and ideological issues. And all this is absolutely normal.

The current government, beyond the goals it is serving, it shall also leave the perception of national understanding as legacy.

JOURNALIST: The goal of the ‘Nea Demokratia’ party is self-sufficient government and it is normal. In case of majority, is cooperation out of the question?

D. AVRAMOPOULOS: Even in the case of majority, cooperation shall be sought; that was what I explained earlier. However, it will greatly depend on the degree the other political authorities will comprehend the need for national understanding, required by this era’s critical condition, and asked for by the Greek citizens, since the very beginning.

JOURNALIST: You are one of the first – if not the first one – that defended national understanding and assent.  Are we a little late? Should this have already taken place earlier?

D. AVRAMOPOULOS: I have repeated this many times. If cooperation had been achieved when there was time to be all directed towards one path, more social and developing and less austere and recession-intensifying, Greece wouldn’t have found itself in the current situation. A situation for which there are traditional responsibilities, but that was aggravated by the past two years, traumatising our national cohesion, international prestige and the country’s credibility.

How different would things be if the wise voices that had suggested it, had been heard… We would have set the example for Italy, not the other way round.

JOURNALIST: You overdefend this synthesis. Mr. Samaras has declared a general mobilization. Should Ms Dora Bakoyiannis and other party members return to the ‘Nea Demokratia’ party?

D. AVRAMOPOULOS: I believe that references made to individuals degrade the broader message sent forth by Antonis Samaras. This is the significance in the general mobilization declared by the President of the ‘Nea Demokratia” party. Synthesis and understanding, under specific rules of conduct, political goals and governmental choices though. The ‘Nea Demokratia’ party is the great centre-right party, the European Party par excellence, free of phobic and introvert behaviours. It has a definite policy and ideological identity, realistic and applicable positions and it is driven by a new perception of its role. It keeps its doors open, in order to take in all those who accept, embrace and countersign its principles and framework programme.

JOURNALIST: Mr. Samaras attacked the Left with unprecedented severity for a leader of a Centre-right party. Is it the new enemy? Is there a need for a civil front against the Left which increases its percentage?

D. AVRAMOPOULOS: I believe that, in this corner, some of the concepts have lost their value. Greece is a civil and western Democracy which belongs to the European Union and the Euro-Atlantic Treaty. Consequently, all the parties participating in the Parliament have to respect, regardless of whether they agree or not, this reality, which is established by the Constitution and our country’s international commitments. And I believe that all parliamentary leftist parties stand with respect vis-à-vis the Constitution and the popular will which is expressed in Western democracies by the elections. We have no “front” against the Left. However, some leftist parties need to have a more constructive position as far as this country’s problems are concerned, which – of course and above all – are problems of the citizens, particularly of a less favoured class, but are also problems of existential character for a country, a nation, so that it will regain its credibility and prestige, ensuring the place where history and politics have placed it among the developed democratic countries of the world.

After the end of the Regime change, the anti-leftist syndrome of the post Civil War era, as well as the anti-rightist syndrome of the post Junta era, have collapsed.

The ‘Nea Demokratia’ party addresses the entire Hellenic society and, as a party, it extends from the outskirts of democratic Right to the confines of democratic Left.

JOURNALIST: You have referred to the Euro-Atlantic Treaty. What are the aims of your forthcoming official visit to Washington at early April?

D. AVRAMOPOULOS: I immediately responded to an invitation to visit the United States, extended by my U.S. counterpart, Secretary of Defense Mr. Leon Panetta. It will be a working visit of particular significance. You will agree with me that Greece needs support from everywhere; Europe, the United States, but also from other important countries in the world. The time has come to exit the shell we were cornered in, due to the financial crisis. An extrovert national policy is compulsory at this time for our country. It involves the farther tightening of relations and of cooperation at the levels of foreign policy, defence, development, economy, culture and tourism. This could only result to advantageous consequences for the general effort to reduce the crisis, which presupposes the recovery of our country’s international reputation.

During my visit in Washington, besides my meeting with my counterpart in the Pentagon, I shall have a series of meetings with U.S. high commissioners and representatives of the Hellenic Diaspora.

In the agenda set for the discussions with Mr. Panetta, matters of bilateral defence cooperation and defence industry, as well as the forthcoming NATO Summit are included among others. Apart from that, we will exchange views on general issues and problems of our broader region, as well as on our country’s essential and intervening role. Greece will not fatalistically submit to the financial crisis. It is a stable and stabilizing actor in south-eastern Europe, a region with great potential to assume responsibility in service of peace, security and cooperation between all the countries and peoples of our neighbourhood. This is the new role of Greece, above, beyond and after the crisis, we are currently called to bring out.