Subject: Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 17-05-08 From: "HR-Net News Distribution Manager" CONTENTS [01] PM Tsipras to lead Greece forward [02] The demand for political change remains, ND leader Mitsotakis says --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [01] PM Tsipras to lead Greece forward Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will assume the responsibility to lead the country forward after the conclusion of the programme review, speeding up the government work and holding diplomatic contacts aiming at safeguarding the economy and Greece's geostrategic position. The prime minister outlined all the steps that need to be taken during the party parliamentary committee meeting. According to government sources, the draft law on the measures and the offset measures of the agreement is expected to be tabled in Parliament this week. Moreover, Tsipras will travel to China this week and he will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. During his visit to China, Tsipras is likely to meet with IMF chief Christine Lagarde to discuss the debt issue, sources said. [02] The demand for political change remains, ND leader Mitsotakis says The demand for a political change remains, main opposition New Democracy (ND) Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Monday in statements to SKAI TV. "I cannot impose the elections, but I insist that the sooner they take place the best it will be for the country," Mitsotakis underlined. He claimed that the demand for elections has been justified by the bad agreement achieved. He also said that a 5.5 pct primary surplus is required so that the offset measures are implemented. Mitsotakis also accused Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras of having overtaxed the Greek society in order to achieve a high surplus. "Tsipras had promised 12.5 billion euro benefits for September 2015 and has taken 12 billion euro measures by today. Tsipras has failed. What the country wants is to be informed on our plan for Greece. Without lies, we will persuade the citizens that there is another way," Mitsotakis stated.