George Papandreou - Quotes

There are 64 quotes by George Papandreou at Find your favorite quotations and top quotes by George Papandreou from this hand-picked collection about change. Feel free to share these quotes and sayings on Facebook, Pinterest, Tumblr & Twitter or any of your favorite social networking sites.



If we were the problem, it would be very convenient - kick Greece out, everything's fine. What would happen to Spain, what about Portugal, what about Italy, what about the whole of the euro zone? We need more cooperation and less simplification and prejudice. ---->>>


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

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

We have a rise of extremism because we need to give a sense that we are targeting some of the deeper problems in Greece, the injustices. ---->>>

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

If we had a consensus we wouldn't have to go to a referendum. ---->>>

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

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




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 in the euro zone. ---->>>

Everyone needs to carry out his own personal revolution. ---->>>

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

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

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. ---->>>

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

I never thought of politics as a profession. ---->>>

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

We are on a difficult course, on a new Odyssey for Greece, but we know the road to Ithaca and have charted the waters. ---->>>

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

Greece has given Europe the opportunity to fix a defect in the euro zone, that is the fact that we did not have a fiscal union. Now steps have been taken to begin that process. And there is more solidarity from nation to nation, and that is a good thing. That has been Greece's gift to Europe. ---->>>

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. ---->>>

But sovereign debt is a wider question not only in Europe but across the globe. While every country is a unique case, I think it's not an issue of countries acting on their own. We need a more coordinated strategy not only in Europe but around the world. ---->>>




As long as I feel I am doing what I think is right and just for my country, for the Greek people, that is enough for me. Saving Greece from this crisis was the first thing on the agenda. We are now on a much more normalised road. ---->>>

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? ---->>>

I never thought about becoming a politician. But during the military dictatorship, my grandfather was put in prison six times and my father twice. If my family and my country didn't have this history, I might be a professor somewhere today. ---->>>

I would say we are a friend in need and I am sure that the Greek people would very much welcome the choice of the British people to come and enjoy Greece, first of all, but also that would be a sign of support. ---->>>

The fact that we're going through a crisis is an opportunity for Europe to be more coordinated and more integrated. We're actually talking about a European Monetary Fund or euro bonds, about guarantees for countries, about economic governance in the European Union. That shows the strength of Europe. ---->>>

We Greeks want change. We know there are problems in our system. We have great potential but we need to manage our country well. Now that hasn't been done over the last decades. And that is, of course, what we are paying for. ---->>>

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. ---->>>

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

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

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. ---->>>

There is this concept of politics as a dirty game. It's a difficult game, but it doesn't have to be dirty. I think this is what we need to bring to politics. I think politics around the world has very often been captured by big interests - 'lobbies' they call them in the States. ---->>>

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. ---->>>

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. ---->>>

We in Europe have great capacities. ---->>>

We're very proud to be part of the eurozone. But this comes with obligations and it is crucial we show the world we can live up to those obligations. ---->>>

Already people are saying we do need a change. ---->>>

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

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. ---->>>

I am proud of being a Greek of the diaspora. ---->>>

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

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. ---->>>

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

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

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

Previous governments, particularly the one before I took over, mismanaged the economy quite badly. ---->>>

There is this concept of politics as a dirty game. ---->>>

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. ---->>>

At times of distress, we all like to recall the advice of fathers and mothers. The best advice my father gave me was to keep faith and deep confidence in the potential of the Greek people; nurture the belief that they can do things. ---->>>

First of all, Greece won't go down. We're talking about a country that is capable of making change. Europe will not allow the destabilization of the 27-country euro zone. But if there were no action, then markets would start becoming jittery about other countries - and not only Spain and Portugal, but other countries in the European Union. ---->>>


Markets are saying pretty much what I'm saying too: that Greece is doing what it can, but that Greece is not going to be able to carry the weight of all of Europe and the other problems that Europe has. ---->>>


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. ---->>>

Very often, people will come out and say, 'Greeks aren't doing things, Greeks aren't making changes, there's no reform,' That is hogwash. We have made a huge effort. The Greek people have made a huge effort. ---->>>


Nationality: Greek
Born: 06-16, 1952
Occupation: Statesman

George Jeffrey Papandreou (Greek: Γεώργιος Ανδρέας Παπανδρέου, pronounced [ʝe'orʝios papanˈðreu], shortened to Giorgos (Γιώργος) [ˈʝorɣos]; born 16 June 1952) is a Greek politician who served as Prime Minister of Greece from 2009 to 2011. Belonging to a political dynasty of long standing, he served under his father, then-prime minister Andreas Papandreou as Minister for National Education and Religious Affairs (1988–1989 and 1994–1996) and Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1999 to 2004 (wikipedia)