When I was growing up in the United States and Sweden, I never thought about becoming a politician. George Papandreou More Quotes by George Papandreou More Quotes From George Papandreou Unfortunately, corruption is widespread in government agencies and public enterprises. George Papandreou agencycorruptiongovernment 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. George Papandreou takenopportunityeurope 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. George Papandreou sacrificebelievepeople If we were the problem, it would be very convenient, kick Greece out, everything's fine. But what happened to Spain? What about Portugal? What about Italy? What about the whole of the Eurozone? We need more cooperation and less simplification and prejudice about what has to happen. George Papandreou spainprejudicewould-be Everyone needs to carry out his own personal revolution. George Papandreou revolutionneeds I will always be upfront with the Greek people, so we can solve the country's problems together. George Papandreou greekcountrypeople This is global governance in the making. But we must agree, and agree to a binding commitment. George Papandreou bindingagreecommitment 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. George Papandreou strongeuropejobs 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. George Papandreou uniquecountrythinking 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. George Papandreou motherfatherpeople 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. George Papandreou longcountrythinking 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. George Papandreou europetalkingcountry 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? George Papandreou supportcountryhands I have been supporting the European Union, but we are still a work in progress. We have to become more of a United States of Europe. We should talk about electing a president of the E.U., rather than having one selected from the heads of government. George Papandreou governmentpresidenteurope If Greece had gone through a very normal political life, I may have not been in politics. But just the fact that I lived through huge upheavals and very difficult struggles and polarization and the barbarism of dictatorships - that made me feel that we had to change this country. George Papandreou politicalstrugglecountry I think there is a heritage which I’m proud of, which is a fight for democracy, a fight for social justice, a fight for freedom. My grandfather went to jail or exile six times in his life, fighting for his principles for democracy, or for his country. And my father twice. George Papandreou fightingcountryfather I can officially state that my government and myself believe that all over Europe we need to open a debate on the 'drug question' in order to create more coherent and human policies with better perspectives. . . . The policy of criminalizing consumers has failed, creating many problems to our society. George Papandreou governmentorderbelieve This idea that you're a successful tough guy if you evade taxes and deceive the state has got to change. George Papandreou guysuccessfulideas People would say you look weak if you're not cursing the opposition and driving around in a big black car while always wearing a tie. Above all, to be 'strong' you're always supposed to be giving orders. George Papandreou tiesstrongorder The structures in Europe in a globalising economy need to be modernised, need to be more integrated, need to be stronger. George Papandreou strongereuropeneeds
