George Papandreou Quotes

The unemployed in Greece can get a voucher and choose a training program somewhere in Europe to be retrained during this crisis and when this crisis is over, we make sure that that person hasn't fallen off the cliff and can come back into the labor market with new skills to find a job.

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.

We in Europe have great capacities.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

Everyone needs to carry out his own personal revolution.

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.

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.

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

Already people are saying we do need a change.

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

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

The Marshall Plan was after destruction, and the U.S. came to our help and obviously this was very, very important for the future of Europe. I think now we have all the capabilities of doing it on our own and, in a sense, we have to.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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

Markets themselves are looking for stability, and I think we have underestimated the capacity of Europe ... to actually create a more stable framework for the whole issue of debt management, bonds, and so on.

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.

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

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

I never thought of politics as a profession.

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.

I am proud of being a Greek of the diaspora.

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.