Kaminis, Boutaris meet president, lead ‘yes’ effort
The mayor of Athens, Giorgos Kaminis, and his Thessaloniki counterpart, Yiannis Boutaris, met with President Prokopis Pavlopoulos on Tuesday in an attempt to kick-start the “yes” campaign ahead of Sunday’s referendum vote.
Kaminis and Boutaris are spearheading the effort to convince Greeks to vote in favor of a bailout agreement with creditors. The campaign is backed by opposition parties New Democracy, To Potami and PASOK but they do not wish to be seen as trying to profit politically from the process as this would damage the chances of a “yes” win.
“At this crucial time, it is vital that there is an agreement,” said Pavlopoulos, who spoke of Greece’s “non-negotiable position within the euro and Europe.”
This was the president’s latest statement in which he showed he is firmly in favor of the Greek government reaching an agreement with the lenders.
“There is a very polarized atmosphere in the country and we do not want to see our membership of the eurozone, and as a result of the European Union, put at risk,” said Kaminis.
“The thing I worry about most is division. We have to convince and support the government so it reaches an agreement.”
Kaminis and Boutaris are the most prominent figures in the committee for the “Yes to Greece, yes to the euro” campaign, whose supporters, including business groups and industry associations, were announced on Tuesday.
