April 5, 1956
KARAMANLIS: The prime minister, Mr Constantine Karamanlis, yesterday read out his government’s platform to Parliament. (…) The most salient points are the following: On foreign policy, the government has taken a clear position on the Cyprus issue, officially condemned the unprecedented British act in exiling the ethnarch, Archbishop Makarios. The Greek government will use every means at its disposal to resolve the Cyprus issue, which is none other than the implementation of self-determination. Mr Karamanlis also stressed the need for Greece to remain in NATO. In the economic sector, the government’s efforts will focus on a more intensive exploitation of the sources of wealth, increasing production and productivity, fighting unemployment and underempoyment, improving the people’s living standards and ensuring a more just distribution of the national income. (…) No additional taxes will be imposed. (…) The government will also focus on developing agriculture (…), irrigation works, power supplies, and the founding of nitrate and sugar industries, among others. (…) Fiscal stability will be guaranteed, even if the government is forced to take unpopular measures to contain the cost of living.
