Unfortunately, corruption is widespread in government agencies and public enterprises. Our political system promotes nepotism and wasting money. This has undermined our legal system and confidence in the functioning of the state. One of the...

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...

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...

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.

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

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

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...

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,...

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...

We in Europe have great capacities.

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

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.

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?...

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,...

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.

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.

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....

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...

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

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...

We are a country with great potential. We have the political will to make deep changes in a just and equitable way, to put our country back on a development path, to meet the challenges...

Already people are saying we do need a change.

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.

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,...

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.

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.

Everyone needs to carry out his own personal revolution.

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

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...

If we were going to default, we would have decided that many months ago. It would be wrong for the Greek economy, it would be wrong for the European economy, it would make things worse...

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

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

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

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 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...

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...

If we had a consensus we wouldn’t have to go to a referendum.

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

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

I am proud of being a Greek of the diaspora.

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...

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.

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.

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

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

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...

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.

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

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...