Main opposition New Democracy (ND) leader Antonis Samaras reiterated that there are no margins for cooperation "with those who accept the impasses of the Memorandum", in a newspaper interview appearing on Sunday, while he also rejected the idea of a "large coalition" of technocrats if the situation worsened, stressing that the job of technocrats is to state their opinion, but the decisions must be taken by politicians.

In an interview appearing in the Sunday edition of Kathimerini daily, Samaras also reiterated his firm position on the "correctness" of the "anti-Memorandum stance", but differentiated his position from that of the Left wing parties, and stressed that the economic program recently proposed by his party could wipe out both the structural and cyclical deficit of the country in a space of 18th months.

Samaras further said that the PASOK government's economic policy has stifled the market and plunged the country into recession, which evaporates whatever benefit that may have resulted from the salary and pension cuts.

For that reason, he continued, ND proposes boosting of construction activity though a 10-year subsidisation of interest on first-home loans which, Samaras explained, will provide "oxygen" to more than 130 professions. In addition, exploitation of the public sector's movable assets has nearly limitless prospects for bringing immediate liquidity and permanent public revenues.

Samaras acknowledged that mergers of public sector agencies and cuts in DEKO (public utilities and organisations) spending are needed, but stressed his absolute disagreement to prospective layoffs in the public and wider public sector, warning that that would be a mistaken policy.

He further warned that if the government continues with the same policy "we will soon realise that that which appeared as a 'bail-out' for the country was disaster".

The ND leader also stated satisfaction with the results of the recent local administration elections, noting that his party's 10.4 percent difference behind the ruling PASOK party in last year's general elections had been bridged to just 2 percent in the local elections earlier in November.