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ATHENS - Greek socialist opposition leader George Papandreou on accused the conservative government of fostering corruption instead of battling it, three days before Sunday's tight parliamentary election.
Speaking at his main Athens rally in front of about 30,000 flag-waving supporters, Papandreou said the ruling conservatives had failed to deliver on their 2004 election pledges.
"Together we can put an end to this right-wing politics on Sunday ... and put an end to this government that tricked the people. Enough is enough," he told a raucous crowd.
"(Prime Minister) Costas Karamanlis became the prime minister of special interests, scandals and cover-ups; a hostage of those he protects, of his cronies."
The ruling conservatives who ousted Papandreou's socialist PASOK party in 2004 on pledges of tackling widespread corruption and boosting growth, have seen their 4.9 percentage point winning margin slashed considerably.
A series of scandals, most notably the sale of overpriced government structured bonds to pension funds, have chipped away at their popularity and they were only slightly ahead in the last opinion polls published about two weeks before the vote.
The government rejects the socialist accusations, saying it slashed the budget deficit from 7.8 per cent in 2004 to an expected 2.4 per cent in 2007; maintained the growth rate at 4 per cent and cut unemployment.
Karamanlis has said his government exposed the bond scandal, sent in investigators and made sure the money was returned to pension funds.
Transparency International, an independent corruption watchdog, saw Greece dropping seven spots to 54th in its 2006 corruption perception ranking compared to the year before.
Forest fires last month that killed 65 people have also dented the government's popularity as many Greeks say the state's reaction was delayed and ineffective.
The election is seen as crucial for implementing reforms Greece needs to catch up with its partners in Europe's single currency zone.
But analysts say voters do not seem ready to forgive PASOK for its own scandals while in power from 1993 to 2004 and are turning to smaller parties, opening up the prospect of coalition government or possibly new elections.
- REUTERS
