Quotes from George Papandreou

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 in Europe have great capacities.

Everyone needs to carry out his own personal revolution.

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

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 it on our own and, in a sense, we have to.

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

Countries are not like financial markets. Social change cannot be executed as swiftly as credit-default swaps. You cannot sell short on social commitments and practical responsibilities.

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 is, of course, what we are paying for.

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 giving orders.

My hope is that we will turn Greece into maybe the most transparent country in the world with everything on the web.

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 of a new world.

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 other problems that Europe has.

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, but also that would be a sign of support.

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.

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

I have always said I will be in politics to serve as best as I can and it will take me wherever it will take me.

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

I never thought of politics as a profession.

There is this concept of politics as a dirty game.

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.

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 need a more coordinated strategy not only in Europe but around the world.

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.

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 consequences is that many citizens don't pay their taxes.

As long as I feel I am doing what I think is right and just for my country, for the Greek people, that is enough for me. Saving Greece from this crisis was the first thing on the agenda. We are now on a much more normalised road.