Greek PM makes series of promises, seeks re-election

Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis highlighted his country's economic growth on Saturday as he appealed for a fresh four-year mandate from elections next Sunday.

"As a result of our economic policy, Greece has notched up one of the highest growth rates in the euro zone for three consecutive years ... and over 200,000 jobs have been created," Karamanlis said at an international fair in Salonika.

"There is still much that needs to be done, much that needs to change," he said.

"Greece needs a government that can take quick decisions in order to move forward with determination," he said, asking for a new term in Sunday's elections.

Karamanlis promised a greater emphasis on tackling poverty, promoting transparency and completing an overhaul of Greece's cumbersome bureaucracy if re-elected.

He also announced property tax breaks and pledged support to Greeks who lost their livelihood in forest fires last month that killed at least 66 people and destroyed hundreds of homes.

"The state will do whatever it takes, for as long as it takes, to fully heal the wounds of the fiery inferno," he said.

An even greater challenge will be to bolster Greece's creaking pensions system. The aging population -- a problem compounded by a rock bottom birth rate -- is placing an increasing strain on public finances

"We will move towards solving the pension system issue," Karamanlis said.

The last government to take on the issue were the socialists almost a decade ago. A storm of protests from labor groups forced them to abandon the effort.

Some 2,000 police were mobilized in Salonika to keep order during the fair's opening weekend ahead of planned demonstrations by unions and leftists.

Approximately 5,000 unionists, workers and anarchists marched in separate protests in the northern port city, but there were no serious incidents. Police and firemen held their own protest march to demand higher pay.

Karamanlis called the elections in the middle of last month -- before the destructive fires -- to push forward "with changes and reforms for a more efficient state, a stronger economy and more social cohesion."

Karamanlis did not need to call elections until next March.

Heading into the polls, the ruling New Democracy party had a slim lead of between 0.3 percent and 2 percent, final opinion surveys, published before an embargo started on Aug. 31, showed.

But fallout from the fires and dissatisfaction with government fiscal and education policies could see voters turn to smaller parties on the left and right.

Of particular concern to New Democracy is LAOS, a small nationalist party led by one of its former members of parliament that could attract up to 4 percent of voters.

The leader of the main opposition socialist Pasok party, George Papandreou, has accused Karamanlis of reneging on a 2004 manifesto which placed emphasis on tackling corruption.