I never thought of politics as a profession.

Very often, people will come out and say, 'Greeks aren't doing things, Greeks aren't making changes, there's no reform,' That is hogwash. We have made a huge effort. The Greek people have made a huge effort.

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

I will always be upfront with the Greek people, so we can solve the country's problems together.

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

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

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 in the end. That's why we're taking the pain and making these structural reforms, and we're on target.