Greek Prime Minister Suggests Party Referendum to Overcome Split in Syriza
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told on Thursday that he would call for an emergency referendum within his Syriza party, which is split over a bailout agreement that demands austerity reforms. Almost 30,000 Syriza party members will be eligible to vote in the referendum, The Greekreporter informs.
''I propose to the Central Committee to hold an emergency congress to discuss being in power as leftists and what our strategy should be in the face of the bailout conditions,'' Tsipras said in particular. ''I respect those who say we should decide our strategy now. I know there are those who say we should immediately cancel the agreement and that there are alternatives available. I think its natural we should discuss these ideas.''
According to Reuters, the PM’s initial intention was to complete a bailout agreement as soon as possible (ideally before August 20), before dealing with Syriza’s internal rebels at a party congress in September, which could lead to the party splitting, with national elections following soon afterwards.
The members of the hardline Left Platform faction – led by former Energy Minister Panagiotis Lafazanis and the former Finance Minister Yannis Varoufakis – wants to block the government from agreeing a third bailout now. Many Left Platform members have openly backed a return to the drachma.
''We must admit that Syriza never became a unified party,'' Tsipras stated on this occasion. ''The effort to move from a party of many factions to a unified one didn’t bring the desired results.''
As eugreeka.com reports, Tsipras also stressed that the division within the parliamentary group must end, saying that the government cannot continue to exploit the votes of the opposition when needed.
''Better alternative of our agreement did not exist and does not exist. If someone believes another government could have brought back a better deal they should say so," Tsipras mentioned when addressing the ruling party Syriza’s central committee.
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