Tsipras Confronts Rebels Within Who Oppose Greek Aid Talks
World Economy News
30/07/2015
Greece’s Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras confronted rebels within his own party for not backing his deal with creditors, in a showdown that could put Europe’s most indebted state on course for snap elections.
Speaking to a central committee meeting of the Syriza governing party, Tsipras challenged dissenters to hold an internal party ballot on Sunday if they reject his decisions. He also called for an emergency congress in September to gauge his support and set priorities. The committee will decide on the initiatives, after about a quarter of the party’s lawmakers rejected Tsipras’s move to seek a new bailout in votes this month.
The premier dared those who wanted another leader to say so, adding that he wasn’t going to be the one to lead Greece to “catastrophe.” A formal party split would strip Tsipras’s coalition of its parliamentary majority and could force him to hold elections. Two officials have said an election could take place as soon as directly after Syriza’s congress.
“Whoever thinks another government and another prime minister would do better should speak up,” Tsipras, 41, said.
The so-called Left Platform of Syriza, led by former energy minister Panagiotis Lafazanis, accuses Tsipras of violating the mandate voters gave him in January and in a July 5 referendum that saw Greeks oppose more austerity measures. Lafazanis was replaced as energy minister after leading a revolt against the new agreement for as much as 86 billion euros ($94 billion) attached to belt-tightening conditions.
The dissent has forced Tsipras to rely on opposition support to pass policies demanded by creditors.
Left Platform
“After abandoning earlier vows of unity, both sides appear to be preparing for a showdown today that could even split the party,” Paris Mantzavras and George Grigoriou, analysts at Athens-based Pantelakis Securities, wrote in a note to clients. “In theory, even an immediate Syriza split would not automatically lead to snap elections, as the current parliament could agree to form a ‘special purpose’ government.”
Left Platform dissenters, publishing their views on Iskra, a website named after a newspaper managed by Vladimir Lenin, have called on Tsipras to annul a July 12 agreement with creditors, and lead the country out of the euro area. Other prominent Syriza lawmakers, including Parliament Speaker Zoi Konstantopoulou, have joined them in voting against the deal in two votes.
Bank Collapse
Konstantopoulou said earlier this month that the measures creditors, led by Germany, are asking Greece to implement constitute “a crime against humanity” and “social genocide,” while the country’s debt is “illegal, odious and unsustainable.”
Tsipras fought back on Wednesday, telling Sto Kokkino radio that the alternative to July’s agreement would be the collapse of Greece’s financial system.
“If I did what my heart was telling me to do, get up and leave, the very same day the branches of Greek banks abroad would fall,” Tsipras said. “Within 48 hours,” Tsipras added, the European Central Bank would pull the plug of emergency loans from Greek lenders, “which would mean, at first, the collapse of Eurobank, then possibly the National Bank of Greece, and, maybe, along the way — the rest of the banks.”
Source: Bloomberg
30/07/2015
Greece’s Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras confronted rebels within his own party for not backing his deal with creditors, in a showdown that could put Europe’s most indebted state on course for snap elections.
Speaking to a central committee meeting of the Syriza governing party, Tsipras challenged dissenters to hold an internal party ballot on Sunday if they reject his decisions. He also called for an emergency congress in September to gauge his support and set priorities. The committee will decide on the initiatives, after about a quarter of the party’s lawmakers rejected Tsipras’s move to seek a new bailout in votes this month.
The premier dared those who wanted another leader to say so, adding that he wasn’t going to be the one to lead Greece to “catastrophe.” A formal party split would strip Tsipras’s coalition of its parliamentary majority and could force him to hold elections. Two officials have said an election could take place as soon as directly after Syriza’s congress.
“Whoever thinks another government and another prime minister would do better should speak up,” Tsipras, 41, said.
The so-called Left Platform of Syriza, led by former energy minister Panagiotis Lafazanis, accuses Tsipras of violating the mandate voters gave him in January and in a July 5 referendum that saw Greeks oppose more austerity measures. Lafazanis was replaced as energy minister after leading a revolt against the new agreement for as much as 86 billion euros ($94 billion) attached to belt-tightening conditions.
The dissent has forced Tsipras to rely on opposition support to pass policies demanded by creditors.
Left Platform
“After abandoning earlier vows of unity, both sides appear to be preparing for a showdown today that could even split the party,” Paris Mantzavras and George Grigoriou, analysts at Athens-based Pantelakis Securities, wrote in a note to clients. “In theory, even an immediate Syriza split would not automatically lead to snap elections, as the current parliament could agree to form a ‘special purpose’ government.”
Left Platform dissenters, publishing their views on Iskra, a website named after a newspaper managed by Vladimir Lenin, have called on Tsipras to annul a July 12 agreement with creditors, and lead the country out of the euro area. Other prominent Syriza lawmakers, including Parliament Speaker Zoi Konstantopoulou, have joined them in voting against the deal in two votes.
Bank Collapse
Konstantopoulou said earlier this month that the measures creditors, led by Germany, are asking Greece to implement constitute “a crime against humanity” and “social genocide,” while the country’s debt is “illegal, odious and unsustainable.”
Tsipras fought back on Wednesday, telling Sto Kokkino radio that the alternative to July’s agreement would be the collapse of Greece’s financial system.
“If I did what my heart was telling me to do, get up and leave, the very same day the branches of Greek banks abroad would fall,” Tsipras said. “Within 48 hours,” Tsipras added, the European Central Bank would pull the plug of emergency loans from Greek lenders, “which would mean, at first, the collapse of Eurobank, then possibly the National Bank of Greece, and, maybe, along the way — the rest of the banks.”
Source: Bloomberg
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