Democratic Left

Democratic Left (DIMAR) on Tuesday said it was quitting the centrist alliance, Movement for Change (KINAL), following the weekend expulsion of its president Thanasis Theocharopoulos over his support for the Prespes agreement.

"DIMAR will stick to the responsible stand... that it has from the very beginning maintained on this crucial national issue," the party said in a statement.

Amid speculation about his possible move to centrist Potami following his ejection from the Movement for Change (KINAL) coalition, Thanassis Theoharopoulos held his cards close to his chest on Monday, commenting that he has a "good relationship" with Potami and its leader Stavros Theodorakis.

Democratic Left (DIMAR), a small leftist party created as a result of a breakaway from Syriza back in 2010, has voted to approve the Prespes deal.

Pavlos Christides, the spokesman for centrist Movement for Change, known by its acronym KINAL, said on Monday that its MPs can vote according to their conscience when a vote on the Macedonia name deal comes to Parliament.

A bill drafted by the Justice Ministry that would allow Greek authorities to extend the legal detention period for foreign nationals whose extradition is being sought by their homelands has come under fire by opposition politicians.

The leader of the new center-left Movement for Change, Fofi Gennimata (second from left), and other key players attend the party's inaugural conference in Athens on Friday.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras (center) speaks with Fotis Kouvelis, the new alternate defense minister, at a swearing-in ceremony Friday at the official residence of President Prokopis Pavlopoulos (r).

Deputy Prime Minister Yiannis Dragasakis is to assume the portfolio of the Economy and Development Ministry after Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was forced to moderately reshuffle his cabinet on Wednesday, following the resignation of two ministers this week. 

It is sometimes ignored that as head of SYRIZA, Alexis Tsipras does not enjoy an absolute parliamentary majority. His leftist party only controls 144 seats in the 300-seat House, although he does have the backing of nine MPs from the right-wing populist Independent Greeks party (ANEL).

Greece's new center-left grouping, Movement for Change, has unveiled its political council, which is the first element of the new party's structure and its key decision-making body.