First Shadow Cabinet of Alexis Tsipras

Former conservative prime minister Antonis Samaras believes that the country's lenders pulled the plug on his government in late 2014 so as to prevent Greece from exiting the bailout agreements before Alexis Tsipras and SYRIZA came to power.

The main opposition SYRIZA party's parliamentary group meeting on the island of Spetses will be extended by one day Sunday, as some MPs did not get to make their thematic presentations.

The bill on same-sex marriage has plunged ruling New Democracy and leftist opposition SYRIZA into turmoil.

Indicatively, ND lawmaker Antonis Samaras, a former conservative prime minister, said he opposed the choice of Premier Kyriakos Mitsotakis to suggest the solution of abstention to dissenting MPs. 

Around this time in 2020, the parliamentary majority of conservative New Democracy had voted in favor of the execution of the 2019 budget, which had been drawn up by the previous leftist SYRIZA government. When it had been first brought to Parliament by the government of Alexis Tsipras, New Democracy had voted it down.

When Alexis Tsipras took over SYRIZA in 2008 - thanks mainly to Alekos Alavanos - the Synaspismos party had shed the permanent angst of the progressive left about whether it would make the 3% cut to enter Parliament, even though the rate of 5% in the 2007 elections was not very promising, not to mention the drop to 4.6% in 2009. 

SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras is set to miss the Party of European Socialists (PES) European Council Preparation Meeting on Thursday according to party sources on Wednesday. Reportedly, Tsipras has prior engagements on that day.