Internationalist Workers' Left

Main leftist opposition SYRIZA has once again failed to meet expectations by abstaining from a crucial vote in Parliament. The vote aimed to prevent the far-right political party founded by jailed MP Ilias Kasidiaris from participating in the country's upcoming elections. Only New Democracy and PASOK supported the amendment in question.

SYRIZA will not seek to form a government if it comes second in the general elections on May 21, the main opposition party's leader and former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, tells Kathimerini in an interview.

Parliament's Arms Committee has approved the activation of the mid-life upgrade (MLU) program for the Hellenic Navy's four MEKO frigates.

It was approved Friday by a committee majority with ruling New Democracy, PASOK and Greek Solution voting in favor, while the representative of SYRIZA, who was not present in the Parliament, expressed the party's positive view.

A retired senior prosecutor in Greece was named Friday as the new leader of a far-right party as it seeks to sidestep a ban on its participation in an upcoming general election.

It's a somewhat unusual yet positive development for the country: Despite the toxicity and the bitter clashes on almost every domestic policy issue one can think of, which will intensify as we get closer to the general elections in May, for the first time in many years there is broad consensus on the country's geopolitical orientation.

Single-seat constituencies will be an important battleground in Greece's May 21 parliamentary election, both main parties believe. On the basis of the latest census data, two regional units lost their second parliament seat, raising the number of single-seat constituencies from seven to nine.

With elections looming, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis wants to focus on younger voters, with an eye on the 420,000 who have been added to the electorate since 2019. 

More specifically, this age group concerns people born in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006, who will be 20, 19, 18 and 17 years old respectively this year and will be voting for the first time.

The leader of Greece's opposition has promised to legalize same-sex marriage with full parental rights if he wins a general election next month, in a move that would make it the first predominantly Orthodox Christian country to do so.

Alexis Tsipras, who heads the main left-wing opposition party, Syriza, said his government would grant same-sex couples the legal right to marry.

"Major change for the country" is coming, main opposition leader Alexis Tsipras said on Tuesday, in his first reaction to the calling of the general election on May 21.

"This adventure is coming to an end. Just a few more weeks of patience," he said.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has called parliamentary elections for May 21, saying he wanted a clean slate to push through further reforms after four years at the helm.