Popular Unity

Political developments with the commensurate statements by high-profile lawmakers continued on Friday, a day after PM Alexis Tsipras tendered his resignation and decision to hold snap elections.

Rebel MPs from the main ruling SYRIZA party have broken away to form a new group in the Greek Parliament.

According to a parliament deputy speaker, the new group will have 25 members, daily Kathimerini reports.

The new group will bear the name "Popular Unity" and will be headed by former Energy Minister Panagiotis Lafazanis.

Greek MPs from the Left Platform faction within the coalition of radical left-wing forces - Syriza have decided to form a new independent parliamentary group.

Head of this group will be the leader of the Platform and former Energy Minister Panagiotis Lafazanis, reported the Greek agency ANA.

A looming “civil war” between the radical leftist SYRIZA government and its even more radical leftist “Left Platform” continued on Wednesday, with new government spokeswoman disparaging the latest comments by former minister and current “top dissenter” Panagiotos Lafazanis.

SYRIZA’a gradually declining MP numbers in the Greek parliament, something that became even more evident during the voting on August 14 during the vote of the terms for the 3rd ESM bailout agreement, forces Greek PM Alexis Tsipras to take the political initiative.

Greek lawmakers approved their country's draft third bailout in a parliamentary vote Aug. 14 that relied on opposition party support and saw the government coalition suffer significant dissent.

Leader of SYRIZA’s Left Platform Panagiotis Lafazanis left the possibility of the dissenting leftist members breaking off and forming a new party open in an interview in newspaper ‘Kefaleo’ to published Saturday. Lafazanis repeated his conviction that the only way Greece can exit the economic crisis is by adopting a national currency.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is addressing the Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA) central committee meeting at 10 a.m. on Thursday. He takes the podium a day after his interview with Sto Kokkino radio station on Wednesday where he underlined that if he doesn’t have the majority, he will be forced to hold elections.

The powerful “Left Platform” of the Radical Left Coalition met on Monday night in what looked like an election campaign (but wasn’t) following the faction’s rift with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras after he signed a deal with harsh austerity measures at the Euro Summit on July 13.

(UPD)-PM Alexis Tsipras said the unity of the party should be safeguarded during his address at the party’s Political Secretariat meeting. He added that the party should prepare to hold a convention as soon as possible, stressing that all mistakes and the results of the negotiations leading to the agreement during the EU-19 Summit should be scrutinized in detail.