Synaspismós

 SYRIZA- The rise and fall of the cult left-wing party in Europe - Reflections on the right wing

SYRIZA has endorsed Costas Zachariadis as its candidate for Athens mayor in the upcoming local government elections on October 8, the party's Political Secretariat said on Thursday.

The decision was between Zachariadis and Nikos Filis, the former minister of education, after the secretariat decided not to back former basketball player Nikos Pappas.

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. 

From the very start of his political career PM Alexis Tsipras was constantly gaining ground.

Until SYRIZA's defeat on 26 May, he always scored victories, small or large.

As a very young candidate in the Athens mayoral race on the "Open Athens" ticket, he garnered over ten percent of the vote, more than double what his party was polling in national elections.

Those who have closely followed the evolution of SYRIZA and Alexis Tsipras since they rose to power are aware of their constant Ovidian metamorphoses over many years.

Panagiotis Lafazanis, a former minister and SYRIZA defector who last year launched a party called Popular Unity, has joined forces with Alekos Alavanos, one-time mentor of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who leads another small party, Plan B, which supports Greece's return to the drachma.

There was enthusiasm at SYRIZA’s headquarters on Koumoundourou street from the first exit polls that put the party ahead of its main rival, the conservative New Democracy party. As the night progressed with votes tallied in the party’s favor, reserved joy gave way to smiles and cheers… and the flow of whiskey.

Greece’s two leaders Alexis Tsipars and Vangelis Meimarakis are neck and neck in opinion polls, with elections on September 20 set to be a close call between the two. Who will win is anybody’s bet? Her’es a profile of the two…

Date of birth

A. Tsipras: July 28, 1974
V. Meimarakis: December 14, 1953

Radical Left Coalition Energy Minister Panagiotis Lafazanis, head of the Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA) government’s Left Platform, is urging Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to recoil from the agreement before austerity legislation makes its way to Greek Parliament.

The battle to save economically-shackled Greece has left the halls of Brussels as controversial reforms are brought to Greek Parliament. Bleary-eyed Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras met with a selection of SYRIZA deputies on Monday night to come up with a plan to sway radical left coalition (SYRIZA) MPs to accept the most draconian measures imposed on a sovereign nation since World War II.