Thessaloniki Programme

Leftist SYRIZA opposition has attacked the government after Greece was left out of a Libya peace conference to be held in Berlin on Sunday.

1. Alexis Tsipras will almost certainly not be the next Prime Minister.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in central Athens, Greece, 2019. Photo: EPA-EFE/YANNIS KOLESIDIS

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was left struggling for his political survival on Monday after his SYRIZA party, stung by austerity and a bitter rift over an accord with North Macedonia, got hammered in European Parliament elections.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is likely to call snap elections in June, a source in his SYRIZA party said on Sunday on condition of anonymity.
SYRIZA, in power since 2015, suffered a heavy defeat on Sunday in elections for new delegates to the European Parliament, trailing behind the main opposition New Democracy party by about nine points.

Supporters of ruling SYRIZA party react after the release of the initial exit polls following local, regional and European elections in Greece. New Democracy had 36-32 percent of the vote and SYRIZA, the party of Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, had 29-25 percent, according to the polls. [EPA]

Greece's Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras (r) watches a man wearing virtual reality glasses during a visit at the annual Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF) at the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki, Saturday. Anti-government rallies are planned by Greek unions and left-wing protest groups for Saturday, at the time when Tsipras will be giving a news conference. [Giannis Papanikos/AP]

Reliable sources have suggested that Education Minister Costas Gavroglou's draft plan for changing the university entrance exam system has prompted reactions even within ruling SYRIZA. These reactions, of course, have no relation whatsoever with what's really important - anything but.

As is customary in Greece, the first "big" political event after the summer lull is the opening of the Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF) at the beginning of September.

This year's TIF is just three weeks away and the government is already preparing for it. It is getting ready to put on a grand public relations display worthy of its traditions and skills.

“I haven’t seen Tsipras for two years” Chrisogonos said earlier today on an interview to “Skai” TV station.

The Member of the European Parliament for Syriza went on to say with obvious bitterness that the Prime Minister “is obviously informed about European issues from mr. Karanikas and mrs. Notopoulou and the rest of his staff”.

Speaking in a special plenary session before the Greek parliament on occasion of the 43rd anniversary of the 1973 student uprising against the military junta, Greek PM Alexis Tsipras commented that the government was giving a battle to “restore democracy” in the country, which had been crushed by the “memorandums and foreign control”.