Tsipras rallies opposition to new coastal bill
SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras on Wednesday called on opposition parties, independent MPs, labor unions and environmental groups to create a united front to prevent the government from passing a revised version of its coastal bill through Parliament.
Although it is not clear when the coalition will bring the legislation – which in its original version sought to relax restrictions on coastal development – back to Parliament but Tsipras said he was sure that it would be during the summer. In a speech in Athens to representatives of other parties, unions and nongovernmental organizations, the leftist leader said that parliamentary opposition to the revised bill should be matched by protest action at ground level.
“If something sums up the politics of piracy at the country’s expense and in favor of the most opportunistic international capital, then this bill is it,” said Tsipras, who made references to citizens’ groups opposing gold mining in Skouries, Halkidki, and the creation of a waste management unit in Keratea, eastern Attica, as examples that should be followed if the government’s opponents are unable to stop the bill in Parliament.
Members of Democratic Left and To Potami, as well as independent lawmakers, accepted invitations to hear Tsipras’s speech. The head of the POE-OTA local authority union, Themis Balasopoulos, as well as representatives of environmental groups were also there.
