PM speaks to SYRIZA MPs amid worry about talks
SYRIZA’s political secretariat is due to meet on Wednesday at lunchtime as the deliberations within the leftist party gather pace ahead of a possible deal with lenders, which some MPs and members have indicated they may reject.
State Minister Alekos Flambouraris is due to address Wednesday’s meeting after Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras met on Tuesday with the heads of SYRIZA’s parliamentary group. According to sources, Tsipras told the government MPs that he wants to secure a deal with creditors as soon as possible but that he has made it clear to them he will not accept wage or pension cuts.
Tsipras also pledged that he would raise the issue of debt relief now with his European counterparts with the aim of a detailed discussion beginning in September.
Some SYRIZA members are also calling for a meeting of the party’s central committee as soon as possible. Certain members of the political secretariat and the central committee took part in an event on Tuesday where party officials, including the former head of SYRIZA’s economic planning, Yiannis Milios, expressed concern that the government would agree a deal contrary to its election pledges.
Meanwhile, a website associated with SYRIZA’s left wing, or Left Platform, questioned whether the party could support any deal agreed with creditors. “An agreement with the institutions will either be compatible with the government’s program or it cannot exist,” said the op-ed.
