DIMAR will not return to government or ally with SYRIZA, says Kouvelis
Democratic Left (DIMAR) leader Fotis Kouvelis attempted on Tuesday to clear up confusion – created by his own comments – regarding where his party stands on the issue of cooperating with SYRIZA in the future.
“DIMAR disagrees with the government’s current policy but also with everything that SYRIZA says,” he said. “This means that there is no basis for a policy-led cooperation with one side or the other. If this changes in the future then we will re-examine the possibility.”
Last week, New Democracy MP Dora Bakoyannis called for DIMAR to rejoin the coalition government, which it quit in June over the closure of public broadcaster ERT. This idea has some supporters within the center-left party but other members favor exploring an alliance with SYRIZA, should it win the next general elections.
Before making his statement ruling out any imminent cooperation with either the government or SYRIZA, Kouvelis appeared to suggest that a partnership with the leftists was more likely.
“Of course,” was his response to a question by the Action24 TV station regarding whether there was a possibility of a leftist coalition in the future. “Greece has abandoned one-party governments. We need coalitions.”
SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras spoke to his parliamentary group on Tuesday and defended outspoken MP and author Petros Tatsopoulos following attacks within the party.
Tatsopoulos recently opposed cooperating with Independent Greeks and suggested SYRIZA should be open to cooperation with other leftists or even PASOK. After the meeting, Tatsopoulos said that Tsipras’s reaction convinced him to abandon his threat of resigning from the party due to the criticism he had received.
