Tsipras admits there could be hard days ahead
SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras said on Friday that he is determined to implement his party’s economic program if it comes to power but admitted that it would experience a challenging period.
“Of course we will face hard times because we have to deal with a real and big economic crises,” he said during a visit to the Attica Regional Authority, where SYRIZA’s Rena Dourou is governor. “However, if we stand tall and focus on citizens’ dignity, I am sure that we can succeed. We have to believe in our ability and we have to restore voters’ trust in the political system and politics.”
Speaking a day after he claimed in an interview with Reuters that a SYRIZA government would not engage in any unilateral moves in its negotiations with the eurozone unless left with no other option, Tsipras insisted that the leftist party could achieve a change in policy.
“We will turn our pledges into reality,” said Tsipras. “My visit here is to show that despite the difficulties, it is possible to have a more citizen-friendly policy.”
SYRIZA sources told Kathimerini that the opposition party is convinced Parliament will not be able to elect a president and Greece is heading to snap elections. The party’s spokesman, Panos Skourletis, dismissed the idea that any last-minute compromise deal would be able to secure a new president and avoid national elections being held in late January or early February.
“I do not think such initiatives will have any impact or at least have an effect on the numbers involved,” he said. “Society and Parliament appear to have understood that if a president is elected it will be the green light for the latest measures agreed with the troika to be implemented.”
