The head of the main leftist opposition SYRIZA, Alexis Tsipras, called for the shaky coalition government to step down and pave the way for new elections, claiming that this was “the only way out” for a country seemingly condemned to endless austerity.

Speaking at a session of his party’s central committee, Tsipras likened the country to a victim bound to railway tracks with a train approaching, a “hostage to debt.”

“The situation has reached the absolute limit,” the leftist leader told supporters. “At this moment, there is no other way out for the country than the resignation of the government and the staging of new elections so a new administration can emerge with the mandate and support of the majority of society to implement an alternative plan to exit the crisis.” Tsipras admitted that his plan entailed risks but was preferable to “certain failure.”

The 38-year-old made another indirect appeal to the Communist Party (KKE), which held its 19th party congress over the weekend, to join forces with SYRIZA in fighting the government’s austerity drive. Tsipras appealed to “all the forces of the Left and to all the democrats who are prepared to fight to rid the country of the memorandum.”
Source: Kathimerini