Feverish preparations for the upcoming general elections were underway within main opposition Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA), as the party geared up its election campaign, discussed candidates and possible alliances, as well as preparations for negotiating with Greece ‘s creditors after the results were in. Addressing an ongoing meeting of the party’s Political Secretariat, SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras said that the party’s goal was a single-party majority government, sources said. He also warned that the government would launch a “propaganda campaign to terrorize voters” in the next few days. He also repeated that SYRIZA would not use its election tickets and state deputy positions as “bargaining chips” but would seek to broaden its electoral base. Tsipras cautioned members of the party to be extremely careful in their public appearances and statements during the brief pre-election period, stressing the need to defend the policy platform presented by SYRIZA at the Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF) as the basis of a program for popular relief, especially for the party’s credibility. SYRIZA’s Central Committee will meet on the weekend to complete discussions on the candidates to be included in the party’s tickets, except for the list of state deputies. Sources in the party said that Democratic Left party leader Fotis Kouvelis will not be in the state deputy list but possibly run as a candidate in the 1st Athens constituency. Meanwhile, senior SYRIZA cadre Yiannis Milios on Tuesday announced that he will not be standing for Greek Parliament in the upcoming elections, adding that he would do his utmost to ensure SYRIZA’s victory. “In this struggle, a decisive contribution will be made by forces in the party through the processing of positions and formulation of guidelines for government policy. In this process, I am more useful and for this reason I will not be standing for election in any electoral district nor participate in any electable seat on the list of state deputies. At the same time, I will continue to be constantly present in forming Greek and international public opinion in support of our positions, participating officially in decisive meetings with international factors, as I do now,” he announced. According to Milios, this role was compatible with his position as head of economic policy in the party and would play a key role in forming the party’s positions. (source: ana-mpa)
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