The Greek prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, isn’t to blame for his party’s disintegration. Its roots lie in the party’s absence of coherent objectivesAlexis Tsipras survived last night’s vote in the Greek parliament, but not without witnessing the disintegration of his own party. Three ministers and 39 Syriza MPs refused to support the new memorandum of understanding voted in last night. The deal was passed with opposition votes. Technically Syriza still has a mandate, but in reality it will be unable to govern without these opposition votes.Among those who split away are renegade MPs from other parties that Syriza integrated before the last election to attract voters. The core rebels, though, come from the party’s hardline Left Platform. They include the ministers Panagiotis Lafazanis and Dimitris Stratoulis, who despite not voting for the deal refuse to leave office. A standoff also occurred with the speaker of parliament and the Syriza MP Zoe Konstantopoulou. Disliked by many for her outspoken manner, Konstantopoulou voted against her own party last night. Syriza now faces a split that is not only about the deal but also about who will shape the future of the party. Related: Greek MPs pass austerity bill as Athens police clash with protesters The absence of a clearly defined strategy initially helped to boost the numbers of party supporters Continue reading...
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