Tsipras: “If anyone disagrees with the agreement, let me know”

The Parliamentary Group of SYRIZA convened on Wednesday for about 12 hours in order to discuss the loan agreement extension that was agreed in Brussels last Friday. Many of the radical left party’s MPs were troubled and reserved about the political and social implications of the agreement.

The President of Parliament Zoi Konstantopoulou and VP Alexis Mitropoulos are said to have proposed to not have the agreement go through Parliament. According to their legal and political arguments, if Parliament were to approve the deal, then SYRIZA would be bound by the bailout obligations of the previous government.

While some MPs openly declared that they would vote against a bill that would ratify the agreement, party leader and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras asked for everyone to be open about their intentions. The Minister of Productive Reconstruction, Environment and Energy Panagiotis Lafazanis expressed his frustration with the organization in the negotiations and stressed that he would not accept privatizations in the energy sector.

Immediately afterwards the State Minister Nikos Pappas took the stand and argued that agreement allows the government to implement its program, provided that it is determined and untied. He then noted that the goal was never to have a falling out, but rather secure a better deal for Greece.

Alternate Minister of International Economic Relations Euclid Tsakalotos later explained that the government has managed to bring stability and from now own the government will be judged on its efficiency. This in turn will provide the party with the necessary support that will help in future negotiations.

Opposition came from members of the Left Wave, such as the political secretariat officer Stathis Leoutsakos, who spoke of “grey areas” in the loan extension agreement, which he suggested to be as vague and obscure as the Oracle of Delphi.

A vote was held at the end of the 12-hour session in Parliament, with the vast majority majority of those present supporting the agreement. Many MPs however chose to vote present or against the agreement. The party’s political secretariat is scheduled to convene today, which may further increase the tension in SYRIZA.