Kathimerini: Tsipras hails historic moment as he is elected leader of unified SYRIZA

15 July 2013

Almost three quarters of the delegates at SYRIZA's founding congress elected Alexis Tsipras as the party's leader, after deciding to unite the coalition as one party and create a centralised decision-making process aimed at helping the leftists win the next elections.

Tsipras hailed the congress and his re-election at the helm of SYRIZA as a significant moment in Greek leftist politics. “We made a historic step, from tomorrow we set out on the road to victory more united and stronger than ever so we can stop the social destruction and rebuild Greece”, added Tsipras.

Delegates voted to give the four SYRIZA factions refusing to disband another three months to decide whether they would be dissolved. The majority of delegates also dismissed a proposal from the Aristeri Platforma (Left Platform), led by MP Panayiotis Lafazanis, for the party to leave open the option of Greece returning to the drachma.

However, the party adopted as its official position the cancelling of Greece's EU-IMF memorandum and the renegotiation of its loan agreement. It also intends to carry out an audit of Greece's public debt with the aim of cancelling any part that is considered "odious", or illegitimate.

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