Alexis Tsipras, former prime minister and former leader of left-wing SYRIZA, inaugurated a new party at Thission in Athens on Tuesday night, with the name of ELAS.
ELAS stands for “Greek Leftist Coalition”, and was welcomed by a crowd of hundreds with cheers.
It should be noted though that EL.AS. is also the acronym for “Greek Police” – Ελληνική Αστυνομία and the connotation for elderly generation is with the “Greek People’s Liberation Army” (ELAS), the military arm of the left-wing National Liberation Front (EAM) during the period of the Greek resistance against the Nazi occupation of Greece.
Tsipras spoke of the need for more honesty and democracy, and he called on rally attendees as well as Greeks abroad to sign the new party’s founding charter.
With the Acropolis in the background, Tsipras presented the seven commitments included in the party’s founding charter, which are as follows:
1. Life with dignity.
2. A strong democracy without asylum to people in power; transparency and checks at all levels of public office and public funds.
3. A strong economy of fair growth and dignity; a change in the productivity model, with an emphasis on agricultural production and manufacturing.
4. A social state of rights against profiteering; for health, education, social protection, housing, and culture to become again a right for all instead of privileges for the few.
5. A resilient Greece in a world of constant crises; for protection and security against crises in energy insecurity and extreme repercussions of climate change.
6. A digital democracy and sovereignty; for national technological infrastructure with sovereignty clauses.
7. A powerful Greece that protects its rights and builds bridges of peace; for a new compass, with a return to multifaceted and active foreign policy.
“Our present proclamation marks the start of a new collective effort to create a large progressive coalition – the convergence of three historical trends of the progressive field that express the modern Left: of the Radical Left, of Social Democracy, and of Political Ecology. This is the ruling Left of the New Era,” the ELAS leader said.
Deputies of SYRIZA and New Left did not attend the rally, in order to prevent the connection of the new party with old ones. However, several mid-level officials were present from both parties – including several staff members of deputies.
The crowd consisted of mainly middle-aged and many older people with young ones to have stayed rather away.
On the ideological level, many doubt the “left” ideology of Alexis Tsipras after his governance 2015-2019.
PS Former SYRIZA voters who attended the rally on Tuesday out of curiosity pointed to KTG out that Tsipras is trying to attract voters from PASOK, the ones who brought him to power in 2015.
Fact is that Greeks are seeking for new parties and even before ELAS announcement, Tsipras would receive over 12% in public opinion polls.
Fine words butter no parsnips. I’ve heard it all before.
This expression is always hilarious! My question to you, in the same vein, is “Does Mitsotakis butter your parsnips?”. Personally, I wouldn’t allow him to touch any root vegetables. From my perspective, Tsipras did a reasonable job at a very difficult time. For the new job of parsnip butterer, he needs to assemble a highly competent team with real experience and pragmatic skills (i.e., not Varoufakis and his ilk). I have doubts that he can do so, for many reasons.