Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras used a Cabinet meeting on Monday to launch a sharp attack against the main opposition New Democracy (ND) party, linking it to Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, as speculation over a snap election continued to swirl in Athens and amid sagging approval ratings for the leftist-rightist coalition government.
Tsipras, whose comments were carried live by the state broadcaster, said ND’s leadership was “taking sides with the extreme right in Europe”, as he looked beyond the country’s borders north to Austria and Kurz.
“…not only is he (Kurz) rekindling an anti-migration rhetoric but he’s combining it with an extreme neo-liberal proposal, for instance, he recent (Kurz) voted for an obligatory 12-hour workday … this is the new political family of Mr. Mitsotakis. A political alliance with the extreme right, one that wants to leave Greece alone to deal with the refugee crisis, and to impose an anti-social agenda in Europe,” Tsipras said, in mentioning his primary rival, ND president Kyriakos Mitsotakis, by name.
The response by Mitsotakis, whose party is leading Tsipras’ radical left SYRIZA by double-digit percentage points in most mainstream opinion polls for more than a year now, was immediate.
“He’s prime minister with an expiration date … Mr. Tsipras acts like he hasn’t heard Mr. Kammenos, who publicly maintained that he’ll withdraw his party from the government when it brings the destructive agreement with Skopje to Parliament (for ratification),” Mitsotakis said, referring to DM Panos Kammenos, the head of a small right-wing party that serves as Tsipras’ junior coalition partner.
