SYRIZA loses official opposition status as two more MPs defect

Leftist SYRIZA on Thursday saw its position as the main opposition slip away after two of its MPs defected, leaving the embattled party with 29 MPs and its spot taken over by third-placed center-left PASOK.

Influential SYRIZA lawmaker Theodora Tzakri on Thursday morning told Mega TV that she was planning to leave the party's parliamentary group to join former leader Stefanos Kasselakis in his new endeavor, which will be unveiled on Saturday. She went on to formally announce her departure in a letter to the House speaker.

A second SYRIZA MP, Yota Poulou, also formally announced her independence on Thursday, though she has not clarified whether she will be joining the Kasselakis camp.

"I can't be at the declaration of one party and a member of SYRIZA's parliamentary group simultaneously," Tzakri told Mega TV on Thursday morning.

"The rift with the people...