Tsipras sets sights on victory of 4-6 percentage points

SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras on Wednesday gave the clearest indication yet regarding what kind of result in Sunday’s European Parliament vote would, in his view, give the opposition party the impetus to call for snap elections.

In an interview with Skai TV, Tsipras said that if SYRIZA garners less support than New Democracy, it would be a “clear defeat” but that a victory for the leftists over the conservatives by four to six percentage points would trigger “further political developments.”

Before this the opposition leader had not put a figure on what margin of victory his party is aiming for. SYRIZA MP Dimitris Papadimoulis suggested last week that if SYRIZA receives a higher percentage than New Democracy and its coalition partner PASOK combined, this would give the leftists a legitimate right to call for early elections. In Wednesday’s interview, though, Tsipras did not refer to the coalition’s combined total, only New Democracy’s share of the vote.

Tsipras also indicated that his party is interested in attracting people who voted for Golden Dawn. “The democratic parties have a responsibility to win them back,” said the SYRIZA leader, who referred to these voters as having been “fooled.”

“I do not believe that the majority of the people who voted for Golden Dawn are neo-Nazis,” added the opposition leader.