Minister of State Alekos Flambouraris, a family friend and close aide to PM Alexis Tsipras, promised that SYRIZA will not call new elections even if the party was forced to form a coalition government.

Speaking to Greek state TV, Flambouraris deemed collaboration with the right-wing (and previously anti-bailout) Independent Greeks (AN.EL) party in the outgoing coalition government as a “success”.

“We would like to have the absolute majority in parliament. That is what we are aiming for,” he stressed.

Flambouraris denied a statement by Parliament President Zoe Konstantopoulou that he had urged her not to ‘press’ Bank of Greece (BoG) governor Yannis Stornaras too hard to appear before a parliamentary committee investigating the Siemens scandal — a case involving the German multinational’s settlement.

Responding to whether former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis will be on SYRIZA’s ballots, he bluntly said: ‘Of course not. No one invited him’.