SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras said on Monday that “democracy can’t be threatened” following presidential candidate Stavros Dimas’ failure to gather 180 votes. Mr. Tsipras took the opportunity to point out that a large part of the population have been crushed by austerity measures and that deputies are obliged to take this into account.

“A large majority of the people are decided to put an end to the memorandum policies,” said Mr. Tsipras. “Today, the government of Mr. Samaras that has looted society is a thing of the past. In a few days, the memorandum of austerity will be a thing of the past.” He called on Greeks to be optimistic for the future.