SYRIZA leader and seven-month prime minister Alexis Tsipras told supporters at his main campaign rally on Friday, across from Greece’s parliament in Athens, that the third memorandum he negotiated and signed was the “best agreement” for the country.
Before a cheering and flag-waving crowd, which included many of Europe’s leftist political leaders, he also said that only his party could have brought such a successful result.
In a pivot towards the rest of Europe, in fact, and with Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias on hand, he promised to rescue Europe from what he called “ideologies of hate and destruction”
His began his address, nevertheless, by saying that Friday’s rally reminded him of the massive “no” rallies ahead of the last July’s referendum, which preceded the agreement for a third memorandum
“Not only will SYRIZA win on Sunday but it will also receive a mandate to form a stable and strong government,” he predicted, while again cited the referendum.
“On Sunday we have another referendum: Will Greece turn back or will it proceed with dignity,” he added.
Here’s how the leftist leader explained to his supporters the background in talks with European creditors over recent months:
“They planned to overthrow us with closed banks; they wanted to eliminate us by throwing us towards the Grexit trap, but we avoided the trap,” he said, while referring to “ominous plans” hatched out in “dark rooms”.
“Now they (unnamed) are trying to trap us, betting that we won’t have a parliamentary majority.”