Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA) Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and the new main opposition conservative New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis are being put to the crash test on Tuesday afternoon in their first showdown in Greek Parliament. The debate on social security will be pivotal in determining the capabilities of the two adversaries.

Social security, a real hot potato for Greece, is Mitsotakis’ chance to prove that he has all it takes to be at the helm and constructively work towards a solution to Greek problems. “With me as leader, Tsipras will not have a good time,” he said prior to being voted in as Greece’s liberal leader. His goal is to show the conservative party is a force to be reckoned with and a “credible alternative force”.

In his meeting with Tsipras, the ND leader had said that “the new political culture needs to be based on the language of truth”. During this visit to the PM’s office he didn’t waste time discussing the problems of the “contracted recession of loss of investment”.

According to sources, Mitsotakis will showcase the heavy figures that citizens are being called to pay for social security that is a result of the SYRIZA-ANEL governance in 2015. The main weight of his debate however will not be focused on casting blame but on presenting solutions. In this direction, he has already held discussions with the newly-appointed party vice-presdients Kostas Hatzidakis and Adonis Georgiadis and has also met with former MP John Vroutsis and Christos Staikouras to compile the conservative party’s own assessment of the current situation and proposals to break the deadlock.

Mitsotakis is expected to maintain that “Tsipras and his government are striking at Greece’s productivity to bear the brunt of the bill for SYRIZA’s clientelism.”