His belief that the political objective of the first round of local elections was achieved, expressed Alexis Tsipras. More specifically he said that, through their vote, the people “condemned austerity and the memoranda”.

When asked about whether he is satisfied with the overall result of the first round, during his interview with the “Efimerida ton Sintakton” newspaper, Tsipras said that from the very start SYRIZA viewed the local elections as extremely important for the political scene.
“The elections sent a political message condemning government partners. New Democracy achieved a world first, as a ruling party that does not have a candidate in the second round on the first municipality of the greater region of the country” he noted, adding that PASOK is not on the electoral map, since no one wanted to admit to supporting PASOK to avoid political damage.
Regarding the abstention rate that was recorded on Sunday, the leader of SYRIZA stressed the need to increase voter participation in the second round of the elections so that this government “leaves as soon as possible.”

Tsipras noted that citizens understand that the greater the lead is, the faster memorandum policies will come to an end. He also added that this message will force the government to call national elections.

“The initial attempt of Samaras to depoliticize the outcome of the elections failed under our pressure,” said the head of SYRIZA and added that this pressure “forced Mr Venizelos at first and then Mr. Samaras to accept the dilemma.”
“They will either stay or go. That ‘s why the people are aware that they face a clear dilemma. Either they vote for us or for those who support Merkel’s policies” said Mr. Tsipras.
Apart from the election, Alexis Tsipras also referred to the events that took place in Cannes in November 2011, saying that “these events killed democracy and not a referendum.”