Main opposition New Democracy (ND) leader Evangelos Meimarakis’ smiles and friendly banter with former prime minister Alexis Tsipras at Herkleion airport at noon on Wednesday was just an interlude. It was back to business as usual during the conservative leader’s speech on Thursday with Meimarakis stating that leaving Tsipras in the country’s leadership after the September 20 election showdown would be “ignorant and reckless”.

Meimarakis exploited his Cretan background and asked for a popular mandate that would catapult a descentand of Crete to the role of prime minister for the first time since 1993. To the sound of cheers, he announced that he would be the candidate for Herakleion.

He fired shots against the credibility of Tsipras, inviting voters to question themselves over why they voted for SYRIZA in the January 25 elections after being mislead with false promises that were never realized in the party’s seven months of governance.

In particular, he said that it was in Herakleion that Tsipras had uttered the biggest lies. “It was here that he promised the abolition of ENFIA and the non-taxable amount of 12,000 euros,” said Meimarakis. “He promised the return of the 13th pension payment. Not only did he not bring back that 13th payment, but he slashed main pensions by another 2% with 6% cuts to auxiliary pensions. He promised to create a special purpose bank for small businesses and farmers. he promised the full application of the Thessaloniki program. We want the result. We know the result right now. What is it? The non-taxable amount was not increased. ENFIA was not abolished.”