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Tsipras: A vote for Greece, or a vote for Merkel

SYRIZA president Alexis Tsipras is campaigning in Crete with the catchphrase “vote for Greece or for Merkel”. In an island full of disenfranchised socialist voters who used to give PASOK party huge majorities in the 1980s and 1990s, Tsipras hopes that he can capture some of these votes.

SYRIZA has been incorporating former PASOK politicians, slogans and unionists in its attempt to achieve majority status in the forthcoming elections. In Rethymnon today, Tsipras talked about the need for “all healthy, progressive political powers to come together”, so that public wealth, profitable public companies and the environment can be protected from being sold out to the banks.

Talking to the people of Crete he asked them to not accept the dilemma “Samaras or Tsipras” in the upcoming elections, but to vote based on the updated dilemma “Greece or Merkel” in an attempt to shift the confrontation between himself and the PM, to one between the country and the German Chancellor's choices.

In addition to the national issues, Tsipras didn't neglect a local issue of big environmental impact for the island. NATO's decision to dump Syria's chemical weapons in the sea close to the island has raised awareness in Crete and the SYRIZA leader attempted to capitalize on the issue. He said he would be in the front lines of the movement to ban chemical dumping in the Mediterranean.

Tsipras will stay in Crete until Wednesday before returning to Athens, where he will continue campaigning for the local and European parliamentary elections around the country. Twin elections are taking place on the second and third Sunday of May.