Athens News Agency: News in English, 07-09-29

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Alavanos on SYRIZA election result

[01] Alavanos on SYRIZA election result

He said this happy outcome was brought about because SYRIZA had worked as a team throughout the pre-election period, with all its members supporting the political line followed by SYN and by the SYRIZA formation.

Another reason, according to Alavanos, was that SYRIZA had convinced the electorate through its political action in the run up to the elections about the necessity of changes to the political landscape.

According to the party leader, the two main parties had suffered a major blow in the recent elections and this was reflected in the reduction of their combined percentage in major urban centres and in "tough" regional constituencies, where it dropped to about 70 percent.

He stressed the need to preserve the solidarity of the historic Left so that it could continue to enter the political scene and promote alternative solutions and highlight new problems, while criticising the hostile stance of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) toward SYN.

"Our proposals for common action, whether they concern issues related to the pension system, labour, environmental issues or human rights continue to be extended toward KKE. But we know now that we are following a path that no longer depends on whether the leadership of KKE will say 'yes' or 'no' to cooperation. We are determined to proceed along a path that already has very widespread appeal, with those that are with us rather than those that are not. And I believe we will have very major results on this course," Alavanos added.

Regarding the fortunes of voters originally supporting main opposition PASOK and whether SYRIZA could reach these, Alavanos said there was a need for a "broad dialogue" and the capability to create an area of dialogue with "forces, personalities and movements that originate from the socialist sphere".

He stressed that it would be a mistake to think that the main issue for PASOK would be what happened at a leadership level in that party.

"We are failing to understand that the real problem is that a radicalisation is underway within the entire area that was covered by the current main opposition, and that what we saw in these elections was just the foreword," he said.

Caption: ANA-MPA file photograph of SYN leader Alekos Alavanos

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