DIMAR’s bid to secure poll deal with Tsipras falls apart

Democratic Left’s (DIMAR) bid to be absorbed within SYRIZA appears to have failed after the party’s two leaders were unable to agree on the terms of a potential cooperation.

DIMAR’s parliamentary group held an emergency meeting on New Year’s Eve to discuss whether the party should stand on its own in the January 25 elections or if its nine remaining MPs should each go their own way. Most DIMAR MPs appeared surprised that party leader Fotis Kouvelis had failed to reach an agreement with opposition chief Alexis Tsipras.

“I have never before felt such humiliation and deprecation in the 35 years that I have been part of the progressive left,” said DIMAR MP Nikos Tsoukalis. None of the party’s lawmakers voted in favor of the government’s presidential candidate, Stavros Dimas. The ballots took place amid discussions between DIMAR and SYRIZA over cooperating for snap elections. Tsipras, however, rejected the conditions demanded by Kouvelis, which included agreeing a common policy platform.