Alexis Tsipras unveiled his new party, the Greek Left Alliance — Elliniki Aristeri Symparataxi, or ELAS — at a gathering in Thissio Square.
“The great day has arrived, and many of us are here for this appointment with history,” the former prime minister said at the start of his speech.
“Today we take the first step towards giving the great social majority a voice again.”
“A new political force is born today, aiming not only for political change but for a change of policy,” he continued.
“We want to take part in the effort for a better world, because we do not want to remain silent in the face of injustice and glaring inequalities.”
He said the party accepted international law rather than the law of the strongest, adding:
“That is why we will never reconcile ourselves either to the illegal invasion and occupation of Cyprus or to plans for the island's de facto partition.”
“We do not want to become accustomed to a world of injustice, armed conflict and violence, a world that falls asleep to the sound of drones and wakes to the sound of missiles,” he said.
Criticising the Government, Mr Tsipras argued that, half a century after the restoration of democracy, Greece was retreating from the European acquis.
“Sixteen years after bankruptcy, we are once again governed by those who sank and bankrupted us. And they are unrepentant. The state has fallen into the hands of a caste that treats it as spoils,” he said.
In a period of major geopolitical upheaval, he argued, Greece urgently needed a new national compass and an active, multidimensional foreign policy that would strengthen its role as a pillar of peace and stability, rather than treating it as an ally whose support could be taken for granted.
Seven founding commitments
“We are not here simply to describe the harsh reality. We are here to change it, to take our country's future and our lives into our own hands. Our country needs a shock of honesty and democracy. A new democratic renewal,” he said, holding the party's founding declaration.
He set out seven commitments:
A life with dignity.
A strong democracy without immunities.
A strong economy delivering fair development and dignity.
A welfare state based on rights, standing against profiteering.
A resilient Greece in a world of continual crises.
Digital democracy and sovereignty.
A strong Greece that safeguards its rights and builds bridges of peace.
“Today we begin together the new journey of the great democratic and progressive majority, alongside all those who refuse to settle for less and no longer want to live besieged by corruption, injustice and insecurity,” he said.
He called on all Greek women and men to sign the declaration and join a broad democratic and progressive mobilisation.
“Our vision and plan is a major democratic and social restart for the country, from the perspective of the great social majority,” he said.
He referred to the inheritance of Greece's progressive movements: EAM, the National Resistance, EDA, struggles for democracy and peace, PASOK's early years of change and SYRIZA's first left-wing government.
Actors Marianna Toumasatou and Aimilios Cheilakis presented the evening's event.
The party's official logo was to combine blue and red. The gathering also presented the movement's name and figures taking leading roles in the new effort.
The event marked the culmination of an intense preparatory period, as Greece's political landscape and centre-left entered a phase of realignment.
