Surprising move by SYRIZA: The party leadership promotes a wide front with former PASOK members

SYRIZA president Alexis Tsipras is determined to forge partnerships with forces from PASOK and the center-left, ignoring the intraparty reactions.
 
Apparently, the case of Odysseas Voudouris is highly indicative of the attitudes of the party’s leadership: Not only do they stand by their choice to have him as a Prefect candidate in the Peloponnese, but this alliance suggests the leadership’s mood to proceed to an opening to these forces.
 
SYRIZA’s aim is to establish a broad front to overturn the memorandum policy and it is unknown whether they will stay within the limits of the center, whether they will reach to former central members of PASOK or will go even further to collaborations with the Independent Greeks.
 
This tactic of alliances has Tsipras’ approval as it is implied by the fact that he led a party delegation to the meeting on Monday with the movement "Society First", which was set up by independent MPs Odysseas Voudouris, Paris Moutsinas, Theodoros Parastatidis, and other former members of PASOK and DIMAR.
 
SYRIZA's contacts with “Society First” seem to be at an advanced stage, and many believe that members of the movement will join the party on its ballot at the next elections.
 
These actions by the leadership have startled the left wing of SYRIZA and not only it. According to reports, even though they are not geared for a conflict with the leadership, the left platform is determined to bring the matter to the meeting next week. Members of the platform said the political alliances that were decided at the conference are one thing and these moves by the leadership quite another.