Tsipras to Syriza rebels: Government will fall if party votes against bailout

First entry: 29 July 2015 - 09:56 Athens, 06:56 GMT

Last update: 29 July 2015 23:30 Athens, 20:30 GMTPolitics

Alexis Tsipras has issued a dramatic warning to members of Syriza’s Central Committee that meet on Thursday as members of the Left Platform are urging the government not to agree to a bailout deal with the creditors.
According to an exclusive report on real.gr, Tsipras has signaled that if the party votes against a bailout agreement, the government “will fall”.
"It is time for all to assume their responsibilities. To consider the consequences of opposing an agreement”, the PM is expected to say on Thursday.
Interior Minister Nikos Voutsis gave a similar warning to dissenters within Syriza saying on Tuesday that if the party adopts a different decision from the government's policy, it will bring about its resignation.
The second meeting Tuesday of the political secretariat in two days resulted in a decision to call a gathering of the central committee after several Syriza officials belonging to the party’s radical left wing called for the government not to pursue negotiations with Greece’s lenders but to follow an “alternative” path.
Tsipras spoke at Monday’s meeting of the political secretariat and insisted that the government has no other viable option than to agree a new bailout with the institutions. He proposed holding an emergency SYRIZA congress, probably in September, to allow party members to debate the issue.
However, the party’s Left Platform, led by ex-Energy Minister Panayiotis Lafazanis is pushing for the congress to be held now, before a third bailout has been agreed.
The central committee members will have to decide whether they will accept either of these options or whether there should be a ballot of Syriza members to decide what should be done.
Sources: Real.gr, ekathimerini