Alexis Tsipras has pledged that his new party, the Greek Left Alliance (ELAS), will be “the most transparent party in Greek political life,” while also opening up about candidate lists and drawing a clear line on the party’s relationship with PASOK — describing it as a “rival” rather than an “enemy.” In the second part of his interview with in.gr, Tsipras also made pointed remarks suggesting he will not engage in the personal confrontations initiated by the party of Charilaou Trikoupis.
Responding to questions about ELAS’s funding, Tsipras previewed a model of full financial transparency. “You will soon see that the Greek Left Alliance will be the most transparent party in Greek political life when it comes to its finances, because we truly have nothing to hide,” he stated.
He noted that the party has not spent a single euro on advertising, campaigns, or sponsored posts, relying instead on its friends, members, and volunteers. “These are figures we will make public,” he committed, responding to criticism about the party’s funding sources.
Tsipras extended this same framework of accountability to a potential future government. “The only thing I can promise is that in a progressive, democratic government, Justice will be free to evaluate and judge with independence and without interference,” he declared. He stressed that scrutiny must begin at the very top. “The first ones to be under constant oversight will be myself and the members of my government,” he emphasized.
Tsipras also revealed that ballot preparation is already well advanced. “Roughly 80% of our candidate list is already in the works,” he said, while noting that the timing of any announcements remains a political decision for the party.
On the subject of PASOK, Tsipras stated that parties within the broader democratic and progressive space are not “enemies” but rivals — while also taking clear aim at PASOK figures who have personally targeted him. He suggested that those with a “strategic objective” of personally targeting him from within PASOK are the same people pushing for a PASOK–New Democracy coalition after the next elections.
Tsipras: “The ballot of change”
Alexis Tsipras described the second electoral round as “the ballot of change,” expressing confidence that it could shift the political balance of power. “The second ballot is the ballot of change,” he said. “There is a strong chance that the Greek Left Alliance could come first in the second election.”
To support his assessment, he pointed to current polling and widespread public demand for a change of government: “At this moment, seventy percent of citizens say they want a change of government. In the second election, that criterion will prevail.”
He also argued that New Democracy risks losing its first-place standing in a second round, even if it wins the first. “Mr. Mitsotakis’s New Democracy, even if it comes first in the first election, will be taking a serious risk in the second,” he warned, adding that the most likely outcome is that it will lose its lead.
He clarified, however, that ELAS is fully committed to the first round as well. “To reach that scenario, it is obvious that in the first election we need a result that, if we don’t manage to come first — which is our goal — we must be very close.”
Looking ahead, he set the target of closing the polling gap with New Democracy: “To put a two in front of our number, to narrow the gap, to get as close as possible to Mr. Mitsotakis.”
Tsipras: “We truly have nothing to hide”
On the question of the new party’s funding, Alexis Tsipras stated that to date there has been “not a single euro spent on advertising, not a single euro on a campaign, not a single euro on sponsored content.”
He described ELAS as a “hybrid party” that relies on “the power of its friends, members, and volunteers — on the pockets of the people who take part.”
He also announced that full financial details will be made public: “You will soon see that the Greek Left Alliance will be the most transparent party in Greek political life when it comes to its finances, because we truly have nothing to hide.”
“I will be the first under constant scrutiny — along with the members of my government”
Tsipras drew a clear line on the relationship between government and the judiciary: “Who will be held accountable or not, who will stand trial and whether they will be convicted — in a law-governed democratic state, that is not a matter for the government in power. It is a matter for Justice.”
In his view, the responsibility of the executive branch is different: “The obligation of any government is to grant immunity to no one. Every citizen, regardless of their office, must be equal before the law.”
He added that a democratic government also has a duty “not to manipulate Justice in order to create immunity for anyone.” On that basis, he rejected the idea of pre-announcing prosecutions: “I will not say, nor will I promise, that a particular person will go to prison.”
Instead, he committed to ensuring that “Justice will be free to evaluate and judge with independence and without interference,” adding: “The first ones to be under constant scrutiny will be myself and the members of my government.”
“80% of our candidate list is ready”
Alexis Tsipras signaled full electoral readiness: “Whenever elections take place, we will be ready,” he said, revealing that work on building the candidate lists has progressed significantly. “Right now I can tell you that roughly 80% of our candidate list is already in the works,” adding that the timing of when names are made public is a deliberate political choice by the party.
Tsipras: “We won’t play by the rules of poaching”
Tsipras also made clear that staffing the party will not be built on luring sitting MPs from other parties. “We will not play by those rules — the poaching rules, the ‘take your mandate from here, come over there, go there.’ No, we will not do that,” he stated.
For prospective candidates, he set two key criteria: first, a “clean record,” so that there are no issues that could further damage the credibility of the political system; and second, genuine community roots — candidates who have a presence in their local area, “have something to give,” and are able to “stand up” and “contribute.”
“It takes two to have a fight — we’re not going to follow PASOK down that road”
On the ongoing tensions with PASOK, Alexis Tsipras made clear he has no intention of fueling an internal war on the progressive side of politics. “It takes two to have a fight,” he noted. “It’s what we call ‘arguing with yourself.’ We are not going to follow that fight.”
On the issue of party debts — which triggered the public confrontation — he argued that this is not specifically a PASOK matter, but one that concerns all parties and the credibility of the political system as a whole.
“This is a matter of the political system’s credibility and equal treatment. It is not a matter of political confrontation,” he said.
Tsipras: “PASOK is not our enemy — we are rivals”
Despite the tensions, Alexis Tsipras stated that parties within the broader democratic and progressive space are not political “enemies.”
“For us, there is no hostility. The parties of the broader democratic progressive space are not our enemies. But we are rivals.”
He acknowledged that part of the friction may stem from polling competition between the two parties, but he also attributed political intent to the personal attacks he said he has faced.
“Those targeting me from within PASOK want a deal with New Democracy”
Tsipras delivered his sharpest political blow aimed at certain PASOK members. “Those who have a strategic objective of personally targeting me from within PASOK are the same people who have a strategic objective of seeing PASOK cooperate with New Democracy after the next elections,” he argued.
He described such an outcome as “a negative development for the country” and pointed to what he sees as an already openly expressed internal strategic conflict within PASOK: between those who believe the party should cooperate with New Democracy — “with or without Mitsotakis” — and those who believe it should not.
Tsipras: “We want to be ready to govern”
Alexis Tsipras framed the party’s electoral preparation and candidate list process as part of a broader plan for governing readiness. “We will be ready to govern. That is what matters to us,” he said, clarifying that the goal, as he described it, is not “to govern for the sake of power,” but “to change the country” and deliver a better future for the social majority.
“I didn’t come back to play the role of party leader”
Speaking about his return to active politics and ELAS’s ambition to take government, Alexis Tsipras was clear that he did not come back “to play the role of party leader.”
“My goal is political change. Our goal is political change — but also a change of policy,” he said, stressing that the party has “a programme with a beginning, a middle, and an end,” designed specifically to bring about that change.
On the election process, he stated: “In the first election, if we come first, we will explore every possible avenue to see whether this programme can be implemented. If it cannot, we will go to a second election. And the same will apply from the second to a third. There are no dilemmas in democracy.”
He reiterated that ELAS is aiming to govern: “We have our programme, we have our plan, and we want to govern this country.”
“I won’t make the same mistake again. No thank you, I’ll pass”
Alexis Tsipras revisited his experience with proportional representation, explaining why he does not intend to base his strategy on pre-election cooperation agreements with other parties. “I learned the hard way. I was the one who, against my own political interest, legislated simple proportional representation in 2016, expecting that the parties it mainly benefited would support it,” he recalled.
Referring to the 2023 elections, he noted that “proportional representation applied only to my party and not to all the others,” while also recalling that when he spoke of governing with progressive opposition parties, “one after another they came out and said ‘never together with you.'”
“Well, I’m not going to make the same mistake again. No, no thank you, I’ll pass,” he said bluntly. He reaffirmed that ELAS’s core objective is “political change and a change of policy,” underpinned by a specific programme “with a beginning, a middle, and an end.”
“You haven’t seen even 10% of what we’re capable of”
“A party is not born to cooperate with other parties. A party is born to speak to society, to citizens,” Tsipras remarked, posing the question: “If the purpose of our existence was to cooperate with other parties, why didn’t we join them from the start?”
“Personally, I believe — and I have said this and been criticized for it — that some parties complete a historical cycle and close it. That became clear in the period from 2023 to 2026, over these three years.”
