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Anxiety and uncertainty connected with SYRIZA’s official line are reigning in the party after the European decision on Cyprus has shown what its election promises could lead to. Indicative of the embarrassment is the fact that the leader of the radical left wing, Alexis Tsipras, made no statement after his meeting with Finance Minister Yiannis Stournaras on Tuesday.

The discussion about the future position of SYRIZA began during yesterday's meeting of the informal body that had been composed before the elections last year. According to sources, its members held an "open meeting" that took place in an atmosphere of problems and inconvenience.
 
The left platform directly offered a revision of the position of the party in connection with the common European currency, the main purpose being the survival of Greece in the euro area.

The main question of the "internal opposition", which deputy Panagiotis Lafazanis has expressed in a publication in the "Avgi" newspaper, is how realistic the striving for a different policy is within the context of the particular monetary policy.

The members of the left platform did not spare their words and openly questioned the policy pursued by leader Alexis Tsipras. Yiannis Sapounas, for example, who is a member of SYRIZA’s secretariat, writes in an article for the left wing website iskra.gr:

- "In addition to the basic issue of the democratic processes within the party and since its bodies did not discuss the initiatives, the decisions of the leader of the parliamentary group of SYRIZA have recently been moving in the wrong direction and they are not in favour of the radical turn."

- "The position that "the euro is our national currency" was officially stated although it is not included in any of SYRIZA’s decisions. Virtually, it is like saying that we should forget the developments in Cyprus after ... at least it has remained a member of the euro zone."

The same text criticizes the collaboration of the radical left with Independent Greeks announced a few days ago.

"At a time when the left wing is to show its alternative plan for a radical turn in policy and society more than ever, SYRIZA’s leader has taken the strangest and most inappropriate decision, namely "rapprochement" with Independent Greeks."

The left platform firmly declares itself against it, stressing on the negative traits it sees – the cooperation with Golden Dawn in Parliament, their proposals that policemen should be appointed ministers and electing Kostas Karamanlis president through a direct vote of the electorate.

"It was like the icing on the cake after Alexis Tsipras’ speech at Konstantinos Karamanlis Foundation, the discussion with former government cadres of PASOK, which they had mutually organized actually and in paritcular the relations with the American Levy Institute. There, Alexis Tsipras directly stated that the slogan a "government of the left wing" was not appropriate, and that it has deprived SYRIZA of the opportunity to take over the government after the elections in June 2012."

His "comrades" blame the coalition leader for his meetings with media magnates, which took place virtually at the time, when he attended the funeral of Hugo Chavez and accused the leaders of Eurogroup’s member states of gangsterism.

The leadership of the coalition is concerned about its unsuccessful statements in recent days, especially after Eurogroup’s decision on Cyprus. But its official position is that the purpose of SYRIZA is a coalition of the nations of the European South. The leadership believes that the pursuit of isolation and the return to national currencies interrupt any dynamics in this regard.

The decision of the central committee of SYRIZA on the internal party debate is expected on Thursday, despite its initial plan to hold a meeting on 4 and 5 April.

At the same time, the results of two recent polls show that the radical coalition ranks first among the parties but by less than a percentage.

According to the poll carried out by Kappa Research, SYRIZA has the support of 26.6% of Greeks and New Democracy has 25.7%. The monthly barometer of Metron Analysis shows a difference of only 0.3% in favour of the radical left.