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Yesterday's marathon meeting of the parliamentary group of the radical left that lasted almost twelve hours aimed at easing the tension among party members that was due to the agreement signed with the lenders, as stated by the leading Greek media.

It ended with a voting in parliament with which MPs had to state whether they would support the agreement or not. Sources indicate that the vast majority of SYRIZA representatives supported the agreement, but at least five of them voted against, the number of abstentions being much higher. It is claimed that two members of the government were among them, namely Minister of Productive Reconstruction, Energy and Environment Panagiotis Lafazanis and Deputy Minister for Social Security Dimitris Stratoulis.

According to publications, 145 deputies had made statements during the meeting, dozens of them being especially critical to the actions of the cabinet, defining them as a retreat and compromise.

Panagiotis Lafazanis paid attention to the commitments of Greece according to the text of the document. In his opinion, the way in which they are described allows Greece’s lenders to exert pressure on the government. "In the letter, there are things that do not at all resemble our way of expression. They are similar to the language of the lenders," he said. Other MPs said that the list contained a lot of "vague and unclear things" whereas Kostas Lapavitsas commented on the discrepancy between the agreement and the programme of SYRIZA, insisting that if this difference persisted, the opinion of citizens should be sought for.

In turn, the deputies of the left wing of SYRIZA said that not only had the agreement cancelled the social programme of SYRIZA but it had also violated the decision made at the party congress, namely that the first government action would be to cancel the memorandum.

State Minister Nikos Pappas undertook to defend the actions of the cabinet, pointing out that the agreement provides all possibilities for application of the social programme.

During the meeting, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras openly posed to lawmakers the dilemma, "I want to know whether you are for or against the agreement. If some of you will not support it in parliament, I want you to say it here and today."

According to the Greek analysts, his statement applies to the discussion about how the agreement on the extension of the loan contract will be submitted to parliament for approval whereas according to sources, the government is also considering options as to how to evade the discussion of the document in parliament.

However, members of the opposition within the party totally rejected this possibility. They stressed that since the agreement had been concluded, it must be submitted for a vote in parliament, regardless of its content and of who will vote "for" or "against" it.

Meanwhile, Yannis Milios, one of the authors of the economic programme of SYRIZA and a the person in charge of the economic policy of the party, criticized the agreement with the lenders in an article entitled, "The only way out is escape forward", which he posted on his personal page.
 
Together with two other colleagues, Milios refutes the government cheering for a "victory" in the negotiations with the lenders, using particularly strong language and definitions. He accuses the cabinet of "insufficient preparation" and Minister of Finance Yanis Varoufakis of "controversial tactics". According to Milios, the government has apparently surrendered under pressure from lenders which can lead to a "rout".