(29 Jun 2023)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Athens, Greece - 29 June 2023
1. Wide of venue entrance
2. Close-up of Syriza party leader Alexis Tsipras entering venue
3. Tsipras takes seat
4. Wide of monitor reading (Greek) “Syriza”
5. SOUNDBITE (Greek) Alexis Tsipras, Syriza party leader:
“I have therefore decided to propose the election of a new leadership by the members of the party, as stipulated in the party statutes, with immediate recourse to the relevant procedures. Of course I will not be a candidate; however, I will be present before, during and after them.”
6. Wide of Tsipras speaking
7. SOUNDBITE (Greek) Alexis Tsipras, Syriza party leader:
“I make no secret of the fact that I am moved. That this decision is a painful one for me, as it would be for anyone.”
8. Tsipras seen speaking on camera’s viewfinder
9. SOUNDBITE (Greek) Alexis Tsipras, Syriza party leader:
"(The party) must take difficult and courageous decisions, which are called upon to serve a new vision. This obviously concerns me, as well, foremost me as head of Syriza in the historic cycle that is ending."
10. Close-up of reading (Greek) “Syriza”
11. SOUNDBITE (Greek) Alexis Tsipras, Syriza party leader:
“Last Sunday, voters gave Syriza-Progressive Alliance a double mandate: Firstly, to respond to its role as the main opposition party, which is always the role of a party of power, and secondly, to change drastically if it wants to run the country once again. So we must all respond to this mandate, to reorganize immediately and without any delay, not allowing a single day to be lost."
12. Wide of media
13. Tsipras leaving venue after announcement
STORYLINE:
Greece’s left-wing opposition leader, Alexis Tsipras, announced his decision Thursday to step down after a crushing election defeat.
Tsipras, 48, served as Greece's prime minister from 2015 to 2019 during politically tumultuous years as the country struggled to remain in the euro zone and end a series of international bailouts.
In Sunday’s general election, Tsipras’ left-wing Syriza party received just under 18% of the vote — losing almost half its support over the past four years — while Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' winning New Democracy party topped 40%.
“The party must take difficult and courageous decisions, which are called upon to serve a new vision. This obviously concerns me too,” Tsipras said in a televised address.
“I have therefore decided to propose the election of a new leadership by the members of the party, as stipulated in the party statutes, with immediate recourse. Of course I will not be a candidate,” he said. “I make no secret of the fact that this is a painful decision.”
Tsipras, who headed the party since 2012, is expected to stay on as leader until his successor is elected by the party membership.
No prominent members of the party has publicly called on Tsipras to step down after the election defeat, though Euclid Tsakalotos, a former Syriza finance minister, had urged him to reflect on the results and “take the necessary actions.”
Effie Achtsioglou, a 38-year-old former social security minister, has received support from a section of the party to seek a leadership role but has not publicly discussed her plans.
Commentators blamed Syriza's poor election result on the party's largely-negative campaign, the resurgence of the traditionally-strong Socialist party Pasok, and the appearance of splinter parties headed by former Tsipras allies.
AP Video Lefteris Pitarakis
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