Tsipras launches new party, Greek Left Alliance (ELAS)
Former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras officially launched his new political party, the Greek Left Alliance (ELAS), on Tuesday, unveiling its founding declaration at a public event in Athens’ Thiseio district.
The presentation marked Tsipras’ formal return to frontline politics and included a broad critique of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ government, the opposition PASOK party, and Greece’s political establishment.
Supporters began gathering at the venue early in the evening, while former ministers, ex-SYRIZA officials and independent lawmakers attended the event. No sitting members of parliament from SYRIZA or New Left were present.
Among those in attendance were Dionysis Temboneras, Costas Gavroglou, Giorgos Vassiliadis, Nikos Bistis, Yiannis Sarakiotis, Panagiotis Kouroumplis, Athina Linou and Dora Avgery, among other former political figures.
Before Tsipras took the stage, actors Marianna Toumasatou and Aimilios Heilakis delivered introductory remarks. During their appearance, they appeared to make indirect references to the recently launched political movement of rail disaster campaigner Maria Karystianou, questioning the proliferation of new political parties.
Tsipras entered the venue to sustained applause and chants from supporters before outlining the party’s founding declaration, titled “Alliance for Greece, Justice and Democracy – For a Life with Dignity.”
The document addresses international conflicts, climate change, social inequality and the impact of globalization, while calling for what Tsipras described as a “New Metapolitefsi,” referring to a new era of democratic renewal in Greece centered on transparency, accountability and stronger institutions.
The former prime minister also presented seven core commitments of the new party, positioning ELAS as a vehicle for uniting the fragmented left and center-left opposition.
In a symbolic gesture, Tsipras held the party’s founding declaration aloft during the event, drawing comparisons with the presentation of PASOK’s founding declaration by Andreas Papandreou in 1974.
The launch concluded with a video presentation featuring scenes from across Greece and ordinary citizens holding blank sheets of paper. At the end of the ceremony, a young girl dressed in white appeared on stage, handed Tsipras a sheet of paper, and the party’s name — ELAS (Greek Left Alliance) — was revealed on large screens.
The launch comes amid signs of a significant reshaping of Greece’s opposition landscape, with recent opinion polls placing ELAS ahead of PASOK and emerging as the country’s second-largest political force behind the governing New Democracy party.
