Tsipras calls for change as polls put his party in lead

Tsipras calls for change as polls put his party in lead  SYRIZA supporters wave flags during a speech by party leader Alexis Tsipras at Athens's Omonia Square on Thursday night. Leftist SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras on Friday called on voters to bring Greece closer to change as opinion polls suggested that his party was leading conservative New Democracy by between 1 and 4.3 percentage points. Addressing a rally in the Cretan port of Iraklio, Tsipras asked voters from across of the political spectrum to bring Greece “a step closer to a wave of change that no one can stop.” The leftist also dismissed the premier’s pledge to create thousands of new jobs, comparing him to Marie Antoinette. “He’s promising cake to a people he deprived of bread,” he said. A poll by GPO saw SYRIZA drawing 23.2 percent of the vote on Sunday compared to 22.2 percent for ND while Public Issue saw the leftists drawing 30 percent and the conservatives garnering 27.5 percent of the vote. Another poll by Alco predicted that SYRIZA would receive 24.2 percent of the vote compared to 20.8 percent for ND while a fourth survey conducted by the Palmos Analysis polling firm saw SYRIZA drawing 26.1 percent and ND 21.8 percent. Earlier on Friday, SYRIZA’s candidate for Attica regional governor, Rena Dourou, unveiled her “growth plan” for the prefecture, which aims at tackling unemployment and social exclusion and boosting citizens’ contribution to regional initiatives.

ekathimerini.com , Friday May 23, 2014 (20:09)