Greece crisis: Syriza rebels form new Popular Unity party

21-Aug (BBC) — Rebels from Greece’s governing left-wing Syriza are to break away and form a new party.

Prime Minister and Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras stood down on Thursday, paving the way for new elections.

The move came after he lost the support of many of his own MPs in a vote on the country’s new bailout with European creditors earlier this month.

Greek media reports say 25 rebel Syriza MPs will join the new party, called Laiki Enotita (Popular Unity).

The party will be led by former energy minister Panagiotis Lafazanis, who was strongly opposed to the bailout deal, reports say.

At a press conference in Athens, Mr Lafazanis said he was ready to respect the result of a referendum held in July, in which 61% of Greeks said they would not support the terms of the bailout.

“If it is necessary for us to cancel the memorandum, we will follow the course of exiting the euro,” he is quoted by Kathimerini newspaper as saying.

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PG View: Just when you thought Greece was back-burnered . . .

Depending on how the snap-elections play out, the Grexit threat could be right back at the fore.