Greek crisis: Syriza party's far-left faction breaks away to form new party
The move comes a day after the prime minister Alexis Tsipras, accused of betraying his party, announced his resignation
A group of Greek lawmakers opposed to the country’s bailout programme abandoned the governing party, Syriza, as Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras moved to force an early election to shore up his position.
The lawmakers, whose names were read out on Friday by a deputy parliament speaker on television from Athens, will be called "Popular Unity" and led by former Energy Minister Panagiotis Lafazanis, the group said.
Tsipras’s call for snap elections was expected and is welcome as it will achieve a "clearer structure" in the Greek government, Thomas Wieser, the Austrian who leads the European officials who prepare meetings of euro-zone finance ministers, told radio Oe1 in an interview on Friday.
While the move may slow Greek reform in the short term, "what’s more important is how a new government, which many people expect to be led by Alexis Tsipras again, will execute the reform programme," Wieser said.
Elected in January on an anti-austerity platform, Tsipras faced a revolt from within in his own party after pushing through the kind of tax increases and spending curbs that he had vociferously opposed while in opposition.