Tsipras launches 'Now We Talk' events from Nikaia, declares ELAS main opposition and foresees election victory

From Nikaia, a new political dialogue

Former prime minister Alexis Tsipras launched a series of open-door events titled “Now We Talk” in the working-class suburb of Nikaia on 15 June, drawing hundreds of citizens to Plateia 17 Avgoustou. The gathering marked the first public outing for his party, the Hellenic Left Coalition (ELAS), founded less than a month earlier. Tsipras told the crowd he chose the historic neighborhood of Kokkinia to begin the dialogue because “we want to represent working people.” Attendees included local traders, teachers, pensioners, nurses and students who shared everyday concerns before Tsipras took the microphone.

Electoral ambitions and poll boost

Tsipras stressed that ELAS had already achieved what he called an unprecedented feat. “On 26 May, within 24 hours of its founding, ELAS became the official opposition, not just in the polls but in the conscience of the Greek people,” he said. “In a few months we will manage to become government with the vote of the Greek people, whenever elections are held.” His confidence was bolstered by a fresh ALCO poll published the same day, which showed New Democracy at 23.3% and ELAS in second place at 14.2%, followed by PASOK at 10.3% and Hope for Democracy at 8.1%.

Tsipras’s dilemma: progress versus corruption

The former premier rejected the government’s narrative that the choice is between stability and chaos. “What we are living is not stability but regression into the swamp of corruption, high prices and inequalities,” he said, arguing that the real dilemma for voters is “stagnation or progress, corruption or honesty.” He insisted fiscal room existed to rebuild the welfare state, support healthcare workers and teachers, and reduce glaring inequalities, rather than maintaining the status quo. “Is it stability when your salary runs out by the 15th of the month, when we have among the lowest wages and the most expensive prices?” he asked.

The dilemma of the next elections is stagnation or progress, corruption or honesty.

A swipe at Mitsotakis

Tsipras revived a personal contrast with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, recalling that during his own premiership, when a Turkish exploration vessel entered Greek waters, he ordered a frigate to intercept it. “When Mr. Mitsotakis was asked about the Oruc Reis, he said the wind blew and the waves took it,” Tsipras quipped, accusing the current government of weakness. He also ridiculed Mitsotakis’s suggestion that voters might face second elections, claiming the PM “fears a runoff because he knows he would lose it.” The speech repeatedly tied the ND government to corruption scandals and direct contracting without tenders.

What next?

The Nikaia event is the first of many “Now We Talk” gatherings planned to bring ELAS into direct contact with voters in neighborhoods across Greece. Party officials said the format inverts traditional campaigning by letting citizens speak first. With no election date fixed, Tsipras’s team is using the breathing space to build a progressive front that they argue can offer a credible alternative. Whether the momentum behind a party barely three weeks old can translate into a governing majority remains to be tested, but for now the former prime minister is framing the contest as already underway.