Greek PM seeks to quash rebellion with party vote

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a meeting in the Chanclery in Berlin in March 2015 (Shutterstock/360b)

ATHENS – Greece’s prime minister has called for a vote within his radical-left Syriza party to decisively sideline rebels opposed to any bailout deal with the country’s creditors.

Addressing the party’s 200-strong top decision-making body Thursday, Alexis Tsipras said the vote slated for this Sunday would answer whether Greece would be better off without a rescue agreement as hard-liners contend.

He likened the vote to putting “the pin back in the hand grenade” and quelling the conflict with dissenters that threatens to splinter the party and touched off speculation of the country may be heading for fresh elections in the autumn.

In a vote three weeks ago, nearly a fourth of Syriza’s lawmakers refused to support new austerity measures demanded by creditors before a bailout deal can be sealed.