Tsipras delivers anti-austerity speech in London

"The first priority of our government will be to freeze wage and pension reduction measures and gradually restore the minimum wage to pre-memorandum levels,” visiting main opposition Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA) president, Alexis Tsipras said Friday evening here addressing an event organised by his party.

As he did in a speech at the London School Economics on Thursday, Tsipras once again strongly criticized the austerity policy followed by Greece and Europe. "Austerity drives the economy downwards. This is not an estimate, it is a fact," he stressed. "Austerity is not the only means to exit the crisis but the goal of those who impose it.”

According to Tsipras, the objective of austerity was to provide cheap labour, which is achieved by "blackmailing people with large debt created by governments.” He expressed the view that "should there was no crisis, they would have to invent it in order to pull off their plans."

The main opposition leader also strongly criticized the governments of the European south charging that so far there has not been not even on government to say ‘no’ to those who impose austerity policies.” He said, "they accept any absurd measure imposed on them."

He also condemned the banking system, as "it does not serve the interests of citizens interests, but those of the capital," emphasising that his goal was to place banks “under public and social control”, when his party came to power.

Tsipras concludes visit to London

Main opposition SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras'  three-day official visit to London was concluded on Saturday evening after his meetings with the Trades Union Congress (TUC)leadership and with members of the initiative Greece Solidarity Campaign and the Coalition of Resistance movement.

Tsipras met with the general secretary of  the Trades Union Congress Frances O' Grady who expressed the British unions movement's solidarity to SYRIZA and to the Greek people's efforts to confront the austerity policy applied in Greece. Both officials agreed to have a closer contact in the future.

Later, Tsipras met with cadres of the Coalition of the Resistance movement and the Greece Solidarity Campaign,  two movements that take part in events and mobilisations against the austerity.

Tsipras discussed with them the condition in Greece and the solutions that his party proposes to exit from the crisis and to stop the austerity policy.