In a sharp new confrontation with former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and his newly formed party, the Greek Left Coalition (ELAS), government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis escalated tensions during Monday’s (29 June 2026) press briefing. Responding to ELAS’s critical assessment of the government’s economic record, Marinakis didn’t limit himself to technical rebuttals — he launched a sweeping critique of Tsipras’s entire political trajectory, accusing him of habitual dishonesty, policy reversals, and misleading financial claims.
‘Nearly every line contains a big lie’
Marinakis dismissed ELAS’s statement as a document in which “nearly every line contains a major falsehood,” directing his criticism squarely at Tsipras. “It took more than just one day for this brand-new party to issue a statement where almost every line carries a major lie,” he said. “Mr. Tsipras is globally known for his lies and U-turns — but here, each line adds another lie.”
Economy at the heart of the clash
Marinakis systematically rejected ELAS’s economic criticisms, accusing Tsipras of building an opposition narrative on “shoddy data” and inaccuracies. He singled out ELAS’s reference to the €70 billion Recovery Fund, correcting it to €36 billion — calling Tsipras’s figure a well-known distortion.
He contrasted Greece’s current economic performance with the period of SYRIZA’s governance, stating that when Tsipras handed over power, Greece ranked 27th out of 27 EU countries — whereas today, its growth rate is double the EU average. “Is it credible for the man who presided over the bottom of the barrel to now pass judgment? And isn’t it a fact that 600,000 unemployed people have found jobs?” Marinakis asked, questioning Tsipras’s credibility as a critic of current fiscal policy.
On competitiveness, Marinakis cited Greece’s jump from 61st to 24th place in global rankings — calling the opposition’s claim of deteriorating competitiveness “yet another lie.”
‘We won’t return to fake money’
Addressing criticism over inflation and the primary budget surplus, Marinakis branded the claim that the surplus was built on rising prices as “a major lie.” He stressed that the Mitsotakis government’s surplus stands in stark contrast to SYRIZA’s — accusing the former administration of introducing 30 new taxes, then redistributing minimal amounts in return. “We haven’t raised a single tax — we’ve cut 83 direct and indirect taxes. What we’re reducing are tax rates — a fundamentally different approach.”