The government spokeswoman Olga Gerovasili did not rule out the possibility of a ‘divorce’ within SYRIZA.
In an interview Wednesday with Alpha 95.7 radio station Gerovasili underlined that it is not possible for two conflicting views to exist on a government level.
While stressing that the government's priority is to enter a new stage of normality she claimed that a possible rift within Syriza seems inevitable and will most probably occur in the next general elections, given the radically different opinions expressed.
Regarding the upcoming vote in Parliament on a second package of measures demanded by international lenders to open talks on a new bailout deal Gerovasili predicted that there would be greater support than in last week’s vote.
The measures to be voted upon on Wednesday include justice and banking reforms, but the Greek premier decided to delay votes on two other contentious issues - new taxes for farmers and further changes to the pension system - to avoid causing more Syriza defections.
Wolf Piccoli, of Teneo Intelligence, reckons that he expected the bill to pass through parliament, given that the thorny issue of farmers' taxation will be delayed until early August.
That is the vote that could be Tsipras' undoing, however, with opposition MPs (whose support Tsipras has counted upon so far) threatening to oppose the measures. If Tsipras's support base erodes further, Tsipras could be forced to resign, Piccoli said, warning that new elections were still likely later in the year.