Spotlight on Greek left after poll surge Greece's fragmented left, on the fringes of politics for decades, suddenly finds itself in the spotlight thanks to a charismatic young leader whose hardline positions appeal to a broad swath of disaffected voters. The question is whether Alexis Tsipras can maintain the momentum which propelled his radical Syriza party into second place at last Sunday's general election as the country heads for a second poll next month, amid mounting concern that it may soon be forced out of the euro. Mr Tsipras received a mandate on Tuesday to try to form a coalition government, taking his turn as the leader of one of the three best-performing parties at the polls. But he made clear there would be no concessions to the centre-right New Democracy and PanHellenic Socialist Movement, or Pasok, his main potential coalition partners. His explicit call on Tuesday for Greece's next government to denounce its second €174bn bailout agreement, halt payments on its public debt and nationalise the banking system sent shockwaves through the country's political elite. "To form a government you need the support or tacit acceptance of Syriza, and it is clear that is not going to be forthcoming," said Loukas Tsoukalis, head of the Athens think-tank Eliamep. Antonis Samaras, who heads New Democracy and is due to meet Mr Tsipras on Wednesday under official procedures for discussing coalition, turned up the political heat by saying the Syriza leader's proposals amounted to a call for Greece's exit from the euro. But Mr Tsipras's supporters reject the dire warnings from Athens" political establishment. "Syriza is standing up for people who have suffered because of the bailout measures, so I voted for them," said Demos Stergides, who lost his job in the textile industry last month. Syriza is the leading force in a coalition of small leftwing groups, some dating from the resistance to the military junta that ruled Greece during the late 1960s and early 1970s, which have rallied behind Mr Tsipras's sharp rhetoric and forceful leadership. The 38-year-old civil engineer's career in politics stretches back two decades, starting in his high school years as a member of the Greek communist party's youth organisation, when he organised sit-ins to protest against reform of the education system under a conservative government and took part in anti-globalisation protests. Elected to parliament for the first time in 2009 after serving on Athens city council, he argued that even if Greece reneged on the conditions of its first, 2010 bailout by the European Union and International Monetary Fund, it would still be able to remain a member of the eurozone. Mr Tsipras's critics say his dream of forming the country's first leftist coalition government is unrealistic, given that the Greek communist party has repeatedly rejected his offers of co-operation. Democratic Alliance, the only other leftwing party in parliament, is also seen as an unlikely coalition partner, given that it split acrimoniously from Syriza two years ago. The three leftist parties together control only 97 seats in the 300-member parliament, leaving Syriza far short of a majority even if Pasok, with 41 seats, makes an about-turn and decides to join them - a move that Evangelos Venizelos, its leader, is unlikely to make, say socialist officials. Yet Pasok is not ruling out another surge by Syriza in the second poll. "Its demands today are bound to scare many Greeks who voted for them last Sunday, but the mood of popular anger is not likely to dissipate in the weeks ahead of the next poll," said a senior Pasok official.