Tsipras: 7.39 billion euro programme at Thessaloniki Fair

The president of the Hellenic Left Coalition (Ελληνική Αριστερή Συμπαράταξη, ΕΛ.Α.Σ.), Alexis Tsipras, gave a press conference on Wednesday, 9 September 2026, at 17:00, at the Vellidio Conference Centre in Thessaloniki, as part of the 90th Thessaloniki International Fair (ΔΕΘ), according to live coverage by CNN.gr. Efimerida ton Syntakton also broadcast the press conference live, confirming the location and time of the event. Mr Tsipras founded the Hellenic Left Coalition on 26 May 2026 and is no longer a member of SYRIZA. His appearance at the Fair constituted the presentation of an economic programme for the party he founded, before journalists and media representatives gathered in Thessaloniki for the duration of the fair. The 90th Thessaloniki International Fair, in the context of which the press conference took place, is hosted this year at the Thessaloniki exhibition centre and constitutes an established point of reference for political current affairs every September, as CNN.gr notes in its live coverage.

During the press conference, Alexis Tsipras presented a four-year economic programme, the cost of which is estimated, according to the calculations he himself presented and which Enikos recorded, at 7.39 billion euros. Among the targets announced, as reported by Enikos, is an increase in the minimum wage to 1,000 euros, with gradual implementation within 2027, as well as setting the average full-time wage at 1,800 euros by the end of the four-year term, according to the programme presented by the party. CNN.gr and Efimerida ton Syntakton also recorded, through their live coverage, the same wage targets as announced by the president of the Hellenic Left Coalition, without the reports specifying additional funding measures beyond the total cost of the programme. Enikos also reported that the programme was presented by Alexis Tsipras himself as a four-year plan, though the relevant coverage did not provide further detailed information on how the total amount of 7.39 billion euros would be allocated per year or per policy area.

The Thessaloniki International Fair traditionally serves as the platform from which the leaders of Greek parties present their economic programmes every September, and this year’s presentation by Alexis Tsipras fits within that framework. The press conference took place the same week that ELSTAT published data on inflation for August 2026, which came to 3.8%, according to ELSTAT data. The two events are recorded as coinciding in time within the same week, without the reports covering Alexis Tsipras’s press conference linking the inflation data to the specific targets of the economic programme presented in Thessaloniki.

At the press conference, Alexis Tsipras stated, as CNN.gr recorded in its live coverage, that “the left is not what manages poverty better, but a policy that generates wealth and distributes it more fairly to everyone.” The programme, as presented at the Vellidio Conference Centre, covers the entire four-year term and, according to Enikos, includes further elements beyond the wage targets, which were not analysed further during the press conference. Neither CNN.gr, nor Efimerida ton Syntakton, nor Enikos had recorded, at the time this article was written, reactions from other parties to the presentation of the programme. All three reports are limited to recording what the president of the Hellenic Left Coalition himself announced, without commentary or assessment of the viability of the targets he set. Further details on the implementation of the programme are expected to follow in the coming days, as the political news cycle around the Thessaloniki Fair continues, with detailed coverage available in the Greece – Economy section.