Greek leftists put on brave face as poll shows conservatives pulling ahead

By Angeliki Koutantou ATHENS (Reuters) - Former Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras's leftist Syriza party said on Thursday it remained confident of winning an outright victory in a Sept. 20 election despite an opinion poll that showed its main conservative rival edging ahead. A senior Syriza official played down New Democracy's sudden spurt of momentum, reiterating his party's ambition to win an absolute majority in parliament - the hope that propelled Tsipras to call the snap vote after clinching a bailout deal. "Our objective continues to be an outright majority in parliament and in this case we would want to team up with the Independent Greeks," Panos Skourletis, a former energy minister and close aide to Tsipras, told Mega TV, referring to Syriza's former right-wing coalition ally.

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