Alexis Tsipras, the former prime minister of Greece and leader of the main opposition Syriza party (EU Left), resigned on Thursday (29 June) following a poor showing in a national parliamentary election and will not run for the party’s presidency.
“We are opening a new historical circle,” Tsipras said.
“I decided to propose the election of new leadership from the party members, as stated in the statute. I will not be a candidate, I will be present before, during, and after the process,” the leftist leader said.
Syriza was heavily defeated by the conservative New Democracy party (EPP) in the second round of the Greek elections last week, getting 48 seats in the 300-member parliament.
Following the elections, analysts suggested that re-appointed Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who has 158 lawmakers in the Greek parliament, has no real opposition, considering that in addition to Syriza’s collapse, socialists, who ranked third, got only 32 seats.
Tsipras called on Syriza members to speed things up “without delay” ahead of the upcoming regional and local elections in the autumn.
Inventing a new Syriza
“A circle was closed and Syriza must open another, more hopeful one”, Tsipras said, thanking Greeks for having elected him as the “first left prime minister of Greece” in 2015.
He explained that a new Syriza should be “invented” that will understand the new challenges and meet new expectations.
Since he became leader of Syriza, Tsipras tried to turn the party into a progressive alliance, eyeing the prospect of joining forces also with the socialists. However, the socialists and other potential political forces from the “progressive” front rejected such an alliance.
Tsipras also faced internal opposition over his attempt to approach the socialists, especially from the extreme left faction within his party.
According to rumours in Athens, former ministers Alexis Charitsis and Efi Achtsioglou, both close allies of Tsipras, are highly likely to run for the party’s leadership.
Tsipras served as Greece’s prime minister in 2015-2019.
Among his prime achievements was the country’s exit from the bailout programme imposed by the EU and the International Monetary Fund, following years of economic crisis.
Another milestone was the Prespa Agreement, a key name change deal between Greece and North Macedonia that put an end to two decades of animosity between the Balkan neighbours and allowed Skopje to revive its EU membership bid.
[Edited by Zoran Radosavljevic]
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Source: euractiv.com
