Greece’s Leftist Ex-PM Alexis Tsipras Leaps into Political Unknown

When Alexis Tsipras, former prime minister of Greece and ex-leader of the left-wing SYRIZA party, announced his resignation as a member of parliament this week, he made it clear that this was not a farewell to politics altogether. “I am not resigning from political activity,” Tsipras emphasised. For months, political talk show panels have been discussing the possibility of Tsipras setting up a new party, but no one had predicted his immediate resignation as a SYRIZA MP. His move surprised not only his political opponents but also his close associates. SYRIZA’s current leader, Socrates Famellos, acknowledged Tsipras’s decision respectfully, emphasising that despite the fact that they have different perspectives on how to get rid of the government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his centre-right New Democracy party, "we will not be opponents". Government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis was less friendly, taking a dig at Tsipras’s time in office as prime minister during the country’s financial crisis, when restrictions on cash withdrawals and money transfers were imposed in 2015 as Greece faced the risk of bankruptcy and banks were shut. As Tsipras compared the crisis to a stormy sea, “we were all looking for life jackets”, Marinakis said. Tsipras’s resignation coincides with the imminent appearance of his new book, a political autobiography, due for publication in December. Greek commentators are more interested in what he will do next. But they are in no doubt that his departure is a major blow for the party he is leaving behind, which has been riven by internal disputes in recent years. Please login to your account below if you are already a Premium Subscriber. Our Premium Service gives you full access to all content published on BalkanInsight.com, including analyses, investigations, comments, interviews and more. Choose your subscription today and get unparalleled in-depth coverage of the Southern and Eastern Europe. If you have trouble logging in or any other questions regarding you account, please contact us