Alexis Tsipras is back with a new party and is once again vying for power, but the past of his government remains a burden.
Alexis Tsipras has returned. Not as a commentator on current events, not as a former prime minister attempting to take stock of his tenure, but as the leader of a new political party that aspires to reclaim power. In his first major television interview following the founding of the Greek Left Coalition, the former prime minister made it clear that he is not interested in playing a supporting role. He stated outright that his goal is not to become the leader of the official opposition but to govern the country again. This is a statement that reveals a great deal. Above all, however, it reveals that, despite the passing of the years, his political horizon remains the same: a return to the top. The problem for him is that political memory does not fade as easily as party logos. And those who heard him talk about a fresh start, found it hard not to recall the events that marked the country during his tenure as prime minister in SYRIZA.
In his interview, Mr. Tsipras attempted to present the new party as the answer to a political vacuum. He declared that SYRIZA’s historic cycle has come to a close, spoke of thousands of new members, referred to social momentum, and described ELAS as a force with the potential to govern. At the same time he sent a message to SYRIZA officials that there are no “reserved positions” for anyone. The picture was clear. The former leader is returning to build his new political home from the ground up. Except that the more he spoke about the future, the larger the shadow of the past became.
Because reality is relentless. The man who today speaks of a new political venture is the very same man who found himself at the helm of the country during one of the most turbulent periods of the post-dictatorship era. He is the politician who was elected on the promise that he would abolish the memoranda and ended up signing a new one. He is the prime minister of the referendum that changed course within a few days. He is the prime minister of capital controls. He is the key figure behind the Prespa Agreement. And he is the man who today is asking citizens to give him another chance, without having engaged in even the slightest meaningful self-criticism.
The man who abandoned the party that made him prime minister
There is something striking about Alexis Tsipras’s political career. SYRIZA was not just a party. It was the political vehicle that carried him from single-digit poll numbers to the Maximos Mansion. It was the political movement that elevated him to a central figure in Greek political life.
Today, however, SYRIZA is viewed more or less as a political relic. As a political force that has run its course and must be replaced by something new. The paradox is that this narrative does not come from its political opponents. It comes from the very man who for years was the party’s absolute leader.
Essentially, Mr. Tsipras is asking citizens to believe that SYRIZA’s collapse happened almost naturally. That the party ran its course as if it were a natural phenomenon. Not as a result of choices, strategic mistakes, and political maneuvers that took place during his tenure.
The Referendum That Will Never Be Forgotten
No matter how many years go by, the 2015 referendum will remain the first major chapter in any discussion of Alexis Tsipras’s political legacy.
Citizens were called upon to answer a pivotal political dilemma. The government staked everything on “No.” The country was divided. Polarization reached a fever pitch. And when the polls spoke, the government ultimately chose a different path.
For many citizens, that was the moment when the myth of the anti-establishment leader who would change Europe crumbled. That was the moment when political promises clashed with reality, and reality won hands down.
That is why today, every time Mr. Tsipras speaks of a new beginning, a large segment of society remembers that summer:
– The banks that closed and the citizens waiting at ATMs
– The retirees who waited for hours for a few euros
– The businesses struggling to operate under restrictions
– The uncertainty that engulfed the entire country
No new party can erase these images. No new logo can erase the memories of that period. And as long as the former prime minister continues to seek the public’s trust, questions will keep resurfacing about the choices that led the country to that point.
The Third Memorandum That Would Never Have Come
If politics had symbols, the third bailout would be the symbol of the greatest contradiction of Tsipras’s administration.
– He was elected by denouncing the bailouts
– He became prime minister promising to abolish them
– He won the election promising to take a different path
– And in the end, he signed a new memorandum
This reality does not change, no matter how many times political rebranding is attempted. And as long as he talks about the future, his political opponents will continue to remind him of the gap between his promises and the final outcome.
The Prespa Agreement, which has become a permanent political shadow
If the referendum damaged his credibility and capital controls tarnished his government’s economic image, the Prespes Agreement was perhaps the most profound political rift of his term.
The agreement sparked massive backlash, protests, and political conflict that transcended narrow party lines. Thousands of citizens felt they had been ignored. A large segment of society believed that red lines that should never have been crossed had been violated.
Mr. Tsipras may consider this debate a thing of the past. For many, however, it remains an unresolved issue. And that is why the Prespa Agreement continues to follow him like a political shadow in every attempt at a fresh start.
The Return Without an Apology
The most notable aspect of his interview was not what he said.
It was what he didn’t say.
– There was no substantive self-criticism
– There was no admission of mistakes
– There was not even a single acknowledgment that the choices made by his administration caused deep wounds and political consequences
On the contrary, the message was almost simplistic: Tsipras is back, and the country is called upon to trust him again.
The big question
The former prime minister has every right to return to the political forefront. That is not in dispute.
What is in dispute is the premise on which he seems to be basing his return: that society has forgotten.
– It has forgotten the referendum
– It has forgotten the bank closures
– It has forgotten the third memorandum
– It has forgotten the Prespa Agreement
– It has forgotten the party that made him prime minister
– And finally, he has forgotten the mess he left behind
Alexis Tsipras’s new political effort will be judged precisely on this question. Not by the new members. Not by the applause at rallies. But by whether citizens are willing to turn back the political clock and give a third chance to a man who has already had the first two.
