With an obvious mood… political reset, Alexis Tsipras chose to present book on Yiannis Boutaris as a step to reheat the narrative of the Prespes Agreement and to hand out – again – lessons in “progressive patriotism“.
With party thickening, Alexis Tsipras returns with a tried-and-tested – and obviously worn-out – recipe: Prespes, “progressive patriotism” and general complaints about the political system. In attempting to rewrite the political narrative of his administration, he reintroduces a consensus that he forgot and a rhetoric that has been tested in practice, while completely avoiding any meaningful self-criticism of his own responsibilities.
The former prime minister reiterated the familiar rhetoric about the “dividing line between patriotism and patriotism”, presenting the Prespa Agreement as a pinnacle moment of political courage. Only that the reality remains stubbornly different: it was a choice that deeply divided Greek society and cost himself politically, something that today he tries to reframe as… historical vindication.
Shelter at a time when he is seeking a new political role
In a nostalgic tone, Tsipras referred to Yannis Boutaris, attempting to identify his stance with a “progressive” line against nationalism. However, the invocation of the past is not enough to cover the obvious: that he is recycling the same arguments at a time when he is seeking a new political role.
Even more typical is the ease with which the former prime minister is attacking the political system in a collective manner, referring to “incompetence” and “corruption”. It is a familiar tactic of distancing himself from a system in which he not only participated, but also shaped as a central protagonist over a number of years.
The irony is obvious: the same politician who ruled the country in one of its most critical periods now appears today as an observer who finds… pathologies. Without self-criticism, without specific proposals, but with plenty of generalizations.
At a time when political developments are accelerating and scenarios for a new political entity are coming back to the fore, Tsipras’ interventions seem less like a substantial contribution to the public debate and more like test appearances of a familiar project. A play that, despite efforts to repackage it, hardly convinces that it has anything new to say.
