Greece’s Alexis Tsipras rejects mandate to form coalition
Al JazeeraNov 25, 2022
Greece's Tsipras Resigns as Syriza Leader After Election Defeat
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Image copyright: Die Linke/Flickr [via Wikimedia Commons]
The Facts
Greece's former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Thursday announced that he was stepping down as leader of the Syriza party after 15 years, following an executive committee meeting about the party's future.
His decision comes amid criticism over his leadership after Syriza suffered a demoralizing election defeat last Sunday. The party garnered less than 18% of the vote, while the now-ruling conservative New Democracy received more than 40% of the ballots.
The Spin
Left narrative
When Syriza rose to power roughly a decade ago, it was seen as a breath of fresh air in Europe, and had a popular mandate to reject the austerity policies imposed by the IMF and the EU. Yet, as Tsipras yielded to pressure during his tenure, voters lost confidence in the politicians of his government. The Greek left must now reorganize itself to offer a convincing alternative to the nation's people.
Right narrative
Despite wiretapping scandals, a train tragedy and a migrant boat disaster off the coast, PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis took risks and won big with his pro-business and pro-European platform. Greek citizens voted for stability of the center-right government over the discredited and increasingly disunited left, even in working-class areas of Athens and the socialist stronghold of Crete.
