Now that the left-wing supporters' hope for Greece, Tsipras, has failed, with his resignation, the country awaits a possible early election
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has recently submitted his resignation, deciding for early elections in the country. However, he took his office with great expectations, creating a great wave of excitement. He unrealistically promised to wipe off the debts of his country, which is on the brink of bankruptcy, to revive the country and distribute considerable amounts of money to pensioners and workers from the state budget. But these promises were of course hard to realize since just after the referendum that was held to wipe the EU debts, Tsipras had to negotiate with the EU and International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a new package. Upon that, some 34 deputies in his Syriza party revolted and submitted their resignations from the party, eventually founding a new party. The latest news of resignation came immediately after all these. Is it a surprise? Or, does Tsipras have a new plan?I already wrote that Tsipras was performing cheap populism; he was only a superficial image with his white shirt and youth, the realization of his promises were not within the bounds of possibility and it was completely sly to negotiate with the IMF although he received 61 percent support through turning the act of resting on the debts almost into a referendum of honor. His resignation seems to be a defeat and remise at first glance. But is it really so?
I think his resignation, which caused a huge stir in radical left-wing circles that want to drag Greece into an even graver catastrophe, was a smart move by Tsipras. I spoke with A Haber's Athens representative Manolis Kostidis, a reliable friend of mine whose findings I trust, to confirm and have a grasp of the general atmosphere prevalent in Greece. He agrees with me.
Tsipras's resignation was already expected due to the opposition in his party, which resulted in the resignation of 34 deputies and formation of a new party following his negotiations with the IMF. In a sense, Tsipras undermined his politics based on cheap heroism by negotiating with the IMF and EU. However, he did this since he saw the heavy costs of "say no to EU" populism in the medium term. He attempted to satisfy both German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the leftist deputies reacting against the EU simultaneously before the June elections and finally saw that it was impossible. The closure of banks and the complete cut of EU and IMF funds compelled Tsipras to meet with the IMF after the referendum. He took a political risk for his country, and in return he has lost his power in his party.
But viewed from the current condition, he has two significant powers. Firstly, the public still sides with him. A large group of people in Syriza's base think he made this agreement for his country compulsorily. Tsipras had come to power with 36 percent of the vote. The latest surveys indicate that support for him is still about 29 percent or 30 percent, which is enough to come to power again. Secondly, the Greek electoral system has a detail that if early elections are held within a year, party leaders determine the deputy candidate lists, just like in Turkey. In other words, Tsipras will both restore trust and enable control in his party and go to elections with candidates he chooses by calling early elections upon resigning.
However, Tsipras's power restoration of course does not mean the empowerment of Greece. The country is still in a miserable situation. It is uncertain how such an amount of debt can be wiped off with such a low production rate, how the Greeks will manage to overcome taxes and how far the EU can tolerate Greece. In a nutshell, Tsipras might have taken a smart step, but Greece is still far from salvation.
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