Greek PM Tsipras to Resign Thursday

Greek Prime Minister Alex Tsipras leaves his office in Athens.

He said he had exhausted the mandate which the public gave him in January and suggested he would stand at next month’s general elections as a more moderate candidate, moving away from the staunchly leftist platform with which he won earlier in the year. “With your vote you will decide who will lead Greece, and how, on the hard road that lies ahead”. “I will ask for the vote of the Greek people in order to govern and unfold our program”.

As a condition of the bailout, Tsipras’ government was forced to accept deep cuts to the state sector, including the pension system – a move that angered many ordinary Greeks, especially ruling party supporters.

Greece’s complex constitution has special stipulations for holding elections less than 12 months after the previous vote, meaning the president must first consult other major parties to see if they can form a government – a highly unlikely option. Lacking his own majority, the prime minister had to rely on the pro-euro opposition. The party holds 149 seats in the parliament.

The municipal and European elections of 2014 were also a success, with Syriza steadily closing the gap on the country’s leading conservatives in the polls. “The struggle continues”.

The remaining money of an initial 23-billion-euro tranche would be paid at a later stage, the government said, with the overall aid package approved by the eurozone’s finance ministers and national parliaments amounting to 86 billion euros.

The election announcement creates the prospect of a new, permanent prime minister in Greece.

Greece could not have afforded the debt repayment, which was confirmed by the debt management agency, without the rescue funds from 18 other European nations that share the euro currency.

And so with fresh elections, Tsipras cane work towards flushing out the dissent in his party and firming up Syriza’s power in parliament.

Over the past week, rumors floated in the Greek media that Tsipras was going to call for a vote of confidence.

Reacting to the reports, Martin Selmayr, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker’s chief-of-staff, tweeted that “swift elections in Greece can be a way to broaden support” for the bailout deal. Over the past six weeks, fear that Greece was on the cusp of defaulting and exiting the Eurozone eased as the government softened its stance and progress with creditors was made.

“It’s a gamble, but not a high-stakes gamble for Tsipras”.