Greek opposition leader Tsipras resigns as Syriza chief after election defeat

ATHENS — Greece’s main opposition leader Alexis Tsipras resigned on Thursday from leadership of the Syriza party after a crushing defeat in Sunday’s election.

“I decided to propose the election of a new leadership by the members of the party, […] in which of course I will not be a candidate,” he told reporters.

“It would be hypocritical of me to propose the need for a process of profound renewal and refoundation only with my words, if I do not serve it at the same time with my attitude,” he added.

In Sunday’s elections, the conservative New Democracy party secured a second term and won 40.5 percent of the vote and 158 seats of the 300 available seats, while Syriza lagged far behind with only 17.8 percent and 47 seats.

Syriza’s poor performance and Tsipras’ resignation raise questions about whether its status as the main opposition could now be challenged by the Socialist Pasok party.

Tsipras was 34 years old when he became the party’s leader 15 years ago and was associated with its electoral leap from 4.6 percent in 2009 to 36.3 percent in 2015.

He served as Greece’s prime minister from 2015 to 2019, during some of the most turbulent years of the country’s financial crisis.

Syriza won power on a promise to end and reverse the fiscal austerity imposed by the country’s creditors in exchange for bailout loans. In July 2015, after holding a victorious but futile referendum against creditors’ demands, Tsipras had to choose between exit from the euro and a new bailout program on creditors’ terms. He chose the latter and was re-elected in September 2015.

Tsipras’ second term was much more pragmatic, with the country finally exiting the bailout era in 2018. The left-wing leader also signed a historic agreement with neighboring North Macedonia, putting an end to a decades of discord and paving the way for Skopje’s NATO membership.

“I’m proud of what we achieved,” Tsipras said, mentioning the debt relief deal and the agreement on North Macedonia. “The negative election result must and should be the beginning of a new cycle.”