Greece brings Tsipras back to power

Greece has elected former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in the elections on September 20, thereby returning him to power after he dissolved Parliament in August. The country was the worst hit by the eurozone crisis. The Syriza party won 145 seats out of the 300 seats in Parliament falling just six seats short of an absolute majority. It would be forming the government easily with the help of its former coalition partner Independent Greeks, which won 10 seats and is a far-right party ideologically.

Greece, which was on the verge of exit from the European Union after suffering a sovereign debt crisis, has been rescued by the creditors in return for implementing reforms as suggested by them. Greece received a bailout package of 86 billion euros. This was the third bailout package. Mr Tsipras had initially refused to implement austerity measures after Greece had voted in a referendum rejecting austerity cuts. He was seen as a leader taking a tough approach to revive Greece and received considerate support. However, he finally had to agree to the bailout terms and implement austerity measures to save Greece after the financial system, which was on the verge of collapse, and banks, which shut down for days created panic. The move did lead to many of Mr Tsipras’s colleagues deserting him and his alliance, but he was seen as somebody who tried and is the most popular leader in Greece at the moment.

Road ahead

With Mr Tsipras all set to form the government within the next three days, it gives a certainty to the markets on the steps the government is likely to take. The political uncertainty has ended for now as the election has resulted in a government being formed instead of a deadlock. Now Greece will go about implementing austerity measures as agreed in the bailout terms and conditions.

Over the next few months, Greek citizens will face some harsh measures imposed on them such as tax rises, cuts to wages and benefits. As Greece prepares to restructure its economy, Mr Tsipras has a very tough challenge in front of him, which probably no Greek Prime Minister has had in recent times. Creditors like EU and IMF would continue their negotiations with Mr Tsipras and monitor Greece’s road to recovery.

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