Greek leftist Tsipras gets second chance with unexpected electoral sweep

Greek left-wing leader Alexis Tsipras will receive the formal mandate to govern for a second straight term Monday, after his unexpectedly decisive victory in early national elections that saw most Greeks back parties committed to the debt-heavy country’s harsh bailout commitments. The vote ensured Europe’s most outspoken leftist leader would remain Greece’s dominant political figure, despite having been abandoned by party radicals last month after he caved in to demands for austerity to win a bailout from the eurozone. In a victory speech to cheering crowds in a central Athens square, he promised a new phase of stability in a country that has held five general elections in six years, saying his mandate would now see him through a full term.

Today in Europe, Greece and the Greek people are synonymous with resistance and dignity. This struggle will be continued together for a full four years.

Alexis Tsipras

Tsipras’s first task after forming a government will be to persuade European Union lenders that enough agreed steps have been made to ensure the next payment. The bailout program is due for a review next month. He will also need to grapple with Greece’s central role in Europe’s refugee crisis, as the main entry point for tens of thousands of migrants who arrive by sea and trek up the Balkan peninsula to richer EU countries further north.

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