Triumphant Tsipras returns to fight for Greek economy, debt relief

Alexis Tsipras took the oath of office for a second term as Greek prime minister on Monday, promising to revive the crippled economy while demanding debt relief from creditors as his “first big battle” following an unexpectedly clear election victory. The firebrand leftist solidified his position as Greece’s dominant political figure in Sunday’s election, but faces a dauntingly long “to do” list that includes implementing austerity polices and dealing with migrants landing on Greek shores.

This is a major personal triumph for Tsipras. His political hegemony is (now) unprecedented.

Political commentator Aristides Hatzis.

Voters gave Tsipras and his Syriza party the benefit of the doubt over a dramatic summer U-turn, when he ditched his anti-austerity platform to secure a new bailout and avert ‘Grexit’, a Greek exit from the euro zone. His first comments upon taking the oath of office were not about his country’s economic woes but about Europe’s migration crisis, the worst on the continent since the Balkan wars of the 1990s.

His supreme political skill is only matched by the incompetence of his political adversaries.

Teneo Intelligence analyst Wolfgango Piccoli