by guest journalist Dimitrios Machairidis
Photo credit: Dimitrios Machairidis
The winner takes all. Against all odds Alexis Tsipras, the radiant Greek prime minister and leader of the radical party SYRIZA, won a clear victory last Sunday during the second parliamentary elections in Greece in less than a year. Alexis Tsipras came to power on January 26th, 2015, promising the abolition of all memorandums Greece had signed with the European Central Bank, the European Union and the IMF and a return to old prosperous years – promises that were never realized. Instead, the first short-term government of Alexis Tsipras introduced the capital controls to the Greek economy and a new tougher memorandum that opened the door to more than forty of his deputies to leave SYRIZA and create a new party, the “People’s Alliance.”
At the end of August, a new round of parliamentary elections was the only emergency exit for Tsipras. He seemed alone, betrayed and defeated. Finally he was not! Tough decisions are ahead for Alexis Tsipras. Last Sunday night was the brightest night for Tsipras. 35% of Greek voters decided to give him a second mandate to run Greece’s affairs, same proportion as that of the mandate of last January. Tsipras will continue to run the affairs of Greece together with his ally, a small right wing party of “Independent Greeks,” an awkward alliance between radical left and right.
Alexis Tsipras
“I will vote for Alexis because I feel sorry for him,” Elena, a friend of mine and a pensioner, told me. Until then she had voted for New Democracy, the center right party. This time she changed sides. She was not the only one. Alexis Tsipras played successfully the card of the lonely young leader surrounded by old dinosaurs and convinced voters who had never voted for a left radical party before. Finally, he magnetized not only those hit or affected by the crisis, but also voters traditionally on the other side of the political spectrum.
Greeks are attracted to people rather than to ideologies and Tsipras knows this rule very well. He promised that he will reform the country according to the memorandum obligations and that he will keep intact all privileges of various interest groups in the Greek society.
Regardless of whether he keeps his promises, Alexis Tsipras remains the secure political figure to lead Greece ahead. On the contrary, his opponents are obliged to examine what went wrong inside their parties so that voters were not convinced to vote for them.
45% of Greeks did not go to the polls. Tired from five elections in six years, with the economy sinking every day, the unemployment skyrocketing and consecutive memorandums without exit from the crisis, the Greeks preferred either to stay at home or to spend the Sunday at the beach.
“I won’t vote, I’d rather stay at the beach instead of giving Tsipras the satisfaction of a second victory in a row. He allowed the crisis to go on,” Despoina, another friend and public servant, told me. Last January she had fiercely supported SYRIZA.
SYRIZA Flyers
Though Alexis Tsipras remains the ruler of the game, the abstention of the Greek voters is his real adversary. They do not trust any political leader anymore, even if the political leaders continue to pamper voters instead of taking difficult measures in order to reform the notorious Greek administration, the irrational pension system, the inefficient tax collection system, the liberalizing of tens of protected professions, the privatizing of state run companies, attracting foreign investments, fighting the endemic corruption etc.
Alexis Tsipras
This huge 45% of voters who remained away from the poll station last Sunday is the real menace to the Greek political system and mostly to Alexis Tsipras. Tsipras has to make tough decisions according to the third memorandum he signed in order to save the Greek economy and keep it into the eurozone. No further chance to fail, no further memorandums. Otherwise, he has to face all those who spent their Sunday under the sun waiting to see what was going to happen.
