Greek PM quits, calls early election

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Greece’s Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has called it quits after less than eight months in office, announcing his resignation and an early election.

Mr Tsipras made the announcement yesterday in a TV broadcast, saying the people must decide if his left-leaning Syriza party had made the right direction for the recovery of the economy, after the government agreed to a €86 billion bailout.

“You, with your vote, will decide who will lead Greece down this difficult road ahead of us, who will negotiate the best way of reducing the debt, who and how will be able to march forward with steady steps, and make the changes that the country needs. You, with your vote, will judge us,” he said.

The election date is yet to be set but some early reports suggest it may take place on September 20.

It is likely that Syriza party will return to power, as it is still popular with voters.

Earlier this week, the eurozone finance ministers signed off on the bailout agreement to help Greece rebuild its economy.

“The Greek government is bound to implementing this wide-ranging reform package with determination and we will monitor the process closely,” says eurozone president Jeroen Dijsselbloem.

The Greeks paid a hefty price tag for the bailout, including pension and tax reforms, structural reforms to stimulate growth and investment, and a strengthened privatisation programme.

The bailout was comfortably passed in the Greek parliament. But the Syriza party suffered a rebellion among its more hardline members, angry at what they saw was a betrayal of the party’s anti-austerity pledges, which they campaigned on.

Mr Tsipras and his government have always been staunchly against austerity measures and in July, a referendum was called and the Greek people were asked whether or not they would accept a previous bailout deal by eurozone lenders.

The Greek people overwhelmingly voted no, and the government defaulted on its debts.

According to The Guardian, Mr Tsipras will be replaced for the duration of the short campaign by the president of Greece’s supreme court, Vassiliki Thanou-Christophilou – a vocal bailout opponent – as head of a caretaker government.

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