The survival of Alexis Tsipras

Since 2015, when he came to power with leftist SYRIZA, Alexis Tsipras is said to have maintained a neutral stance twice: The first was when he announced a referendum in June 2015. It was a political decision he made himself. Supposedly, as prime minister, he should have followed a neutral stance. Supposedly. In fact, both he and mainly his closer allies in the party (and of course the ordinary voters of SYRIZA) supported the “No” vote (a rejection of Greece’s bailout deal), which triumphed in the polls. However, the result was overturned in favor of “Yes” by Tsipras himself, and while his voters were still reveling carelessly in the main square of Athens. The second was the neutrality he supposedly maintained after his resignation and in the midst of the arrival of newly elected leader, Stefanos Kasselakis. This time, he remained so neutral that his old associates – and even newspapers close to the party – criticized him for this suspicious silence.

A few days ago, Tsipras was seen having dinner with Gavriil Sakellaridis (SYRIZA’s erstwhile spokesperson, who later quit) in a taverna in southern Athens, causing palpitations in the party. Sources close to Tsipras, claim it was a private dinner, but at the same time they hinted that he is troubled by the developments in the party of which he had been the leader for about 15 years.

It seems that he is reserving a role for himself that will be completely detached from whatever role SYRIZA will have in the country’s political future

I’m not sure if these sources are convincing anyone. Whether he was in favor of “No” or for “Yes” in 2015, whether he is against or in favor of Kasselakis – as is strongly rumored and he himself has never denied it – in reality everything is about tactics for Tsipras, with power – or political survival – as the final goal. But now, we are talking about his own survival, not SYRIZA’s.

Viewing the party as a shipwreck that was pulling him down, he abandoned it. It seems that he is reserving a role for himself that will be completely detached from whatever role SYRIZA will have in the country’s political future (if the party continues to exist, at least as we know it).

We do not know what happened behind closed doors immediately after SYRIZA suffered the two electoral defeats. It appeared for the moment that Tsipras had no intention of resigning, but suddenly he did. However, the attitude he maintained after his resignation was not one of neutrality, but a tactical one, through which he did not try to protect anyone but himself.