Alexis Tsipras, Greece’s former prime minister (2015–2019) and former SYRIZA leader, took a step that fueled speculation about renewed political ambitions amid a stagnant Greek political landscape, EUalive’s partner IBNA reported.
In a statement posted on X, Tsipras said he would step down as an MP, shifting his presence from “parliamentary representation” to “social action”, rejecting “the security of the backbenches” and condemning what he called a “democratically hollowed-out” Parliament.
His message, widely seen as a political manifesto, fuels speculation about a new initiative, or even a new party, as he pledged to prove through “deeds” that “we are not all the same”.
“I resign as an MP, not from politics”, Tsipras said.
Tsipras was leader of the Greek left-wing political party Syriza from 2008 to 2023. He is the fourth prime minister who has governed in the course of the 2010s Greek government-debt crisis. Originally an outspoken critic of the austerity policies implemented during the crisis, his tenure in office was marked by an intense austerity policy, mostly in the context of the third EU bailout to Greece (2015–18). After the crushing double defeat of Syriza in both the May and the June 2023 snap elections, Tsipras decided to resign on 29 June 2023. In his resignation statement he stressed that SYRIZA has come full circle – that the party needs a profound renewal in order to be able to regain its credibility among citizens. However, he had kept his seat as MP.
In his statement, Tsipras outlined a clear moral and political profile, distancing himself from the privileges of office when these, in his view, offer nothing meaningful to citizens who trusted him.
His criticism of Parliament’s inability to fulfil its constitutional role went beyond the current political climate, serving as a call for mobilisation outside the parliamentary arena.
Rejecting “messiahs” and “laboratory-constructed parties”, he revived the idea of a broad, participatory format rooted in “the power of the many”, IBNA reported.
At the same time, Tsipras reassurance that he would not turn against his “comrades” in SYRIZA was designed to avoid a logic of rupture and to leave open the possibility of future rapprochement.
The timing of his resignation, just before the new parliamentary session, adds symbolic weight to the move. Free from the obligations of parliamentary routine, Tsipras gains time and flexibility to build networks of influence and programmatic discourse beyond the boundaries of SYRIZA, while not leaving the party.
For SYRIZA, his continued membership creates a space of uneasy coexistence: it prevents an immediate split but legitimises a parallel political presence outside the parliamentary group.
Much will depend on whether Tsipras’ next move takes shape as a complementary front within the broader progressive space or as a fully independent pole.
The wording of his X post leaves little room for ambiguity: Tsipras is consciously stepping away from parliamentary routine with an eye on a broader, socially driven project. If reports of a new party are confirmed, his statement will be read as a prelude to a political restart aimed at reorganising the progressive space by blending the logic of a social movement with the requirements of governance.
Developments were swift after his announcement. The parliamentary seat vacated in Piraeus is set to be taken by Thodoris Dritsas, who has already joined the New Left, likely increasing its strength to 12 MPs, while SYRIZA will fall to 25 – a shift with immediate political consequences.
Before announcing his resignation, Tsipras informed SYRIZA parliamentary leader Socrates Famellos and Parliament Speaker Nikitas Kaklamanis. Famellos also sent a letter to opposition leaders urging a joint initiative for the immediate withdrawal of the government’s controversial labour bill.
The resignation reshapes the political landscape, fuelling questions over the direction of the Left and Centre-Left. Whether Tsipras’ new role evolves as an extension of the New Left or a distinct formation led by him remains unclear, but his move acts as a catalyst amid SYRIZA’s internal crisis.
Citing verses by poet Nazim Hikmet, “maybe soon we will travel to more beautiful seas”, Tsipras signalled that leaving the parliamentary benches is not withdrawal but regrouping, EUalive’s partnes Politis assumes.
Government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis responded sharply, recalling that the last time Tsipras spoke of “seas” was in 2015, “the year we were all holding a life jacket”, which, he said, led to soaring unemployment and a fall in the minimum wage. He downplayed the significance of the resignation, arguing that Tsipras had not played “a substantial parliamentary role” for over two years.
Caption: Former Greek Prime Minister and former President of SYRIZA Alexis Tsipras attends the central pre-election gathering of the party for the European elections, Athens, Greece, 06 June 2024. EPA/ORESTIS PANAGIOTOU
Updated: October 7, 2025 – 05:57