Alexis Tsipras is stuck. A poll released on Thursday shows his new party, the Greek Left Alliance (EL.AS.), stalled at around 15 to 16 percent, behind the ruling New Democracy by 14.6 percentage points. New Democracy sits marginally above 30 percent, still some way short of an outright majority. PASOK, the center-left party, gained nearly a point and ranks third.
The former prime minister also faces fire from the left. Beyond pressure from PASOK leader Nikos Androulakis, he has to defend his roughly 16 percent against SYRIZA, New Left, MeRA25, the Communist Party (KKE) and Course of Freedom.
Attacks from former allies
SYRIZA, which Tsipras once led, has sharpened its attacks. Lawmaker Rena Dourou warned that retaining seats is unethical, and party officials said any party fielding such candidates would carry “the stigma of partnering with the unethical.” New Left’s Gabriel Sakellaridis said Tsipras and EL.AS. “made a very conscious choice to move away from the left.” MeRA25 leader Yanis Varoufakis said “the oligarchy owes a lot to Alexis Tsipras.” KKE general secretary Dimitris Koutsoumbas said Tsipras left his party “a thousand pieces scattered in the wind.” Zoe Konstantopoulou of Course of Freedom remains one of his fiercest critics, and relations are deeply strained.
The poll has one other notable finding. A total of 62.7 percent rate the government’s work negatively and 36.7 percent positively. That positive figure is well above New Democracy’s estimated electoral support and close to the party’s target of an outright majority.
Student activist to Syriza leader
Tsipras was born in Athens on 28 July 1974 and joined the Communist Youth of Greece in the late 1980s. In the 1990s he was active in student protests against education reform and became the movement’s spokesperson. He studied civil engineering at the National Technical University of Athens, graduating in 2000, went on to postgraduate study in urban and regional planning, and worked as a civil engineer in construction.
From 1999 he was secretary of Synaspismos Youth. He joined the party’s Central Committee in 2004 and later its Political Secretariat. In the 2006 local election he ran for Mayor of Athens on the Syriza ticket and won 10.5 percent. In 2008 he succeeded Alekos Alavanos as leader. He entered parliament for Athens A in 2009 and was re-elected in May and June 2012, after which he became Leader of the Opposition and appointed his own shadow cabinet.
Prime minister in the debt crisis
In January 2015 Tsipras led Syriza to victory in a snap election, winning 149 of 300 seats, and formed a coalition with the Independent Greeks. He was the fourth prime minister to govern during the 2010s debt crisis. An outspoken critic of austerity, he presided over harsh austerity himself, mostly under the third EU bailout, which ran from 2015 to 2018.
On 20 August 2015, seven months in, he lost his majority to defections after the bailout referendum. He announced his resignation and called a snap election. In September 2015 Syriza won again, with 145 seats, and the coalition was re-formed. His government negotiated over the debt crisis, held the referendum, dealt with the European migrant crisis and signed the Prespa agreement.
Time named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2015. By 2017 he appeared on the same magazine’s list of the world’s least popular heads of government, with approval below 40 percent.
Defeat and a new party
After Syriza lost both the May and June 2023 elections, Tsipras resigned as leader on 29 June 2023. He said the party had come full circle and needed profound renewal. In October 2025 he resigned his seat as a Syriza MP, and a month later his political autobiography, Ithaca, was published by Gutenberg Publications. In May 2026 he founded the Greek Left Alliance.
Sources
- Alexis Tsipras
- Tsipras faces mounting criticism from leftist parties | eKathimerini.com
- ND Maintains Double-Digit Lead in Poll; PASOK Gains Ground – tovima.com
Photo: Kauê Martins Bergamasco / Unsplash (Unsplash License)
