His interview Alexis Tsipras to The world It was not a mere confession. It was more of a statement of presence. Seven years after the end of the Memorandums in Ithaca, the former prime minister opens his papers, claims his “truth” and attempts a new assessment of his rule. The question is whether this is just a political memorial or a carefully designed preparation for a return. Most are betting on the last version.
The positives of the term of office
Tsipras is right when he recalls that the SYRIZA government negotiated harshly with creditors, has achieved debt restructuring and secured low interest rates by 2032. The exit from the Memorandums in 2018 was undoubtedly a milestone, with Greece gaining re -gain.
At the same time, it is not negligible that austerity was imposed on a milder scale than the first two memoranda, with the SYRIZA government attempting to carry the burden on the highest income. The numbers citing (45% increase in the weakest income) cannot be ignored.
The negatives that are heavy
But the picture is not one -dimensional. Tsipras avoids referring to the deep trauma of 2015: the referendum, the divisive rhetoric, the illusion that “there is an alternative”, and ultimately the shift that many baptized “colotuba”. If today he is proud of this choice, then the political cost must also accept: the frustration he left behind, the shock of trust in the institutions, the feeling that the people were used as a negotiating paper.
But beyond the financial footprint, the institutional remains heavy. The tooling of the Novartis scandal and the management of television licenses hit the image of institutions. Instead of letting justice and the independent authorities bring responsibility, political intervention created the sense of revanchism. The result? The real persons were not punished and the television landscape did not became more fairer and competitive, but remained a field of political confrontation and transaction.
Mitsotakis spikes
Tsipras did not miss the opportunity to turn against today’s government, talking about “returning to corruption” and growth that concerns only a minority. Statistics and scandals give a basis to his arguments. However, the return to the rhetoric of scandals also reveals a weakness: his self -criticism is not complete. Why can he claim to build counterweight to corruption, when there are still “skeletons” in his own wardrobe?
The shadow of the return
The phrase “I miss the active policy” is not accidental. Even if he avoids talking about return plans, he clearly leaves the possibility open. The interview with Le Monde shows that Alexis Tsipras never really retired. On the contrary, he undermined with his backstage interventions his succession, imposed opposition decisions on the political extermination of Stefanos Kasselakis, leading to intra -party diversion. And today, it leaks that he will not use SYRIZA faces who he himself toolize against his political opponents. But is he sure that they too cannot write a book and shake it in the air?
The conditions of a possible return are demanding:
- Consistent with honestly with the mistakes of 2015 and not just baptize them “dramatization”.
- To admit that the logic of revanchism and the politicization of justice has harmed the institutions.
- To speak clearly about a new productive model and not to be limited to criticism of others.
- To persuade that it can re -express the social majority that today feel politically homeless.
The interview with Le Monde shows that Alexis Tsipras never really retired. He has every right to present his own version of the story. But to return substantially and convincingly, he must not only answer “what he did”, but mainly to “what he didn’t do” and “what he can do now”.
His truth is respected – but to become politically useful again, it needs something more: the truth that society is waiting for.