Tsipras Returns to Greek Politics with New Party, Drawing Fire from Rivals

The comeback event

Alexis Tsipras, the former prime minister of Greece, officially returned to active politics on Tuesday evening, 26 May 2026, by unveiling his new party, the Greek Left Coalition (ELAS). The announcement took place at an open-air event in Thissio, with the Acropolis as a backdrop, drawing significant attention from international media. The Associated Press described Tsipras as the "militant Greek leader of the anti-austerity movement who sharply criticized Brussels during the country's debt crisis" and noted his return ahead of elections expected next year.

The militant Greek leader of the anti-austerity movement, who sharply criticized Brussels during the country's debt crisis, returned to politics ahead of next year's elections.

In his speech, Tsipras called for a "democratic pan-army" of all Greeks, envisioning a "democratic and social restart of the country." He was sharply critical of both the ruling conservative government and PASOK, accusing them of having "become the system within the system." The German newspaper FAZ reported that the founding of the new party "in front of the Acropolis" signals Tsipras's return to "active politics," referencing his two electoral defeats in 2019 and 2023 and the book he wrote, titled "Ithaki."

International media spotlight

The launch resonated beyond Greece's borders. The British Independent republished the Associated Press wire under the headline "Former anti-austerity leader in Greece, Alexis Tsipras, returns to politics." Reports highlighted Tsipras's criticism of the "close ties" between Kyriakos Mitsotakis's government and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The coverage framed the new party as an attempt to challenge the conservative prime minister, who is seeking a third term.

Ruling party and PASOK counterattack

The response from the political establishment was swift and fierce. Government sources, shortly after the Thissio speech, estimated that "so much communication and advertising for Mr. Tsipras to reappear just as unrepentant and unchanged, reminding people of the reasons citizens voted him down." They added that "society is asking to move even faster forward and Mr. Tsipras, from the name of his party to his 'uncovered' promises and toxic speech, wants to turn Greece back many decades."

So much communication and advertising for Mr. Tsipras to reappear just as unrepentant and unchanged, reminding people of the reasons citizens voted him down.

PASOK, the main opposition party, issued a scathing statement calling the new entity "Tsipras's private party" and arguing that the unveiling "certified how old is what has been advertised for months as 'new'." The party attacked Tsipras's record, stating he "brought the funds although he promised debt relief" and "preferred not to tax shipowners but to cut pensions, as Jean-Claude Juncker recently said, and bled the middle class, scientists, and freelancers dry with taxes." PASOK also noted that Tsipras "sealed twice the 41% of New Democracy and suffered the biggest defeat of a main opposition party in the post-dictatorship era."

Questions over credibility and history

PASOK's statement raised pointed questions about Tsipras's credibility, asking how he could regulate "red loans" or inspire trust on fair taxation given his past record. The party also challenged him on party debts, noting that PASOK had settled all its bank debts under the presidencies of the late Fofi Gennimata and Nikos Androulakis, while demanding answers about "bankrupt party media and the laid-off workers he left behind" and allegations from his successor in SYRIZA about "black funds."

Mr. Tsipras once came embraced with populism and its illusions; today he comes embraced with interests and corruption.

The statement concluded by quoting a 2024 article by Tsipras's close associate Giannis Siakantaris in TA NEA newspaper: "People change, but their history follows them. That does not change." It posed a final, crucial question: "Can the man who in 2015 put the worst form of the far-right into government lead an effort to defeat the center-right and the far-right?"