GEAB 138

Since July 8, the ‘Tsipras parenthesis’ that did so much to enrage the European Union, the United States and so many other interests, was closed. The wind of hope and renewal that blew over the country in 2015, when a man who didn’t come from one of the great dynasties (Samaras, Mitsotákis, Papandreou, Karamanlis) succeeded in reaching the top of the Greek state with a programme of profound reform of the oligarchic system, will have finally come to an end: after four years, four months and 18 days, to be precise.

Four years, four months and 18 days of fighting against the ruling families, the army, the Church and, of course, the economic interests related to the country – all with the generous support of the EU, Germany, the IMF and the United States. Alexis Tsipras had little chance of surviving this. From 2016 onwards, most of his arm wrestling and reform projects ended in failure: forced to comply with the Troika’s demands and failing to separate the Church from the State, he had to accept as a victory the marriage for all and the Prespa agreement on the name of Macedonia – two advances that managed to radicalise the conservatives against him and provide selling points to the populist campaign of New Democracy (notably on the Prespa agreement). Alexis Tsipras has thrown in the towel, preferring to call early elections[1] rather than continue to swallow snakes. No one is bound to the impossible…

And now there is the dashing Kyriakos Mitsotakis, offspring of one of the leading Greek families, to the great relief of the major interests linked to the country. Back to business as usual.