Victory in Defeat? Alexis Tsipras Has Shown Greeks He Can Save Them

Victory in Defeat? Alexis Tsipras Has Shown Greeks He Can Save Them

Reported By Julia Amalia Heyer in Athens, Spiegel Online International, 10/05/15

REUTERS

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras: "I assume responsibility for all mistakes I may have made."

He'll have to implement tougher savings measures than any of his predecessors, despite his fight to end them. But Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras could still come out of the euro crisis as the victor, leading his country for years to come. 

At times it feels like Alexis Tsipras is battling against himself. Tsipras the pragmatist seems to be wrestling with Tsipras the ideologist. And Tsipras the nice son-in-law struggles against Tspiras the demagogue. It's not only his opponents who consider him to be unpredictable -- his closest advisors also describe him as a chameleon. Perhaps Tsipras himself doesn't even know which role he is playing.

The question of who and what Alexis Tsipras really wants to be is one consuming all of Europe right now. Tsipras, who just turned 40 and has been in office as the Greek prime minister for just under six months, remains an enigma. He leaves people wondering what or how he will say things and whether he will actually do what he says in the end.

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