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Alexis Tsipras, Greece\u2019s former left-wing prime minister, has sought to defend his political legacy, including the controversial decision to hold a referendum on the bailout terms proposed by international creditors during the critical summer of 2015.<\/p>\n
\u201cSYRIZA, despite its challenges, succeeded in leading Greece out of the bailout programs \u2013 something far from certain in 2014 or even 2015,\u201d said Tsipras, now 50, speaking at an economic conference late Tuesday. His remarks followed the release of former German Chancellor Angela Merkel\u2019s memoirs, which also revisit the tense negotiations of that period.<\/p>\n
Currently serving as a SYRIZA MP, Tsipras aimed to debunk what he described as three enduring \u201cmyths\u201d from the bailout era.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no bigger myth,\u201d Tsipras said, addressing claims that the New Democracy government under his conservative predecessor, Antonis Samaras, had nearly fulfilled Greece\u2019s commitments to creditors. Quoting Merkel, he claimed she had told him at the time, \u201cThe fifth review includes 14 reforms, and Samaras has completed only one.\u201d He further criticized the Samaras administration for proposing what he called a \u201cfake exit\u201d from the bailout program.<\/p>\n
Tsipras also defended the controversial 2015 referendum, calling it a turning point that ultimately led to Greece\u2019s debt restructuring. Refuting allegations that he had orchestrated a tactical maneuver or considered exiting the euro \u2013 though he acknowledged that some of his cabinet members entertained the idea \u2013 Tsipras emphasized, \u201cThere was no Plan B; it was always about striving for an honorable compromise.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite a majority of Greeks voting against the creditors\u2019 terms in the referendum, Tsipras signed the very measures he had opposed just days later \u2013 a decision derisively nicknamed \u201ckolotoumba\u201d (somersault).<\/p>\n
Responding to claims that the third bailout agreement was the harshest, Tsipras argued that it cost Greece \u20ac8.4 billion, far less than the \u20ac57 billion of previous programs.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hold no bitterness over this, but I believe the time has come for a historical reckoning,\u201d he said. \u201cI never claimed that I or my government were flawless. But the fact remains that Greece exited the bailout programs under SYRIZA\u2019s governance.\u201d He added that, as Merkel noted in her memoir, \u201cGreece was saved in 2018.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n