ATHENS, May 27 (Reuters) - Former prime minister Alexis Tsipras, the leftist firebrand who ran Greece at the height of its debt crisis in 2015, has launched a new political party, promising to fight corruption and seek inclusive economic growth.
Tsipras, 51, known for his dramatic showdown with Greece's international lenders over a third and final bailout that almost saw the country kicked out of the euro zone, was ousted by the incumbent Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' centre-right New Democracy party in 2019, four years after having been forced to accept the austerity he had campaigned against.
Late on Tuesday, he unveiled the "Greek Left Alliance (ELAS)," pledging to restore the rule of law and independence of institutions as he seeks to tap into widespread mistrust of the Mitsotakis government over corruption scandals, including defrauding the European Union of agricultural subsidies and the wiretapping of a political leader.
"Our country is steadily backsliding and diverging from what has been called the European acquis," he told a cheering crowd who had gathered in an open space at the foot of the Acropolis Hill to watch him presenthis new party.
"Profiteering, corruption and collusion are the norm for acquiring wealth and power in modern Greece," he said."A new political force is born today, aiming not only for a political change but also for a change of policy."
Tsipras stepped down as head of the centre-left Syriza party in 2023 following its second heavy election defeat to Mitsotakis' party.
Last year, he also resigned as a parliamentary deputy, a move which led to the fragmentation of Syriza and the formation of new, smaller political parties, with Socialist PASOK party taking over as the main opposition.
NEW PARTY COULD DRAW DISAFFECTED VOTERS
Analysts say Tsipras' return is unlikely to directly challenge Mitsotakis who is suffering losses in support amid the corruption scandals and mass protests over the Tempi train crash, Greece's worst rail disaster, which killed 57 people in 2023, as the nation heads for a parliamentary election next year.
But it could redraw a fragmented opposition and complicate Mitsotakis' efforts to maintain an outright majority by wooing disillusioned voters from left-leaning and centrist parties and others struggling with rising living costs exacerbated by soaring energy prices.
Hours before the ELAS party launch, Mitsotakis decried what he called a "political Babel" of debutant and throwback parties, emerging only to target his government.
Outlining social welfare and affordable housing and healthcare as his main priorities, Tsipras promised higher incomes for all, an inclusive migration policy and a shift toward economic growth led by agriculture and manufacturing.
"We commit to a life with dignity, to shield workers against the high cost of living, to dignified wages," he said.
The launch comes days after Maria Karystianou, a doctor whose daughter died in the Tempi train crash, launched her own political party, demanding justice over the accident.
An opinion poll by pollster Interview published this week showed New Democracy still leading at 26.1%, far below the 41% it got in the last election in 2023. Tsipras' new party ranked second at 12.8%, pushing PASOK into third place, with Karystianou fourth.
(Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou and Renee MaltezouEditing by Keith Weir)
