Spokeswoman for the European Commission, Annika Breidthardt, told a news conference in Brussels on Friday: “The Commission respects the decision of Prime Minister Tsipras to go to the polls swiftly”.
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The other option had been to delay the vote till October, after worldwide creditors have reviewed Greece’s performance in keeping to the bailout programme. “The bailout program is a program that was agreed with the Hellenic republic… and it will be valid through election dates”.
The resignation comes after a divide within the governing left-wing party over the terms of the country’s latest bailout.
“This is the essence of democracy, we do not have any problem to ask the people“. Syriza is by far the most popular party, but the fractured nature of Greek politics means it does not have enough support to govern without a coalition partner.
Far-left rebels in Greece’s Syriza party have broken away to form a new party with 25 MPs, a parliament deputy speaker announced on Friday. The group, named Popular Unity, will be led by former energy minister Panagiotis Lafazanis.
“The reforms have been decided by the Greek government and voted on by the parliament“, said Breidthardt.
Mr Meimarakis, however, has said he will try and use his mandate to form a government in the next few days.
If neither attempt bears fruit, parliament will be dissolved and a caretaker government appointed until the election, to be held within a month.
But the deal came with strict terms for more belt-tightening.
A poll conducted among 1,251 Germans by the Forschungsgruppe Wahlen institute for ZDF television between August 18 and 20 and released Friday showed that 62 per cent of Germans oppose the Greek bailout, compared with 49 per cent in July. Tsipras was elected in January as an anti-austerity renegade, vowing to challenge Greece’s creditors and win a better deal to pay back and, perhaps, forgive some of the country’s crippling debt. These dissenters are pushing the Syriza party closer to the political center, hoping to take control in the upcoming elections.
However, he said, “the downside of new elections is that they will slow the implementation of measures”.
Brussels welcomed his resignation, saying a snap vote would widen the electorate’s backing for Greece’s third global bail-out in five years.
“Now that this hard cycle has ended…”
“I feel the deep ethical and political responsibility to put to your judgement all I have done, successes and failures”. Voters will decide whether to support him and the new agreement.
It is a bid to consolidate his power and press ahead with the bailout plan he agreed to this summer with European creditors.
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“I want to be honest with you”.
