The formation of the Laiki Enotita, or Popular Unity party, was announced by 25 Syriza members, hours after Tsipras stepped down as prime minister in a calculated action to consolidate power in a new election.
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“I want to submit to the Greek people everything I have done (since taking office in January) so that they can decide once more“, Tsipras said.
Some government officials said on Thursday that a date in mid to late September is most likely.
After winning strong parliamentary backing for the tough bailout deal last week with the help of mainstream opposition parties but at the expense of a rebellion of just over a quarter of his Syriza party’s deputies, Tsipras was widely expected to table a motion of confidence in his government later this month.
It also remains to be seen with which programme Mr Tsipras will run the electoral campaign, whether he will stick to the letter of the MoU (Memorandum of Understanding, the bailout agreement), or revert to some of his previous promises, particularly on critical elements such as the labour market and pension reform.
A caretaker government would take over until elections are held, led by Greece’s Supreme Court President Vassiliki Thanou-Christophilou, who would become the first female prime minister in Greece’s history.
The election could hamper or delay a review planned for October of Greece’s progress under its new bailout programme and rekindle concerns about Athens’ ability to honour its pledges, Fitch ratings agency warned. “In the eyes of the Greek population, the alternatives offered by other political forces are even worse. My feeling is that Syriza will have an absolute majority”, Dimitris Papadimoulis, a Syriza lawmaker in the European parliament, told Mega TV.
However, in a bid to avoid early polls, the country’s president, Prokopis Pavlopoulos, on Friday asked the leader of the second party, Evangelos Meimarakis to try to put together a coalition government.
Tsipras had always been expected to seek early elections in the autumn. If he does not get a majority, he would likely have to form a coalition with another party.
Announcing his resignation in a televised address late Thursday, Tsipras said he secured the best deal possible when he agreed to a three-year, 86 billion euro ($95 billion) bailout from other eurozone countries to save Greece from a disastrous exit from the shared euro currency.
The election will bring unwelcome levels of political uncertainty, and there has already been a detrimental impact on the Greek Stock Exchange.
There are weekly limits on cash withdrawals and Greeks can only transfer up to 500 euro (£360) overseas per month. Companies have faced problems paying suppliers overseas, with all worldwide payments requiring a laborious process of approval by a special finance ministry committee.
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Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the Dutch finance minister who chairs the so-called Eurogroup of his eurozone peers, said the reform-for-aid accord formally approved Wednesday would hopefully give Greece a new lease on life.
