Former PM Tsipras resigns as MP, pledges continued political activism
Former prime minister Alexis Tsipras on Monday resigned as a member of parliament, saying he would continue his political activism outside the formal structures of the legislature.
The resignation fuels speculation that the 51-year-old politician may be planning to form a new center-left party.
In a statement after submitting his resignation to the House speaker ahead of the new parliamentary session, Tsipras said his decision was guided by conscience after 16 years in parliament, including periods as SYRIZA leader, opposition chief, and prime minister.
“I have made a decision of conscience: to resign from the parliamentary office,” Tsipras said. “It was neither an easy nor a thoughtless decision. I resign because I cannot and do not want to hold the office of MP, with all its privileges, when I feel that my participation, especially in the special position of former prime minister, contributes nothing substantial to those who trusted me.”
He criticized the current parliament for being unable to perform its constitutional role. “I cannot and do not want to participate formally in a parliament that, democratically weakened, primarily due to the responsibility of the majority, fails to fulfil the role the Constitution requires and citizens demand,” he said.
Tsipras stressed that his resignation from parliament did not mean a retreat from politics. “I am leaving the security of the parliamentary benches. And I aspire to return to the hopeful uncertainty of social engagement,” he said. “Not to lead from above, but to listen more closely to society and its needs, freed from offices, obligations, and mechanisms that can no longer represent it.”
He called for collective action to confront Greece’s challenges, which he described as economic, political, geopolitical, and above all moral. “Hope is needed. Through actions, not just words. Actions that show we are not all the same. Actions through which we can overcome today’s deadlocks,” he said.
Tsipras emphasized his belief in grassroots movements over party hierarchies. “I do not believe in messiahs or laboratory-made party constructions. But I believe in the power of popular movements that collectively fight for social justice. I believe in the will and actions of the many. With them, their needs and their hopes, I am determined to meet.”
Addressing his former SYRIZA colleagues, Tsipras said: “We will not be adversaries. And perhaps soon we will travel together again to more beautiful seas.” He also appealed to the wider public, saying that if those responsible for democratic opposition cannot rise above self-interest, “then we all must become the change we seek, to take the future into our hands. That is worth every effort and every struggle.”
