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Former Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Monday signaled his long-anticipated return to politics, announcing he would formally launch his comeback on May 26 ahead of Greece’s next national elections.
Tsipras hinted at the move in a video posted on Facebook showing two boys wearing jerseys with the numbers 26 and 5, ending months of speculation about his political future.
"Now is the time," Tsipras wrote.
Tsipras, 51, stepped down as leader of Syriza after losing the 2023 election to Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his conservative New Democracy party.
Earlier this month, Tsipras unveiled a political manifesto drafted by a working group within the Alexis Tsipras Institute outlining how the Greek left could return to power.
According to the Greek newspaper Kathimerini, the proposal seeks to unite “the three chief tendencies in the contemporary Left: Social Democrats, the Radical Left and Greens.”
The initiative has fueled speculation that Tsipras is preparing a broader political platform ahead of the next elections.
Tsipras led Greece during the final years of the country’s decadelong debt crisis and became one of Europe’s most prominent left-wing leaders during his premiership.
The announcement comes as Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ government faces growing pressure over inflation and a series of controversies.
Among the issues weighing on the government are allegations of fraud involving European Union agricultural subsidies and a wiretapping scandal that reportedly targeted cabinet members, journalists and opposition figures.
Public anger has also remained high over the investigation into Greece’s deadliest rail disaster, which killed 57 people in 2023 and took three years to reach trial.
Although elections are officially scheduled for 2027, speculation persists that an early vote could be called as soon as September.
Political competition may also intensify from the right.
Former Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, expelled from New Democracy in 2024 after becoming a vocal critic of Mitsotakis, is also rumored to be preparing a political challenge.
Meanwhile, Maria Karystianou, whose daughter died in the 2023 train disaster and who became one of the tragedy’s most recognizable public figures, is expected to announce a new political party on May 21.
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