ATHENS (Sputnik) – Former Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said Sunday he believed he would be able to form a new government after the elections later this month.
The Greeks will go to polls on September 20 after Tsipras resigned last month and called for a snap election to gain support for his controversial austerity reforms that he was forced to back in order to keep the country in the eurozone.
"Everyone knows that whoever comes first in the elections will form the cabinet. We have 15-20 percent of people who are not sure, but the first party, even if it doesn’t get the parliamentary majority will be able to form the government," Tsipras told the Skai television channel.
Following Tsipras’ resignation, Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos granted the leader of Greece's official opposition, Vangelis Meimarakis, a mandate to form a new government. However, Meimarakis failed to take advantage of the three-day window to form a ruling coalition.
Tsipras repeatedly stated he would not cooperate with Meimarakis’ New Democracy party.
The ruling Syriza party, led by Tsipras, had promised to revise Greece’s austerity measures, unpopular with the Greek public, after securing victory in the January election.
In a nationwide referendum in July, the country voted against a new bailout deal with its international creditors.
However, later in July, Greece's creditors signed an agreement with the country's government, approving a third bailout package for Athens in exchange for more austerity reforms that include tax increases and pension cuts.
