Greece's Tsipras calls snap elections after stinging EU defeat
Athens: Greece is headed to a snap elections after Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras suffered a crushing defeat in European Parliament elections.
The vote could come as early as June 30, after the 44-year-old leftist leader admitted the outcome left him little choice. His main opposition, New Democracy, scored about 10 percentage points more than the premier's Syriza party.
Greece's Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will be fighting for his political life after calling snap elections.Credit:AP
Tsipras has shown himself to be the ultimate political survivor but he will have a hard time staying in the game after such a stinging electoral defeat.
The firebrand leader saw himself catapulted into power in 2015 as he led Europe's most indebted state to a clash with its creditors only to back down after flirting with the country's expulsion from the euro area.
Greece is back at odds with creditors from the euro area and the International Monetary Fund after Tsipras announced a series of relief measures, including a reduction of the country's primary surplus target. That move has raised a red flag for loan collectors.
A national ballot will postpone any clash with creditors -- for now. New Democracy, which will likely go on to form the next government, will most likely need to review the handouts the incumbent premier promised to Greeks until 2020.
Bloomberg