I guess you have followed the Greek tragedy. From Yanis Varoufakis’ blog I gather that their idea with the referendum was, to get support from other southern countries, certainly from Spain and, most importantly, from France. As none was forthcoming, Varoufakis would have gone at least one step further, while Alexis Tsipras interpreted it as “Game Over”, even before the result of the referendum was in. Varoufakis resigned and Tsipras made his 180 degrees turn, a step that so many couldn’t understand in face of the result of the referendum. Now that Greece will have public elections one more time, now that SYRIZA has split and the outcome is dubious, what could Alexis Tsipras possibly do?
There has already been a lot of speculation about what Tsipras could want. Obviously he intends to win the elections one more time, and I suppose he hopes to win decisively, thereby getting rid of the left wing and being able to continue with what he has come to believe the only way to go, namely a course of austerity implemented by a party with popular backing and at least the will to make it socially bearable wherever possible.
It’s also clear that his Greek enemies will call him a traitor whatever he does, and his enemies in Europe (hint: the whole European establishment including the press) will deride him regardless.
If that’s what his “best outcome” is, he has my full respect. That’s not an easy way to go.
The question is, what could he do in case SYRIZA does not win?
In my opinion the only viable way of acting in the interest of the Greek public would be to re-join SYRIZA with the left wing, but unconditionally supporting what the left wing considers their program.
There is no other choice. Leaving the left fragmented would just help the right, and it would make impossible reaching anything that he ever stood for. He would get derided anyway, this time also by many in Greece, but really, I see no other honest way. He has to either win, or if not, accept his failure and minimize damage to the left.