- Alexis Tsipras
A month after he resigned from the post of prime minister, Greek leftist Alexis Tsipras declared an unexpectedly decisive victory in Greece's snap elections. With 60% of votes counted, Tsipras' Syriza party is estimated to be just short of a majority with 35.5% of the vote, but the Independent Greeks agreed to join a coalition. Together, the parties would have enough seats to ensure a majority in parliament. The snap election was called after Syriza lost its majority in August. This followed the signing of an unpopular new financial bailout deal with Greece's international creditors. In a victory speech, Tsipras pledged a new phase of stability, saying his mandate would now see him through a full term, after the country held five general elections in six years. Tsipras made no specific reference to the 85 billion bailout, albeit Syriza promised to implement it, while pledging to introduce measures to protect vulnerable groups. Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the head of the Eurogroup, said he looked forward to the immediate formation of a new Greek government with a mandate to implement the bailout.
Meanwhile, the Euro zone's current account recorded a dip in its surplus in July, just after an abrupt increase in the prior month. The current account surplus declined to 22.6 billion euros in July from June's 24.9 billion euros.
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