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Greece’s Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras, announced on Thursday that he is resigning. He called for elections to be held on September 20.
Tsipras was only elected in January.
Making his announcement in a national broadcast Thursday, he said: “The political mandate of the 25 January elections has exhausted its limits and now the Greek people have to have their say.
He said he had a moral duty to go to the polls now a third bailout had been secured with European creditors.
The prime minister has been in a difficult spot since he signed off on the bailout package. The extreme left wing of his own radical-left party, Syriza, has mounted a revolt. Led by former energy minister Panagiotis Lafazanis, the rebels have been criticizing the prime minister for breaking his campaign promises.
He had to agree to painful state sector cuts, including far-reaching pension reforms, in exchange for the bailout – and keeping Greece in the eurozone.