“Ithaca”: Tsipras’ Inside Story of Crisis, Conflict, and Choices

Alexis Tsipras has always understood the power of storytelling. Now, with the publication of his 760-page book Ithaca, Greece’s former prime minister attempts not only to reframe the turbulent years of the Greek crisis but also to rehabilitate an image scarred by political miscalculations, internal party rifts, and a legacy still fiercely debated. Tsipras, who once steered Greece to the edge of financial collapse through a high-risk referendum and a controversial alliance with the nationalist right, now presents himself as a seasoned statesman, a misunderstood Europhile, and the rare figure capable of stitching back together a fragmented Left.

This is not a quiet retirement memoir. It is a strategic intervention, the opening move in what increasingly looks like a carefully staged comeback. And it arrives at a moment when the Greek Left resembles, to borrow a Homeric analogy Tsipras himself might appreciate, Penelope besieged by numerous, ambitious, and disastrously directionless suitors. Since his departure from SYRIZA’s helm, the political space he once dominated has unraveled into factional disputes, ideological drift, and a parade of short-lived contenders. Charisma, discipline, and clarity have been in notably short supply.

Tsipras understands this. He sees the vacuum. In a landscape where few progressive figures possess the ability to command