Greek prime minister alexis tsipras news
Greek prime minister alexis tsipras news
Alexis tsipras and the pope...
Greece: Leftist Alexis Tsipras quits as Syriza party leader
Greece's former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras says he is quitting as leader of the Syriza party after a crushing defeat in last Sunday's elections.
"The time has come to start a new cycle," Mr Tsipras said, calling for his centre-left party to be reformed.
The conservative New Democracy (ND) party won nearly 41% of the vote, leaving Syriza far behind on 18%.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who leads ND, says he now has a "strong mandate" to move on the path of change.
Mr Mitsotakis beat Syriza in May - but called new elections in a bid to win a majority in a 300-member parliament.
Under Greek rules for a second election, the biggest party is awarded a bonus of between 20 and 50 seats.
After Sunday's poll, ND won all 50 - and now has 158 lawmakers.
Mr Tsipras' resignation announcement came in a televised statement on Thursday.
He said "the