Tsipras the pragmatist

It's the year 1990. In the studios of Athens' private TV channel ANT1, one of Greece's most renowned journalists is facing a 16-year-old student. He's one of the leaders of the student protests that are currently rocking the country.

The one-hour talk show is called "Tete-a-tete," or face to face, and journalist Anna Panajotarea wants to know what the students' motivation is. Her questions aren't simple, but the teenager across from her gives well thought-out answers. At the end of the show, the journalist is visibly impressed. "When we see each other again in 20 years, Alexis, you'll be prime minister of this country," she tells him.

Panajotarea was wrong. It in fact took 24 years for Alexis Tsipras to reach the country's highest office at age 40.

Give and take

Tsipras was born on July 28, 1974, four days after the end of the military dictatorship in Greece. His older brother and sister were both members of the Communist Party's youth organization. He joined them at age 16. At the same time, he was a fervent fan of Panathinaikos F.C. Is that even possible - being a young communist and fan of the political and economic establishment's soccer club?

In 2009, he rejected the construction of a shopping mall at the planned location of the club's new stadium. Construction was cancelled and Tsipras was uninvited from the celebration of his club's 100-year anniversary. He wasn't welcome at home games anymore either. Observers say that hit him really hard.

The anecdote shows one of his defining characteristics: abrasiveness. While he might often seem like a nice son-in-law to the outside, Alexis Tsipras isn't afraid to dish it out. Party colleagues as well as political opponents have had to learn the hard way how harshly the seemingly friendly, harmless and well-behaved Alexis can react.

But Tsipras is able to take a beating as well. Insults and derision that other, more "established" politicians poured out over the young upstart didn't touch him. He has come to understand that it's part of politics to attack each other in front of the camera. After that, it's all winks and smiles again.

The pragmatist

Tsipras is no dogmatist - he is able to change. That's the most probable explanation for the fact that his party Syriza has increased its election returns almost tenfold over a period of a few short years.

But does he have convictions? If so, they don't seem to hinder him in adapting to changing conditions. Tsipras is a pragmatic man. Shortly after he became head of his party in 2008, he admitted in an interview that his party was definitely not government material. When the debt crisis broke out a short while later and former government parties PASOK (Panhellenic Socialist Movement) and Nea Dimokratia (New Democracy) were going down fast, Tsipras saw his chance.

His first step was to mold Syriza, which had been an alliance of parties and organizations, into one unified party after harsh disputes in 2012. After that he went to work on changing Syriza's direction. Anti-capitalist policies might have been important for a small party, but to open the door for government takeover in an EU member state like Greece, market-compliant positions were called for.

Syriza attracted new voters in droves. Tsipras knew that these people didn't want a change of systems, but rather an improved, reform-oriented government. The party took over the government - without having finished its internal adaption process.

This process is necessary to own up to the new voters' expectations. The left wing of the party in particular is frequently overwhelmed with its leader's fast way of dealing with issues.

The tension that was kept under wraps rose to the surface when the second round of loans was negotiated. Party members on the left were appalled when Tsipras accepted extensive austerity measures. They said that Syriza promised the voters something different.

Still, a compromise was reached - again. If the creditors' suggestions were to be accompanied by a restructuring of the debt, the left agreed on passing the measures in parliament. But Tsipras couldn't make that restructuring happen. To avoid potentially losing the parliamentary vote, he came up with the referendum.

Perhaps Tsipras' calculations go something like this: even if he narrowly lost the referendum, no one would make it past Syriza. Former government parties Nea Dimokratia and PASOK are too discredited in the voters' eyes to be a serious danger for Syriza in re-elections.

But Alexis Tsipras cannot answer the one truly relevant question on most people's minds right now: come Monday, how will the creditors react?