Alexis Tsipras, his re-election victory still warm, received congratulations from across Europe on Monday that carried an underlying message "Now get on with it".
The "it" is reforming the Greek economy as laid out in an 86-billion-euro ($96.6 billion) bailout that Tsipras agreed in July before calling a snap election. He won that vote on Sunday with a stronger mandate than forecast in pre-election opinion polls, and now has few dissidents in his leftist Syriza party. There is clearly an underlying concern in European capitals that Tsipras, in a strong position at home, may renege on some of the reforms tied to the bailout, particularly given how reluctantly he agreed to it.
"We have much work ahead and no time to lose," European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker wrote to Tsipras, adding "We will support the new government in its efforts."
Jeroe Dijesselbloem, the hard line Dutch head of the Eurogroup of common currency finance ministers, which negotiates with Greece, said on Twitter he was looking forward to "continue accompanying Greece in its ambitious reform efforts". German government spokesman Steffen Siebert was even more pointed: "The third bailout programme remains valid also beyond election day," he said in Berlin.
For his part, during his election campaign Tsipras barely mentioned the bailout, an open wound for many Greeks who have suffered from harsh austerity during one of the worst depressions to hit an industrialised country in modern times. He and his Syriza party have pledged to meet their bailout obligations, albeit promising voters that they will protect the most vulnerable from the worst of the impact.
WIGGLE ROOM
Syriza's election manifesto speaks of "grey areas" such as labour relations - still an important issue in a country which is heavily unionised - pension reform and cutbacks by the end of the year.
It also talks about needing to deal with huge numbers of non-performing mortgages burdening bank balance sheets while at the same time meeting a party pledge to protect primary homes. The EU creditors are more focused on meeting targets than taking specific actions, so there is some wiggle room for this kind of thing.
But the bailout fights over the first half of this year were often about Greece saying it could achieve results without taking hard decisions. The lenders disagreed. Tsipras, in the meantime, has begun to focus on obtaining the debt reduction many inside and outside Athens believe Greece needs from the creditors to make reforms to the economy sustainable.
"The immediate objective of the coming period is the full restoration of stability in the economy and in the operation of banks, and broadening the ground we gained in negotiations, with the first crucial battle debt relief," a Syriza official quoted Tsipras as telling party officials on Monday.
The EU lenders have accepted the need for some kind of debt relief - probably, EU officials have told Reuters, by limiting payments to 15% of economic output in any given year. But to get that, Greece will have to prove it is taking the steps required under the bailout.
