Tsipras visit may lead to 'refugee diplomacy'

For the last five years, Greece has been synonymous with a major economic crisis, the first in the eurozone. And the impact of this in its political system, which brought a series of short-lived governments to power, some elected by a series of early elections, some appointed due to political impasse.

The present leftist-led government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was actually voted into office twice this year, first through an early election back in January - which forced the center-right Antonis Samaras out of office - and secured a victory for the first time of the party of the Radical Left (Syriza), which eventually formed a government with the small conservative Anel (Independent Greeks) party. 

The coming to power of a party with an anti-austerity leftist approach did not go down well with Brussels. Months of adventurous negotiations with the leaders of the eurozone ended up in a defeat for the Greeks because of Europe's' unflinching stance and the inexperience of the new Greek government. 

An eventual agreement for a new stability program backed by an unprecedented austerity package caused a deep split in the government. In the eventual vote for the new bail-out agreement in August, a revolt by some 40 Syriza deputies - some of them government ministers - allowed the agreement to pass thanks to the votes of the opposition parties. 

Tsipras' government, after losing the majority in parliament, resigned on Aug. 20, accepted the defeat in Brussels to get his proposals accepted and asked the Greeks to vote for him again in snap elections. 

The new Syriza-led government was voted in on Sept. 20 in an unexpected victory, with only six seats less for an absolute majority but with a record low participation since the...