Greek leader dons tie in sartorial relief over bailout end

ATHENS, Greece – Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has donned a tie, for the first time in more than three years in office, to celebrate the debt relief deal agreed by the country’s creditors.

Tsipras sported the burgundy tie with a white shirt and blue suit during a speech Friday to lawmakers from his left-led coalition government in Athens. It sat slightly askew.

The left-wing politician had said at the beginning of his first term in office that he would only wear a tie when Greece had settled its debt problems. Over the following three years, he received many ties as tongue-in-cheek jokes from his foreign colleagues.

In his speech, Tsipras hailed Friday’s deal in Luxembourg as a landmark decision that will make Greece “a normal country” once again.