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 But easing Greece's debt burden is just one of many items on a
dauntingly long "to do" list ranging from how to revive a crippled
economy while implementing austerity polices to dealing with the
wave of migrants landing on Greek shores.
In Sunday's election voters gave Tsipras and his Syriza party a
second chance to tackle Greece's problems, despite his summer U-turn
when he ditched his anti-austerity platform to secure a new bailout
deal and avert 'Grexit' - a Greek exit form the euro zone.
The extent of the win means that, rather than needing a patchwork of
partners, Syriza will be able to govern with only a single ally, the
Independent Greeks. The small right-wing party was also the junior
partner in the Tsipras coalition which governed for seven turbulent
months until he resigned last month, forcing the election.
With society fractured by years of austerity, Tsipras wants to build
a broader consensus as he tries to steer Greece through the tough
reforms demanded by the euro zone in the bailout agreement - the
country's third.
 A presidency source said Tsipras would be sworn in on Monday
afternoon. Initially, negotiating debt relief will dominate his
agenda, a senior Syriza source said.
"We will continue negotiations in the coming period, with the debt
issue being the first and most important battle," the party source
said. "We will ask all political forces to support our efforts."
Tsipras - along with most Greek political leaders and many
international economists - argues that the country cannot recover
from years of crisis without easing its huge debt burden.
In his victory speech to cheering Athens crowds late on Sunday,
Tsipras promised a new phase of stability in a country that has held
five general elections in six years but did not mention the 86
billion euro ($97 billion) bailout.
However, Syriza campaigned on a pledge to implement the program,
which includes more tax rises and pensions cuts, while promising to
introduce measures to protect vulnerable groups.
With the first review of the bailout program due next month, Tsipras
must work fast to oversee a recapitalization of the country's banks
- closed for three weeks at the height of the summer crisis and
still subject to capital controls - while trying to stave off a
recession and tackling the migrant crisis.
His first international summit is on Wednesday in Brussels to
discuss the hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants pouring
into Europe, many via Greek islands that border Turkey.
In a reminder of that crisis, 13 migrants died in Turkish waters on
Sunday when a boat carrying 46 people en route to Greece collided
with a cargo vessel and capsized, a Turkish coast guard source said.
EMBOLDENED
In a financial market that looked to have factored in a Syriza win,
Greek shares lost ground on Monday and government bond yields edged
higher - mirroring a generally cautious reaction elsewhere to
Tsipras's second incarnation as leader.
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European Council President Donald Tusk said many of the biggest
problems facing the European Union were the same as Greece's - the
refugee crisis and creating economic growth and jobs. "I trust that
Greece, with your new government will contribute constructively in
seeking solutions to all those challenges," he said in a letter to
Tsipras.
Tsipras plans to form a national council for European policy,
including representatives of parties other than Syriza and the
Independent Greeks and which would advise the finance minister, the
Syriza source said.
Center-left daily newspaper Ethnos on Monday tipped Euclid
Tsakalotos, the former finance minister who brokered terms of the
bailout accord in August, to be re-appointed.
Citigroup economist Giada Giani said the risk remained that Greece -
having flirted with Grexit during fraught bailout negotiations in
the spring and early summer - might still leave the euro zone.
JP Morgan analyst Malcolm Barr said Tsipras was likely to feel
emboldened by the election result, which "provides a platform upon
which Syriza will continue to challenge significant parts of the
(bailout) program".
Some form of restructuring of Greece's euro zone debt should be in
place by the end of March, he wrote in a note.
Some European governments, particularly Germany, are opposed to
writing off part of Greece's debt - a so-called haircut - but not
averse to stretching out its repayment schedule.
Ralph Brinkhaus, a senior parliamentary ally of German Chancellor
Angela Merkel, urged Tsipras to stick to the reform agenda and
implement the bailout measures.
Euro zone officials told Reuters last week that governments are
ready to cap Greece's annual debt-servicing costs at 15 percent of
its economic output over the long term. That would mean the nominal
payment would be lower if the Greek economy struggled, higher if it
was more robust, they said.
(Additional reporting by Michele Kambas, George Georgiopoulos and
Jeremy Gaunt in Athens, John Irish in Paris and Paul Taylor in
Brussels,; Writing by John Stonestreet; editing by David Stamp)
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