After six months of defiance, Greece’s newly elected government capitulated to its Eurozone paymasters and accepted an €86 billion bailout package in exchange for tough economic reforms. The agreement was struck on July 13 after a 17-hour marathon session between Athens and the Eurozone. The deal divided the ruling far-left Syriza party, which had only six months earlier secured a convincing election victory on the premise of fighting austerity.

Shortly after the agreement, the Hellenic Parliament passed the austerity bill that likely prevented a chain of events ending with Greece being booted from the euro. This “Grexit” scenario not only threatened to send Greece deeper into the abyss, but the very foundation of the Eurozone project.

Two months after the historic deal, Greece appears to be making incremental gains, although unemployment continues to be the highest in the Eurozone. The Greek economy rose unexpectedly in the second quarter after contracting in the first three months of the year. The country’s gross domestic product expanded 0.9% in the April to June period on the strength of the tourism industry, the Hellenic statistical authority said. Greece officially exited a devastating six-year recession in 2014.

However, the gains have done little to restore the confidence of the Greek people, who have seen their GDP contract by 25% since the height of the financial crisis. What’s more, Greeks have lost confidence in their electorate. Not only did the Greek people put their confidence in Syriza to fight austerity, they rectified the party’s anti-austerity pledge by overwhelmingly rejecting a less severe bailout proposal in a snap referendum on July 5.

Greece’s newly elected Prime Minster Alexis Tsipras resigned from office in August, paving the way for an early election slated for September 20. Tsipras’ short tenure as Prime Minister has left Greece more divided than it was when he assumed office. According to recent polls, Syriza enjoys a slight lead over its conservative rival New Democracy just one week before the election.