The Greek prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, has kicked off his campaign for upcoming general elections, asking voters to give his leftwing government the chance to act “without our hands tied” the second time around.

Unveiling Syriza’s programme after formally requesting parliament’s dissolution, Tsipras acknowledged the “anger and fatigue” that had led to the leftist party’s crushing defeat in the European parliamentary elections and pledged that job creation and lower taxes would be the central pillars of a new term in office.

“Greeks have the right to hope,” the prime minister told Syriza party cadres, recalling years of strict supervision by bailout creditors keeping the debt-stricken nation afloat. “We had to clench our teeth and take difficult decisions on a road that was not at all easy … I understand the anger and fatigue of many but now we deserve a chance to govern for the first time without our hands tied.”

The embattled leader was forced to call a snap election four months ahead of schedule after Syriza lost by an unprecedented 9.5 points to the main opposition New Democracy party in the European vote and by an even wider margin in local polls also held in May.

On Tuesday the vote was set by presidential decree for 7 July.

The scale of the leftists’ defeat, described as a “huge shock” by senior Syriza figures, was attributed mostly to the loss of the middle class, hit by a regimen of high taxes in the four years since Tsipras assumed power. An unusually high abstention rate was also blamed.

The result was a far cry from 2015 when the once tiny party seized power vowing to “tear up” the accords of draconian austerity that Athens had signed with lenders.

But in a bid to regain ground lost after being forced to adopt the very policies he had once railed against, Tsipras has now taken a leaf from his conservative rival’s book, promising to reduce income tax and a much loathed property tax.

Singling out women and Greek youth affected by record unemployment – the most toxic byproduct of the debt crisis – the 45-year-old PM vowed his priority would be the creation of half a million jobs to bring jobless levels in Greece in line with other parts of the EU. At just under 20% the unemployment rate remains the highest in the bloc even if the country is also on the road to economic recovery – albeit with a sluggish growth rate of 1.3%.

In an atmosphere that has been unusually charged, Tsipras has repeatedly said voters face “a dilemma” between the old forces that bankrupted Greece and a new progressive alliance with the vision to navigate it into the future. “Our country has to change fundamentally; we have to build it from the beginning,” he roared, calling on Greeks from all political persuasions to come onboard.

Packed into the central atrium of the capital’s concert hall to hear Tsipras speak late on Monday, Maria Varvaka, a drama teacher, echoed the belief of the diehard leftists around her.

“For the first time we have had a government whose agenda was not ruled by fear,” she said, drawing on a handmade cigarette. “It proved our society is not as conservative as it seems. It tackled the [name] issue of Macedonia, it handled migrants and gay people with an equality never seen. I’d like to think it could win again.”

Last year, to the fury of many, Tsipras ended the decades-long name row between Athens and Skopje when the two capitals struck a deal that saw the Balkan country agree to call itself North Macedonia to appease Greek fears of territorial expansion. In return Greece lifted its objection to its neighbour beginning accession talks with Nato and the EU.

With the opposition prevailing in polls, there is a sense that Tsipras is going through the motions. An opinion survey released by Metron Analysis in the aftermath of the European polls showed New Democracy, under the stewardship of the consensual Kyriakos Mitsotakis, widening its lead to a seemingly unassailable 10.2 points over Syriza.

As the leftists geared up for the intense politicking of the 26-day campaign that lies ahead, optimism, even in the euphoria of a top-table party event, appeared in short supply. “The mood has not been great but we have to refind our soul and fight this not with slogans but with arguments as our programme seeks to do,” the migration minister, Dimitris Vitsas, told the Guardian as he, too, drew heavily on a cigarette. “Most of those who abstained in the Euro polls were natural Syriza supporters. If we can win them back then I honestly believe we have a chance of winning again.”