The Greek Left Is in Serious Trouble
Following its 2023 national elections, Greece is looking at another four years of authoritarianism, privatization, and further financial and labor market deregulation. A new radical left alternative rooted in organic social movements is urgently needed.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Greece’s prime minister and leader of New Democracy party, greets supporters as he arrives at the party headquarters during parliamentary elections in Athens, Greece, on June 25, 2023. (Konstantinos Tsakalidis / Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The May 2023 Greek elections surprised most people on the Left within Greece and across the world. After four years of major political scandals, controlling the media, and accusations of illegally spying on political opponents and journalists, New Democracy won the elections with a twenty-point margin against Syriza.
Understanding how we ended up here is essential for progressive social movements and left parties to offer a convincing progressive policy agenda and return to power. Rejecting austerity policies altogether, reconnecting with social movements and unions, and offering reliable policy alternatives are arduous but necessary tasks. The return to power for the Left is likely to be a slow process, and avoiding the repetition of the fall of Syriza should be the main objective.
The Rise and the Fall of Syriza
Syriza’s 2015 rise to power was the most significant political shock in Europe in recent memory. After five years of irrelevant austerity policies imposed on Greece by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund as part of the economic adjustment programs, the Greek people voted in favor of a potential rupture with the EU. Syriza promised a realistic possibility for progressive economic policies within the Eurozone.
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