by
EBR
Leftist Syriza managed to win 36.3% of the vote,
followed by its main rival centre-right New Democracy with 27.8% and the
far-right Golden Dawn with 6.3%.
The newly established centrist Potami (“The
River”) came in fourth, with 6% of the vote, the Communist Party 5.5% and the
right –wing Independent Greeks 4.7% [ECR].
In numbers that practically means that Syriza will
form a coalition government with the right-wing anti-austerity Independent
Greeks, sending this way multidimensional messages to Brussels.
On a political level, it will be the first Eurozone
government openly opposing the austerity-driven policies mainly imposed by
Berlin.
Its pre-election anti-austerity rhetoric and orientation regarding
economic policy was pretty clear and this is what the vast majority of Greek
people voted for.
In addition, Syriza has never governed Greece and
therefore it is not linked to any kind of corruption scandals. Many European
analysts have repeatedly claimed that the previous Greek governments of the
“rotating” traditional two-party system were too into the so-called “corruption
and oligarch system”.
The latter was the main hindrance for the implementation
of the real reforms which the debt-ridden country needed to effectively
transform and modernize its economy.
The most characteristic example of this
phenomenon was the completely derailed privatisation process provided in the
terms of the bailout.
Brussels relies on Syriza to offer an alternative to this
open wound, which makes Greece lagging behind.
On a communication level, Syriza’s historic victory
will probably make waves in the rest Southern Europe political scenes.
Leftist Podemos
are already leading the Spanish polls and Syriza victory sets a precedent in EU
politics. The right-wing governing political elite in Spain will do anything
needed to “prove” Syriza’s incapability to change the terms of the Greek
bailout.
That is the reason why there were some interventions by Spanish
officials urging Greeks to respect their fiscal commitments.
But in case Syriza
manages to restore Greece’s position in the EU giving an end to austerity or/if
convincing for a public debt restructuring, then Podemos will definitely take
advantage of that politically.
Another factor one should not disregard in short term
is the role of European Socialists. Most European socialist parties constantly
see their rates dropping across Europe.
A bleeding French socialist government
as a possible counter-weight to German right-wing domination is the most
representative proof of the socialist social disorientation.
This is the vacuum of the political spectrum the
European Left is intending to fill. The loss of socialists’ social character.
Syriza’s
sweeping victory as well as Podemo’s reinforcement is a great wake-up call for
European Socialists.
In an effort to avoid being ideologically replaced by
the European Left, they will likely try to take the lead against the austerity.
"The Greek people have clearly chosen to stop the austerity imposed on
them by the Troika’s diktats and ask the new government to bring in fair
policies with more social justice”, underlined yesterday (25th January)
the Chairman of S&D group Gianni Pittella.
It is not a secret that European
Socialists are intensely flirting Syriza, something that started with Hannes
Swoboda 2 years ago.Syriza is turning a crucial page of the European
history.
Will conservative Europe be able to follow?
By: N. Peter Kramer
