Earthquake on Greek Political Scene

Alexis Tsipras and Syriza came into power in January 2015 with 36.34 percent of the vote, riding a wave of public anger at austerity and reform that creditors and partners imposed on the Greeks in the 2010 rescue deals hammered out in Brussels.

In that moment Syriza and its leader offered reasons for optimism: reforms, transparency in government and reduction of the national debt and the elimination of the austerity program. Governing with the extreme right-wing Independent Greeks, it presented itself as the voice of the common people against the elites.

Although they failed to prevail upon creditors to impose their will to Greek people, being forced in mid-2015 to accept a new bailout with troublesome conditions, Tsipras kept up his attacks on rivals at home.

Since they joined the social democratic mainstream in 2015, it was sought to take advantage of the decline of the traditional Pasok and its ideological alignment with the right-wing party of New Democracy.

He found a way to insert Syriza into the credibility gap between them, spinning his own narrative, which has now been demonstrated to be equally misleading. Syriza, which following the agreement called and won snap elections in September 2015, managed the economy with high taxes and high surpluses.

It was able to keep up payments to its creditors, who were chiefly its Eurozone partners, and regain market trust, graduating from Greece’s eight-year fiscal adjustment program last year. But it happened at the expense of low growth and extremely high unemployment rates.