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The systemic metamorphosis of Greece’s once radical left-wing SYRIZA party
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The career of Greece’s second largest party, SYRIZA (The Coalition of the Radical Left – Progressive Alliance) – its transformation from a small radical party into one that claimed and seized power in a European country – has aroused interest around its politics, strategy and, ultimately, character.

After all, it is not common for a left-wing populist party in Europe to come to power and form a government while claiming that it opposes the dominant political and economic establishment.

In the aftermath of the global financial crisis of 2008, SYRIZA (along with other left-wing populist parties) gave hope to the peoples of Europe that it was able to strike a new anti-neoliberal path and tear down the liberal and social democratic politics that led to economic collapse, poverty and social exclusion.

Even if the party’s strategy seemed to lack precision, even if the presence of many currents (known as τάσεις – tendencies) within the party itself created obstacles to the production of a coherent political proposal, even if its leader’s statements on managing the economy in a possible confrontation with Europe were rather vague, a large

part of the popular classes was convinced that SYRIZA would be able to change the balance of power and achieve its anti-austerity goals.

Thirteen years after the outbreak of the economic crisis in Greece, ten years after the remarkable Greek movement of squares and six years after the huge victory of SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras in the elections, many citizens have now turned their backs on the party.

The abandonment of radicalism

SYRIZA as an opposition party (2004-2015) had a strong radical character: standing firmly against imperialism, the decline of democracy, racism and xenophobia, as well as neoliberal capitalism.

But SYRIZA’s rapid adaptation to the existing political-economic structure after its rise to power transformed its logic. The party maintained its left-wing populist characteristics, which (mainly in the first phase of its rule between January and September 2015) retained both a kind of radicalism and a close relationship with the popular classes.

Nonetheless, SYRIZA gradually abandoned its radicalism, adopted ‘realism’ in its policies, compromised on its interactions with the EU and attempted converging with the political establishment, ignoring popular grievances and demands.

[1] Url: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/rethinking-populism/the-systemic-metamorphosis-of-greeces-once-radical-left-wing-syriza-party/