The Triumph of Left-wing Populism in Greece: Causes and Consequences

Abstract

The article analyzes the reasons and consequences of the spread of the ideology of left populism in Greece. It has been established that the success of the SYRIZA Coalition of Left Radical Forces, which was in power in Greece during 2015-2019, was facilitated by a number of factors. The most important among them: the popularity of leftist ideas in the social and political space of Greece; the traditions of populism inherent in most of the country’s political forces; unbalanced fiscal policy, structural macroeconomic imbalances, low statistical reliability and significant government debt; the world economic crisis of 2008-2009; deterioration of social standards and demographic indicators, the spread of unemployment; negative impact of the migration crisis; the tough position of Greece’s creditors, on whom public opinion blamed the country’s socio-economic problems. It is noted that the phenomenon of left populism in Greece was the fact that immediately after the victory in the elections, SYRIZA, sandwiched between the demands of creditors and the real state of the economy, abandoned radical left populist ideas and was forced to pursue a neoliberal economic policy. Already in 2016, the country returned to slow economic growth, and in 2018 the financial assistance program was completed. However, due to the failure to fulfill its own campaign promises, SYRIZA lost power in the 2019 elections and took a centrist place in the Greek political system. A significant merit of the SYRIZA Coalition of Radical Left Forces was the successful resolution of an almost thirty-year dispute with North Macedonia over the name of the latter. The opinion is substantiated that for Ukraine the main conclusion from the analysis of the Greek events of the early XXIst century is the realization of the fact that the complex problems of a political and socio-economic nature that face our country do not have a simple and quick solution. To achieve success, Ukraine must consistently defend its own national interests, strengthen sovereignty and independence, and pursue a balanced budgetary and financial and economic policy.