Supporters of the ruling Syriza party celebrate their victory in a bailout referendum by the parliament in Athens on Sunday.
By Helen Maguire/DPA/Brussels
Greece’s resounding “No” in Sunday’s referendum to bailout conditions demanded by its creditors can be best understood in the context of the surge of fringe parties - from eurosceptics to anti-austerity activists - across the European Union in recent years.
The EU is facing several challenges, including a sluggish economy and stubbornly high unemployment, to say nothing of an influx of migrants from outside the bloc and an ageing population that will make the generous welfare models the continent has long known a thing of the past.
These challenges, coupled with rising disillusionment at mainstream politics, have boosted the appeal of fringe movements on the left and right of the spectrum. In last year’s European Parliament elections, populist parties doubled their number of seats.
In Greece - the country worst hit by the EU’s economic crisis - the far-left Syriza party is offering voters a new way out, after five years of tough austerity that saw the economy shrink by 25% and left one in two young people out of work.
But from the start of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ term in January, there were questions about how he could keep Greece in the eurozone, while rejecting the measures expected in return for the bailout aid keeping the economy alive.
The answer to that question is less certain than ever, following Greece’s “No” at the weekend to reform demands tabled by Athens’ international creditors.
“The message of Tsipras was never about ‘I bring you a better future’, said Daniel Gros, the director of the Centre for European Policy Studies. “But this is about hope, and self-determination and national pride,” he added.
However, rather than highlight the problems of corruption and bad policies at home - as Spain’s left-wing Podemos party is doing, for example - Syriza is looking for scapegoats elsewhere in Europe, Gros said.
He described Sunday’s vote as the “birth of European Peronism,” a reference to former Argentinian President Juan Peron, whose populist credo was based on social justice, economic independence and political sovereignty, uniting left- and right-wing forces.
The temptation to go down this route exists not only in Greece, but also in other countries, Gros notes, citing heavily indebted Italy as a prime example.
For some years now, populist forces have been making inroads across Europe.
In Britain’s general election this year, the eurosceptic and anti-immigration UK Independence Party (Ukip) made large gains, as disenchanted workers vented their frustration with an influx of EU migrants seen to be taking their jobs and benefits.
Germany, the EU’s powerhouse, has witnessed the rise of the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany, while France’s far-right National Front created shockwaves across Europe when it came first in France in last year’s European Parliament elections.
National Front leader Marine Le Pen welcomed the “excellent news” out of Greece on Sunday, calling it a “victory of the people against the oligarchy of the EU,” and a “no” of liberty, of rebellion in the face of European dictats.”
“It’s fantastic to see the courage of the Greek people in the face of political and economic bullying from Brussels,” added Ukip leader Nigel Farage.
Some political analysts worry about the threat that populism poses to the European project.
“Populism is a Trojan horse inside the EU,” Koert Debeuf of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance said recently, noting that extremist parties are affecting mainstream politics in countries such as Britain, France and Hungary.
But Stephen Szabo, of the Transatlantic Academy, said that “populist parties are a symptom, not the cause, of Europe’s malaise,” in comments gathered by the Carnegie Europe think tank last month.
“Populism has become a lazy shorthand for any politics we do not like,” added Dennis MacShane, a former British minister for Europe. “Populism isn’t Europe’s problem. The lack of political leadership and vision is,” he said.
