History of Greece

Europe’s reaction to its ongoing recession and the dictation that has come from the likes of Germany has been to turn towards extreme right-wing xenophobic parties. These quasi-fascists not only oppose integration within the European Union but want to close off their borders to all immigrants, especially of the darker variety. This is what makes the victory of the left-wing Syriza party in Greece so historic. The party, led by the charismatic Alexis Tsipras, got a decisive victory in the general elections coming out nine percentage points ahead of the ruling New Democracy party. It did so by rejecting the austerity measures the EU superpowers have imposed on the rest of the continent as a stringent condition of receiving bailouts. Syriza is an inclusive party which wants Greece to remain within the European Union but also does not believe that reducing spending, especially on social services and infrastructure, is wise at a time when greater government spending is the only possible solution to boost consumer demand, create jobs and emerge healthy from a recession that has carried on for too long. In countries like Britain and Sweden disillusioned voters have turned to extremist parties like Ukip and the Sweden Democrats. The Greek voters have proven much wiser in rejecting its far-right equivalent in the overtly fascist Golden Path.
The Greek election is unprecedented because this is the first time an EU country has broken the duopoly of power held by establishment parties. In doing so it has chosen the Latin American path of doing away with ‘advice’ and guidance from unaccountable financial institutions and entrenched international bureaucrats. The challenge ahead of Greece is immense. It has a 7 billion Euros repayment to Germany due soon and there is no guarantee Angela Merkel will ease the terms of the loans. Tsipras is no wild-eyed radical; he just wants Greece to be able to follow policies that do not impoverish millions. His election will now be a test for the EU and whether it has any respect for the democratic wishes of the Greek people. It can either boot Greece out of the common market and admit failure in the European project or realise it has to accommodate the different needs of citizens in different countries. For Greece, possibly the country worst hit by the recession, Syriza is their last, best chance at a recovery.