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Greek voters and the lessons of the 20th century

26 May 2014 / 10:05:36  GRReporter
2024 reads

Maria S. Topalova
    On Sunday night an influential businessman described on his Twitter account the results of the triple vote in Greece as follows: The party "I did not learn anything from 20th century history" ranked first. Or, in other words, SYRIZA that, with its typical Marxist rhetoric of the late 19th century, received 26.7% of the votes of the Greek electorate and journalist Stavros Theodorakis’ "not yet a party" that has a similar ideology and which received the approval of 6.7% of the voters.
    The businessman ranked second the party "Tell me if you have a problem. I'll find someone to solve it." Or, as we would say, the clientelistic parties that make up today's government, namely New Democracy with 22.8% of the votes and the socialists from PASOK that has changed its name to Elia, who received 8.1% of the vote. Third in the ranking, according to the businessman, is the "fascists" or Golden Dawn with 9.3% of the votes and fourth the Communists with 6% of the vote.
    SYRIZA’s victory was expected, it was indicated by all polls before the elections. The party of the status quo, of Greece of the 1980s and 1990s, Greece of civil servants and social benefits, of a model of society which, although outdated, is obviously remembered with nostalgia and emotion by many Greeks. The victory of this party is however due to both ruling formations, New Democracy and PASOK, and to their clear failure to part with the clientelist practices and to the unconvincing reforms that follow the rhythm "one step forward, two steps back." Adding to that the personal charisma of SYRIZA's leader and the total lack of the same in the leaders of New Democracy and PASOK, we can decode what hides behind the success of "Marxism of the late 19th century."
    Even the third place of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn is not surprising because it was detected by the polls. Obviously, the fact of raising serious criminal charges for murder preparation and execution against the majority of the party leadership, including its leader, is not important for nearly one million Greeks. The Nazi practices used by the party, for which the Greek media provide sufficient evidence, or the clearly expressed sympathy for the Holocaust and the practices of "soap melting" are not important either. Golden Dawn will send three of its deputies to the European Parliament. However, they are not considered as part of the European extreme right, as the most popular person of which, Marie Le Pen, president of the French "Front National", has repeatedly said that never and under no circumstances will she cooperate with the Greek neo-Nazis.
    An interesting phenomenon is journalist Stavros Theodorakis’ "not yet a party" but only a movement that was supported by 6.7% of Greek voters. It is interesting, because Theodorakis failed to determine before the elections his affiliation in terms of the European political space. Is it the socialist? Is it the left? Is it the liberal? This means that 6.7% of Greek voters are not interested in politics and their vote is subject only to the personal charm of the journalist and his perfectly manipulative campaign. Stavros Theodorakis will send two deputies to the European Parliament. I would not be surprised if each of them joins a different European party.
    Wise men say that fate brings you the same lesson until you learn it. The same goes for Greek voters. Unless they learn 20th century history and are aware of the fact that it is over with Marxism, Nazism and clientelism, they will have to choose between Tsipras, Samaras, Venizelos and the like.

Tags: Elections for European ParliamentSYRIZANew DemocracyPASOKGolden DawnStavros TheodorakisMaria S. Topalova
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