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Anastasia Balezdrova

The result of the vote on 25 January has enabled seven parties to enter the Greek parliament. Only three of them definitely support the European future of Greece, namely New Democracy, Potami and PASOK. The Communist Party and Independent Greeks define themselves as euro sceptic whereas Nazi Golden Dawn is firmly an anti-European party.

At the same time, there are so many and opposite trends in the ruling SYRIZA party that it could hardly be classified in a particular category. Despite the statements of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras that there is no other way for Athens than the European one, there are many anti-European currents inside SYRIZA.
 
The majority of analysts believe that the decision of most Greeks to support the euro sceptic parties is due to the austerity policy applied in recent years, which has drastically reduced their incomes. Others, however, argue that Greek society has never been aware that it belongs to Europe, and therefore supports political forces that openly call for alliances with other countries in exactly the opposite geographical direction.

In an attempt to analyse the votes of Greek voters, GRReporter turned for comment to Athanasios Diamantopoulos, a lecturer in political science at Athens Panteion University.

Mr. Diamantopoulos, is it possible for the austerity measures to explain the mass turn of Greek voters against Europe?

I think that the vote is the product of a primary rational, and of an irrational, factor. The first is the leading one for those voters who do not consider what the alternative is and its meaning is, "How much worse things can become since my life has been negatively affected in many ways." One very important detail for societies in southern Europe, and especially for the Greeks, is ownership. So, many people told themselves, "What worse can happen to me? We were always told that the Left will come to power and will take our houses." The right wing was the one that had actually implemented the partial confiscation of property through the property tax.

The irrational factor goes beyond the personal dissatisfaction and the economic difficulties of the Greeks. It is about the feeling of humiliation. The average Greek ignores the fact that the West has lent Greece around 300 billion euro, most of which is provided by states that obtain capital from the financial markets at an interest rate that is lower than the rate on the loans under the bailout programme to Greece. He believes that his country, which had won its independence in a painful way, now is subject to the will of foreign governments.

If you look at the historical subconsciousness of the Greeks, you see that, from the naval blockade during World War I to 1944, when Winston Churchill had actually appointed General Scobie as the Chief of the General Staff of Greece, Greek society has been very sensitive to these issues.

This explains the irrationality that does not allow them to consider the situation at present but drives them to demand national dignity.

Do you think that the education system is responsible for this way of perception and interpretation of reality?

The education system in Greece has always been ethnocentric. It has failed to develop adequate European awareness. As Kornilios Castoriadis used to say, the acts of heroism of the nation that are taught include Basil Bulgaroctonus and the thousands of Bulgarians blinded by him, etc. Indeed, such a trend exists.

A similar tradition, however, is present in literature that goes beyond the educational system. It preaches that Westerners, Franks, are enemies while our friends with whom we share the same religion and who objectively are our allies are in the East.

In addition, in recent years, the educational system has been very crowded and is therefore not meritocratic. As a result, it provides artificial education to people who think they know some things, while in fact, their ability to understand or interpret reality is at a very basic level.

There are different definitions of what party SYRIZA is. Some commentators define it as anti-European, others as euro sceptic. What is it actually?

I think it is not easy to perceive SYRIZA as a single political subject. Currently the majority of Greek society, which identifies itself with European social democracy, is in SYRIZA. At the same time, Trotskyites, Stalinists and those who are oriented towards the East and support the idea of changing the geopolitical orientation of the country, are there too. We are talking about a mixture and it is not at all certain that Tsipras, with his inexperience and because he is not the creator of the party, will be able to coordinate and unite it in a common direction. I recall that the turn after the elections in 1981 was easy for Andreas Papandreou, because he was the founder of PASOK, whereas Tsipras is the creation of SYRIZA, not its creator.

I am afraid that soon after the enthusiasm of victory has passed as well as the uniting popularity and authority, the party will face intense internal turmoil. I do not exclude that due to this variety of faces in SYRIZA and to the new political reality, the outcome of the parliamentary elections may take us to different government formations in the future.

Which parties will they involve?

For example, part of SYRIZA to govern with other partners, together or without Independent Greeks which is now part of the government coalition.

In the latest elections, 380,000 Greeks voted for Golden Dawn, although the party leadership is accused of murder and is in custody awaiting trial. How would you explain this vote and why the support for them is not decreasing?

One reason is the sense of national humiliation, which I have already mentioned. Moreover, there is a significant probability of the anti-Western and anti-European nationalist attitude even strengthening if two things happen. The first is if the government keeps its promise to vote on a law that will entitle second-generation immigrants from non-European countries to acquire Greek citizenship on a mass scale, the cultural differences with whom are more pronounced, the integration of whom is more difficult and who are less accepted by Greek society,. The second is if access to the bank deposits of citizens is limited because of pressure from Europe.

I do not know whether there is a similar case in the world, namely of a party that has the support of 6-7 percent of the voters, although its leadership is in prison.

Even Hitler's political rise began after 1928, i.e. when he was out of prison.

I mean I do not believe that Golden Dawn is a transient phenomenon. To the contrary, the results of a poll conducted by MRB show that while nearly half of the voters of New Democracy and SYRIZA fully identify themselves with their party, the corresponding percentage among the supporters of Golden Dawn is 100 percent.

Do you therefore share the fears that the failure of this government will be followed by elections in which Golden Dawn will double its power?

I do not know if it will double it but I can certainly say that if this government fails, the anti-Western parties and currents will significantly spread, both into the far-right and far-left side of the political spectrum.

How do you think the cooperation between the coalition partners SYRIZA and Independent Greeks will take place in the future, accounting for the fact they have radically different positions on many issues?

As I said I do not exclude the probability of the coalition being replaced by collaborations of SYRIZA with other parties. But if the government still failed to reach a compromise with the lenders which it would be able to present as a "national success" and in view of the problems of the bourgeois parties, SYRIZA could rule as a central political subject for a very long time, but it could totally collapse as well. And if it decided to organise a referendum on whether Greece should remain in the euro or should return to its national currency, it could be followed by events similar to those which we thought that history had left in the remote past.