Sterile populism
After all these years in the opposition, the SYRIZA party has quite inexplicably remained faithful to the same, counterproductive political strategy.
Alexis Tsipras’s party has habitually reacted to government policy by: a) escalating its rhetoric, b) calling upon Greek citizens to rise up, and, c) promising radical changes when it finally climbs to power.
It should have become abundantly clear within the SYRIZA leadership by now that, barring a small number of populist unionists and defectors from the old PASOK, as it were, the overwhelming majority of Greece’s voters are choosing to turn a deaf ear to the noise coming from Koumoundourou Square, where the party is headquartered.
And yet SYRIZA chose to follow the exact same recipe in objecting to plans by the conservative-led coalition to sell off part of the country’s biggest electricity producer, the Public Power Corporation (PPC).
SYRIZA’s reaction appears to have eventually worked to the advantage of the government, which managed to come across as a guardian of stability and reforms.
