The far right in Germany and France, and pro-European Greece
Many Greeks’ trust in the European project was shaken during last decade’s economic crisis by the almost punitive attitude adopted by the EU, led by Germany.
Nevertheless, even though the country saw its economy shrink by an unprecedented amount for a democracy in peacetime, 25%, the social fabric stayed intact, the crisis was resolved and the economy returned to growth.
And one of the greatest winners was democracy. Despite the temporary and limited rise of the far right, its popularity never evolved into a real threat for the polity.
With its early anti-systemic stance, leftist SYRIZA “absorbed” much of the public outrage. And once it came to power and had to face reality it made the necessary shift from wishful thinking and mostly baseless promises to managing the bailouts and setting realistic targets. Realism prevailed in both economic and foreign policy, sparing the country from risky adventures.
In the meantime, New Democracy’s maturity and historic stature allowed the country’s main center-right party to survive the turbulence of 2012, to maintain its institutional role as a pillar of the nation’s democratic functioning following the 1967-74 dictatorship, and to contribute to averting a slide to the extreme right during the crisis.
The democratic changes of government and a basically peaceful social status quo that prevailed in Greece despite the incredibly adverse conditions, took many by surprise.
Many ills remain, of course. The country has a long way to go yet, and good PR cannot hide the many shortcomings. Nevertheless, Greek society made painful adjustments with incredible maturity and managed to remain on the right side of history.
Now, four months before the European elections, Greece is one of the most fervent supporters of the EU. Despite whatever differences they may have, all of the country’s top three political parties are pro-European.
As we head to the polls, there are widespread fears about the rise of the far right in many countries and how this will affect the European agenda, threatening values and institutions, including the rule of law and human rights.
How times change. Those who truly believe in Europe are now worried about Germany and France, and not about Greece, where some voices from the extreme right may become a bit louder, but will not influence developments and certainly not define the agenda.
In contrast, the threat of an extremely influential far right is very real in the EU’s two biggest economies, with everything that might entail for the future of the Union.
