Syriza, the party that rose to prominence after the 2008 Greek riots, was able to attract both working-class and middle-class voters with a call to shift more responsibility to those who caused the crisis — the oligarchs, financiers and proponents of misguided neoliberal policies. Greece’s citizens have spoken: They will not cede the fate of their country to European authorities who seek to punish and intimidate them, and they will no longer tolerate a parasitic and irresponsible wealthy class. Syriza will face enormous challenges, however, in trying to uphold its promise to push back on austerity while operating within the architecture of the eurozone. A movement toward focusing on a human crisis in which children go hungry and suicide rates surge over a financial crisis in which creditors take losses is a key shift in priorities that the world is watching. Ordinary Greeks have seen private profits bolstered at the expense of their jobs, their public assets and their health and well-being. They have watched politicians cut deals with unscrupulous financiers while formerly middle-class people pick through garbage cans for food. They have witnessed widespread corruption and plans to pay off the banks at any cost to the people. And they have noticed the former regime (the center-right New Democracy party) do little to address rampant tax evasion among Greek oligarchs. The moment now belongs to Syriza.
Posted on: Tue, 27 Jan 2015 16:39:30 +0000
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