Utopian Left-Wing Expectations and the Social Consequences of the 3rd Memorandum in Greece

Kotroyannos, Dimitrios and Tzagarakis, Stelios and Mavrozacharakis, Emmanouil and Kamekis, Apostolos (2017): Utopian Left-Wing Expectations and the Social Consequences of the 3rd Memorandum in Greece. Published in: European Quarterly of Political Attitudes and Mentalities - EQPAM , Vol. 2017, No. Volume 6, No.2, (1 April 2017): pp. 55-66.

Abstract

In January 2015 the radical left SYRIZA has won the Greek national elections and formed a coalition government with Independent Greeks (ANEL), a right-wing populist party. After a seven-month negotiation with Greece’s creditors and the agreement for the implementation of a third memorandum of fiscal adjustment, SYRIZA announced the conduction of a second round of national elections in September 2015. After a second electoral victory, SYRIZA formed again a coalition government with ANEL. The main characteristic of SYRIZA’s pre-electoral campaign was that it has primarily focused on the commitment for austerity measures termination and on the implementation of tax alleviation. Even during the second electoral campaign in September 2015, after the agreement for the implementation of the third memorandum of fiscal adjustment, SYRIZA was promising that its implementation will be socially endued in order to reduce negative social consequences, such as those created by the previous memoranda. Practically though, after the first months of the new memorandum implementation, it is obvious that the government has introduced an unprecedented tax policy. Interestingly, this policy is not different from a traditional left logic of tax enforcement but actually leads to the implementation of horizontal austerity policies which firstly affect the socially vulnerable groups. From this point of view, while SYRIZA emphatically declare that it aims at resolving the crisis, its policies seem to deepen the depression. For instance, its inability to find alternative options to finance the social security system, leads to the implementation of restrictive policies which dismantle the welfare state. This paper aims at analyzing the policies of the first left government in Greece by focusing on the tentative social consequences of the third memorandum and at the same time, studying some of the basic factors for its electoral victory, such as populism.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: populism, crisis, social impact, memorandum
• Subjects: A - General Economics and Teaching > A1 - General Economics > A10 - General; A - General Economics and Teaching > A1 - General Economics > A11 - Role of Economics ; Role of Economists ; Market for Economists; A - General Economics and Teaching > A1 - General Economics > A13 - Relation of Economics to Social Values; A - General Economics and Teaching > A1 - General Economics > A14 - Sociology of Economics; A - General Economics and Teaching > A1 - General Economics > A19 - Other; A - General Economics and Teaching > A3 - Collective Works; A - General Economics and Teaching > A3 - Collective Works > A30 - General; F - International Economics > F0 - General; F - International Economics > F0 - General > F00 - General; F - International Economics > F0 - General > F01 - Global Outlook; F - International Economics > F0 - General > F02 - International Economic Order and Integration; G - Financial Economics > G0 - General; H - Public Economics > H0 - General; H - Public Economics > H1 - Structure and Scope of Government; H - Public Economics > H2 - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue; H - Public Economics > H3 - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents; H - Public Economics > H4 - Publicly Provided Goods; H - Public Economics > H5 - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies; H - Public Economics > H6 - National Budget, Deficit, and Debt; H - Public Economics > H7 - State and Local Government ; Intergovernmental Relations; Z - Other Special Topics > Z0 - General > Z00 - General

References

Anderson, P.(2015):The Greek Debacle. On the crisis in Greece and Syriza’s failure to resist the Eurozone. Available online:https://www.jacobinmag.com/ 2015/07/tspiras-syriza-euro-perry-anderson/ (Accessed: 20/01/2016).

Avgi.gr (2015): No house in the hands of bankers, 16 January 2015. Available online at: http://www.avgi.gr/ article /5221266/kanena-spiti-se-xeria-trapeziti (Accessed: 12/03/2016) [in Greek].

Bertelsmann Stiftung (2015): Social Justice in the EU-Index Report 2015. Social Inclusion Monitor 2015, Available online at: https://www.tagesschau.de /wirtschaft/social-justice-index-101.pdf (Accessed: 21/06/2016).

Bloomberg(2015): Why Greece’s VAT increase is unlikely to work, Economic Research, Economics, Bloomberg Intelligence, 5 August 2015. Available online at:http://www.bloomberg.com /professional/blog/why-greeces-vat-increase-is-unlikelytowork/ (Accessed: 13/03/2016).

Doxiadis, A. and Matsaganis, M. (2012): “National Populism and Xenophobia in Greece”, Counterpoint, 2012, Available online: http://goo.gl/L7Pz7, (Accessed: 23/01/2016)

Ekathimerini.com (2015a): Tsipras Announces Referendum on Lenders’ Proposals, 27 June 2015. Available online at: http://www.ekathimerini.com/198431/article/ekathimerini/news/tsipras-announces-referendum-on-lenders-proposals (Accessed: 10/03/2016).

Ekathimerini.com (2015b): ENFIA unchanged, back in October, 18 August 2015. Available online at: http://www.ekathimerini.com /200673/article/ekathimerini/business/enfia-unchanged-back-in-october (Accessed: 11/03/2016).

Eurobarometer (2015):Public Opinion in the European Union, Greece, Standard Eurobarometer, European Commission.Available online at: file:///C:/Users/Stelios /Downloads/eb84_el_el_nat.pdf (Accessed: 13/03/2016) [in Greek].

Fischer, L. (2015): From Papandreou to Tsipras. What can the history of Greek populism tell us about Syriza’s election victory?.Available Online: https://www.jacobinmag.com /2015/09/tsipras-syriza-pasok-papandreou-austerity-elections-populismpodemos/ (Accessed: 22/01/2016).

General Secretary of Public Revenues (2016): Report of the progress and the fluctuation of tax revenues, December 2015. Available online at: http:// www. publicrevenue.gr /kpi/static/doc/tax_inc_report_12_2015.pdf (Accessed: 13/03/2016), [in Greek].

Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (2015): Concession Agreement Signed for Managing 14 Greek Regional Airports, 12/12/2015. Available online at: http://www.hradf.com/en/news/20151212-regional-airports (Accessed: 12/03/2016) [in Greek].

Imerisia.gr (2015): “We disentangle with the past. We gain the future”, the main campaign message of SYRIZA, 4 September 2015. Available online at: http://www.imerisia.gr/article.asp?catid=39335&subid=2&pubid=113703139 (Accessed: 12/03/2016) [in Greek].

In.gr (2015): Tsipras: Six commitments and “everything that should and can be implemented”, 20 January 2015. Available online at: http://news.in.gr/greece/article/?aid=1231378989 (Accessed: 10/02/2016) [in Greek].

In.gr (2015): Skourletis: Lower wage at 751 Euros and restoration of the 13th pension, 28 January 2015. Available online at: http://news.in.gr/greece/article/?aid=1231380937 (Accessed: 12/03/2016) [in Greek].

Gerodimos, R. (2015): “Greece’s Ongoing Tragedy”, Political Insight 6, 3: 26-27. Khan, M. and Holehouse, M. (2015), Greece Defaults on the International Monetary Fund after Launching 11th Hour Attempt to Agree New Rescue Deal, The Telegraph, 30 June 2015. Available online at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/ finance/economics/11709473/Greece-defaults-on-the-International-Monetary-Fund-afterlaunching-11th-hour-attempt-toagree-new-rescue-deal.html (Accessed: 12/03/2016).

Kotroyannos, D. (2016): Alexis Tsipras und der rhetorische Diskurs als Politik. Available online at: https://mpra.ub.unimuenchen.de /70926/1/MPRA_paper_70926.pdf (Accessed: 30/06/2016).

Mouffe, C. (2015):Für einen linken Populismus. Unser Gegner sind nicht Migranten, sondern die politischen und ökonomischen Kräfte des Neoliberalismus. Available online at: http://www.ipg-journal.de/rubriken/soziale-demokratie/artikel/fuereinen-linken-populismus-857/ (Accessed: 02/12/2015).

Münchau, W. (2015): S.P.O.N. - Die Spur des Geldes: Warum linke Parteien in Europa scheitern. Available online at: http://www.spiegel.de /wirtschaft/soziales/muenchau-warum-linke-parteien-in-europa-scheitern-a-1051700.html (Accessed: 30/06/2016).

Nassr, I. K., Robano, V. and Wehinger, G. (2016): “Unleashing the Export Potential of SMEs in Greece”, OECD Working Papers on Finance, Insurance and Private Pensions, No. 41, Paris: OECD Publishing.

Nicoli, F. (2014): “Populism, Polarization, Politicization, Participation.Projecting the EU Beyond the Market?” In: Institute of European Democrats (IED), Rising Populism and European Elections. Collection of selected contributions, 5-31. Available online at: http://www.iedonline.eu/ download/2014/Rising-Populism-European-Elections-IED--2014.pdf (Accessed, 30/11/2015).

Pappas, T. (2015): “Populist Hegemony”, Open Democracy, 25.09 Rohrschneider, R. and Whitefield, S. (2015), “Responding to growing European Union-skepticism? The stances of political parties toward European integration in Western and Eastern Europe following the financial crisis”. European Union Politics 17 (1): 138-161.

Rori, L. (2016): “The 2015 Greek parliamentary elections: from great expectations to no expectations”, West European Politics, 2016. Smith, H. (2012), “Greece to hold fresh elections as unity talks fail”, The Guardian, 5 May 2012.Available online at: http://goo.gl/dzDc1 (Accessed: 03/02/2016).

SYRIZA (2015): The Thessaloniki Programme. Available online at: http://www.syriza.gr/article/SYRIZA---THE-THESSALONIKIPROGRAMME.html#.VuUjmvlkjIW (Accessed: 12/03/2016)

Standing, G. (2011): The Precariat The New Dangerous Class, Bloomsbury Academic. Tovima.gr (2012), Alexis Tsipras: wages and pensions will be restored with one law, 15 November 2012. Available online at: http://www.tovima.gr/politics /article/?aid=484094 (Accessed: 12/03/2016) [in Greek].

Stathakis, G (2014): statement in 25 November 2014. Available online at: http://www.tovima.gr/ politics/article/?aid=653906 (Accessed: 12/03/2016) [in Greek].

Tsebelis, G.(2015): Tsipras’ Gamble. Why He Resigned—And Why the Ploy Will Work. Available online at: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/ articles/greece/2015-08-26/tsipras-gamble (Accessed: 02/02/2016).

Tsipras, A. (2012): Pre-electoral speech in 14 June 2012. Available online at: http://goo.gl/v2Pce (Accessed: 10/02/2016) [in Greek].

Verney, S. (2015): “Waking the ‘sleeping giant’ or expressing domestic dissent? Mainstreaming Euroscepticism in crisis-stricken Greece”. International Political Science Review 36 (3): 279-295.

Walzer M. (2015): The Syriza Problem. Available online at: https://www.dissentmagazine.org /blog/michael-walzer-syrizaproblem-rhetorical-radicalism (Accessed: 30/01/2016).