Tsipras’ compromise shows he’s part-radical, part-pragmatist
Jonathan Lindsell, 27 January 2015
Alexis Tsipras has been sworn in as prime minister in Athens. His Syriza party won 149 seats in Sunday’s election, forcing him to form a majority in coalition with the small Independent Greeks party (ANEL).
At first this seems odd. ANEL, led by Panos Kammenos, have just 13 seats. They are firmly on the right– they aim to bolster the Orthodox church, restrict immigration, and increase support for the police. Such policies are at odds with Syriza’s radical leftist promises. When Tsipras took his oath of office, he outright refused a blessing.
The reasoning behind Tsipras’ choice might be more nuanced than it initially appears. Commentators so far have merely noted that Kammenos’ hostility to the troika that holds Greek debt, which enforces austerity, is equal to that of Syriza. Indeed, Kammenos attempted to topple the previous New Democracy government following rumours of a third bailout. The new Tsipras government will need to speak with a unified, strong voice if it is to go to Brussels and demand a debt write off.
However, there were other anti-austerity parties to choose from. Why pick one from the right? The centre-left To Potami party is committed to the EU and the euro, so would chafe against Syriza’s economics. The Communists have a rule against alliances. But for the whole picture, look at the Greek voting system.
There were no postal ballots or early voting procedures for Sunday’s vote. There are strict electoral districts for voters. This effectively meant that the hundreds of thousands of young Greeks who left their home country in search of work in the years since 2009 have been unable to have a say, and logic suggests that they would be some of the strongest critics of the old order, of New Democracy and of austerity. But not all anti-austerity voters are on the left – the extreme right party Golden Dawn came third in this election with 17 seats and 6.2% of the vote.
This result is especially surprising given that Nikolaos Michaloliakos, Golden Dawn’s leader, has been in prison awaiting trial since late 2013. Along with many local leaders, Michaloliakos has been charged with membership of a criminal organisation following the fatal stabbing of an anti-fascist rapper.
Golden Dawn’s support, which was expected to fall off after the arrests, is based not only on anti-immigration sentiment, nor the anti-establishment message carried by Syriza, but a fixation with control and order. Michaloliakos, a former paratrooper, is perceived as being close to the police and army – which provided Greece with leadership and stability for much of the turbulent 20st century.
By allying with ANEL Tsipras has chosen to indicate restrained sympathy for the concerns that many in his country, and many compatriots abroad, clearly display. An alliance with the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn itself was out of the question, but by bringing Kammenos into government, the new prime minister could assure his people that he really intends to reconstruct the birthplace of democracy, rather than preside over anarchy.