Elections in Greece will raise the stakes over Europe’s austerity policiesThe election that the Greek prime minister, Antonis Samaras, has called after losing his gamble over the presidency on Monday represents the start of an even more uncertain era in Europe. The political forces set in motion by austerity policies designed to cope with the still unresolved economic crisis are coming to the fore everywhere, undermining established parties, changing the way countries are governed, and reshaping popular attitudes.New parties, as well as older but previously marginal ones, have grown apace. Some are getting closer to power, or at least to a share in it. If Syriza, the Greek radical leftist party, wins the elections scheduled for 25 January – and its chances of doing so are deemed to be good – it will have achieved such power, even if it has to rule in coalition. It will perhaps go down as the first true anti-austerity, as well as unashamedly anti-capitalist, party to come to office in Europe after 2008 changed the rules of the game. It might well set a precedent for other new parties, notably Podemos in Spain, which has burst from nowhere to become a serious rival to the ruling People’s party and the opposition Socialists. The question a Syriza victory could raise is whether a specifically anti-austerity party in a small country can force a change in an economic strategy for the whole eurozone that has been largely crafted by Germany, and which that nation has until now shown little readiness to change. Continue reading...
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