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SYRIZA is not the political opposite of Golden Dawn

05 April 2013 / 20:04:06  GRReporter
5327 reads

Party systems are not based on the logic of equivalence. In a party system, there can be a strong left wing and a segmented right wing, or a strong centre and weak extremes. The opposite can be true as well: the extremes may be strong, but it does not necessarily mean that they are equivalent to the other end of the axis. In other words, the fact that there is a strong right wing does not mean that the left wing is equally strong.

I do not think SYRIZA is the opposite of the far right. This is an oversimplification of things and we have to be very careful in this regard although there are trends in SYRIZA that express extreme views. Also, some members of the party express extreme views from time to time but that does not mean that they "correspond" in any way to the extremist right or that one of the political spectrums feeds the other.

I think that the elections in June 2012 showed, and polls too show, that the fight is between SYRIZA and New Democracy. So far, the data show that the radical left wing and the centre-right space have been fighting shoulder to shoulder in the struggle between them. If the next elections are not delayed or if today's situation does not dramatically change, I think that these two parties will be the main opponents.

There will be no confrontation between the left and the right wings or between the far left and the far right wings. The fight will be directed more towards the political centre, if I may say so figuratively.

As far as the power of the other parties is concerned as well as the power of Golden Dawn, I think that it is still early to talk about them.

The next parliament will be very different and this will depend on fragmentation. Let us not forget that during the elections in May 2012, three political parties failed to enter parliament by a very small number of votes. The change will depend on whether the smaller parties will be able to enter parliament.

My opinion is that we should focus on the things that became apparent in May last year. For example, if green environmentalists and liberals will be able to win 3% of the vote to enter parliament? Have others finally absorbed the radical right wing, which is represented by LAOS or would it be able to return? Nothing is final. We consider the elections of last year the beginning of a new situation with respect to the already established political system. In fact, they marked the beginning of some changes. However, we do not yet know how deep they will be and when they will be completed. I would say that we need time at least to answer these questions.

Tags: PoliticsPolitical systemSYRIZAGolden DawnExtremist right wingMedia
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