THE electoral battles of the last decade are characterized by a climate of polarization – A similar climate is being formed ahead of next year’s elections
By Antonis Anzoletou
No election battle took place without the thermometer rising steeply between the contenders for power. “Polarization” is always in the program and there is no shortage of extreme characterizations and harsh expressions. Ten years ago, there might not have been the green, blue and red cafes of the 80s, but the extreme social tensions in 2012 and the “memorandum – anti-memorandum” and “euro or drachma” dilemmas dominated the two nearby polling stations that were set up in May and June. Main characteristics; The precipitation of the political system with ND and SYRIZA barely passing 35% in May and 55% in June. PASOK fell from its “throne” to third place and the economic suffocation was exploited by populist and fascist forces such as GOLDEN DAWN. Stormy meetings followed in the Parliament with the pre-investigation cfor the Lagarde list to dominate.
In January 2015 the “repeal of the memoranda” divided Greek society already strained by surveillance, troika assessments and Germany’s demands for austerity. Alexis Tsipras in the next September elections with the slogan in his speeches “either we finish them or they finish us” warned about the danger of “restoring the old system”. New Democracy talked about the third unnecessary memorandum, accusing SYRIZA of the political negotiation it was carrying out in Europe and later that it owed the country 100 billion euros, bringing it back into recession.
In 2019, the middle class punished the government of Alexis Tsipras for excessive taxation, while the Prespa Agreement entered the pre-election game from the New Democracy very early on. A large part of Northern Greece was “boiling” with the demonstrations throughout the region shaping a very negative climate for the government at the time.
Where are we today? A few months before the elections, everything shows that a lot of “flammable political material” is being collected, ready to explode in the spring. For the economy, the fight is already very tough due to the energy crisis. SYRIZA speaks of “mockery governmental measures”, that the country is sinking into a mire and that the crisis is being treated as an opportunity to further widen inequalities. From Maximos, they constantly reply that New Democracy continues its interventions to support society, accuses the official opposition of distorting reality and point out the recognition that Greece has internationally for the development steps it has taken.
However, the whole game is not about the economy in this electoral contest either. Yesterday’s high-pitched confrontation between Alexis Tsipras and the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Defense regarding the Greek Aviation Industry is indicative. The deletion of Andreas Patsis has greatly increased the “decibels” between ND-SYRIZA, reminding of the way in which the surveillance case started in August. It is no coincidence that Alexis Tsipras proceeded to submit a new question to the Prime Minister in the Parliament, linking the issue to the elections and the possibility of predator surveillance still taking place. After the precision two weeks ago, the two leaders will again be in the Plenary, this time for the wiretapping. And the political mercury will turn red just before the budget debate.
The belligerent climate confirmed yesterday Yannis Oikonomou who from the briefing gave an overall account of the SYRIZA opposition: “SYRIZA is a party that was rejected in the previous elections by the Greek people because of its tragic government tenure. The “proud negotiation” of Mr. Varoufakis and Tsipras, the capital controls, the closed banks, the plans to raid the Mint and a parallel monetary system, the uncontrolled flows of immigrants who “sunbathed” in Greek territory, the dissolution of the National Health System, the attempt to completely control the information with the infamous television licenses and the report of the Florence Institute, the tax policy that destroyed the middle class, the plan to undermine the Greek Justice with a close associate of Mr. Tsipras as the protagonist, the attempt to politically and morally destroy the of his political opponents using the Novartis case and innumerable other choices discredited him in the popular consciousness and brought the country into dire straits at every level,” said the government spokesman.
Nasos Iliopoulos in an interview with the radio station “Greece FM” he spoke again about a “regime of looting by blue locusts” and emphasized that “we call the whole world on November 9, which is the great strike of GSEE and ADEDY. Society must come forward and set the limits, claiming political change.” It is clear that SYRIZA, beyond the parliamentary process, will invest a lot in social reactions, trying to create a wave of protest against the government on the way to the polls. And in this field, opposition parties are expected to cooperate.
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