FREDERICTON, N.B. — The Greek election scheduled for January 25 is likely to generate an economic tsunami in Europe and around the world. The wild card in this election is a new left wing political party, SYRIZA, composed of a coalition of the radical left and the disenchanted members from several traditional political parties.
In 2012, SYRIZA became the second largest party in the Greek parliament and served as the official opposition. As recently as May 2014, SYRIZA came in first in the European Parliament election. In the last few days leading up to the Greek election, SYRIZA, has a slim lead in public opinion polls.
Should the public opinion polls accurately reflect the political mood of Greek voters, then SYRIZA is likely to garner the most votes and emerge as the first party after Sunday's election. In consequence, it will be called upon to form the next government, most likely in a coalition with another smaller political party.
In this scenario, the next Prime Minister of Greece will be Alexis Tsipras. He is a charismatic and articulate 40 year old who grew up in Athens and was actively involved in left-wing politics in high school and at the University of Athens. Tsipras subsequently became head of the populist Coalition of the Radical Left party and leader of the Opposition in the last Greek parliament.
The voter support for SYRIZA is fed by massive public opposition to the German-imposed austerity measures in Greece. These problematic fiscal measures have contributed to a six year economic contraction, a depression-era Greek economy, peak unemployment levels, excessive tax hikes and drastic reductions in wages, salaries and pensions.
SYRIZA's mass appeal rests with its anti-austerity election platform and its combative attitude towards foreign imposed fiscal policies. In my opinion, Greek voters are inclined to cast their vote in this election out of economic despair and political defiance.
There is no denying that the harsh anti-austerity measures have adversely affected every Greek family and offended their national pride. Indeed, SYRIZA's combative and defiant attitude hits a soft spot with the average Greek citizen whose daily lives have become intolerable as a result of tax increases, dramatic reductions in salaries and pensions and depression era unemployment.
The austerity measures have translated into a sharp decline in public sector spending on education and healthcare, forced the privatization of public sector enterprises, triggered widespread business bankruptcies and dictated massive public sector job cuts. Austerity is blamed for a sharp increase in the unemployment rate from 7.2 per cent in 2008 at the start of the Greek economic crisis to its current level of 25.5 per cent with youth unemployment exceeding 50 per cent.
Greek voters are hoping that the new government that emerges after January 25 will be unencumbered by the political baggage of the traditional political parties and will pursue an economic agenda that leads to economic growth, a reprieve from high taxes, a focus on job creation and a reduction in the cost of living.
The outcome of the Greek election on Sunday has serious repercussions for Canada. SYRIZA does not have a concrete vision for global economic engagement. So far, the party's economic outreach has been confined to skirmishes with the European Union regarding austerity measures. This unclear economic scenario should tweak the attention of the Canadian government.
The fate of the recently signed but not yet ratified Canada-EU Comprehensive Trade Agreement (CETA) may become a casualty of this election. There is a compelling case for the Canadian government to reach out to a newly formed SYRIZA government and underline the immediate benefits that CETA would have on the Greek economy. Economic benefits for Greece that would include new job opportunities, foreign direct investment and growing their national economy.
— Dr. Constantine Passaris is a Professor of Economics at the University of New Brunswick (Canada), an Onassis Foundation Fellow (Greece) and a Research Affiliate of the Prentice Institute for Global Population & Economy at the University of Lethbridge (Canada).
www.troymedia.com
