Cliff Paul
31st August 2015, 13:06
A great article by Jacobin on SYRIZA and Popular Unity.
https://www.jacobinmag.com/2015/08/syriza-referendum-podemos-austerity/
A TL/DR version of the article: Syriza doesn't have a large social base. As the article says, "The hope invested in the election of a Syriza government was, in the end, in direct proportion to a lack of hope for the possibility of social resistance to austerity becoming a genuine alternative in its own right". And, "Tsiprass ability to get away with one of the most brazen volte-face ever seen on the far left reflects the lack of a social basis for an authentic alternative. Moreover, recent events have confirmed the almost complete lack of social class content underpinning Syrizas political program, which could therefore be discarded without much trouble when the going got tough. If the election of Syriza had really been the expression (however distorted) of a popular social movement against austerity, then it is hard to imagine how the last few weeks could have happened as they did".
There's also a pretty good semi-related article on the presidential term of Francois Mitterrand. https://www.jacobinmag.com/2015/08/francois-mitterrand-socialist-party-common-program-communist-pcf-1981-elections-austerity/
https://www.jacobinmag.com/2015/08/syriza-referendum-podemos-austerity/
A TL/DR version of the article: Syriza doesn't have a large social base. As the article says, "The hope invested in the election of a Syriza government was, in the end, in direct proportion to a lack of hope for the possibility of social resistance to austerity becoming a genuine alternative in its own right". And, "Tsiprass ability to get away with one of the most brazen volte-face ever seen on the far left reflects the lack of a social basis for an authentic alternative. Moreover, recent events have confirmed the almost complete lack of social class content underpinning Syrizas political program, which could therefore be discarded without much trouble when the going got tough. If the election of Syriza had really been the expression (however distorted) of a popular social movement against austerity, then it is hard to imagine how the last few weeks could have happened as they did".
There's also a pretty good semi-related article on the presidential term of Francois Mitterrand. https://www.jacobinmag.com/2015/08/francois-mitterrand-socialist-party-common-program-communist-pcf-1981-elections-austerity/