Evan Roeschen, Sophomore
The nation of Greece is facing its most politically heated period it has gone through in decades. According to TRT World, the European Union elections held on May 26th completely shattered the reigning socialist Syriza Party and saw the sharp rise of The New Democracy Party. A number of issues have plagued Syriza for the past years and the anger and agitation of the Greek populace was put on full display on the 26th last month. Instability in national governments have reshaped and redefined Europeans allegiances and made people question what the future holds for their new nations. While many questions remain unanswered, the people of Greece have made their voices heard and made their choice. They desire change and will do what it takes to achieve it.
Following the election win of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in 2015 the Syriza party was projected to reform Greece in a globalist inspired image. This dream however turned into a nightmare for the Greek people however following three years of being unsure, unheard, and frustrated with their ruling party including the prime minister. The results of the election polls caused Syriza’s to drop 10% and New Democracy a rising Nationalist-Populist party has greatly benefited from Syriza's defecting voters as well as the rage of the Greek people to catapult themselves into a position of absolute power in the country. The 2015 migration crisis was the beginning of the end for the newly elected prime minister as not two months later in March would Europe's most defining event of the 20th century commence in mass across the continent. Millions of migrants from Northern Africa and the Middle East flooded into Europe. Greece, sharing a border with Turkey was hit hardest. The issues for Alexis ignited further in 2018 when Greece signed a deal with Macedonia to formally change their name to Northern Macedonia. This deal known as The Prespa Accords enraged the Greek people and was cited as an overstep and miscalculation by the populists. The EU election was the final nail in Syriza’s political coffin and the nation is now at a crossroads.
New Democracy gained 33% of the vote officially flipping Greece to the right and turning them on path to the nationalist right. Prime Minister Alexis was forced to call snap elections on July 7th rather then October 12 for when they were scheduled. As if things for Syriza where not bad enough two more nationalist parties Golden Dawn and The Greek Solution are in the EU Parliament as well making it a triple threat. Beyond migration and lack of border security the biggest factor causing Greeks to become angered and flock to New Democracy is the nation's staggering 26% unemployment rate. Of this figure half of the numbers are young adults. Attempts to liberalize churches has also added fuel to the fire from christians across the country. Syriza has failed to tackle the economic crisis, soaring debt, migration, and border issue and what they have focused on only served to anger the people more. One thing can clearly be drawn from this collapse of leftist support in Greece, a new nationalist age is not only rising in Greece, but across the entire continent and indeed the world.
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