Politics

Even if SYRIZA is defeated at the end, forced to comply with Europe’s inflexible neoliberal doxa, it has already achieved a first small victory: political disagreement, that is at the very heart of democratic dialogue.

By electing a new radical left government determined to oppose the corruption, clientelism and tax-evasion, the Greek people have opted to exit the vicious circle of austerity that has left the country with no prospect for recovery. However, it is not only Greece at the crossroads but Europe as a whole. The new Greek paradigm is not written in stone and it is therefore inviting all those who are interested in the political future of the European Union.

To diagnose the malaise which political ecology suffers from in the current political system, beset by crises of both economic and cultural natures, we must first examine the position of the Greens in the political landscape, and their relation to both the Left and the Right.

As European ecologists, we have duty to support the Greek left after their success, and to promote our alternative model throughout Europe. We will do this today with Syriza now, and tomorrow with Podemos based on how it progresses in the future, etc. We have the responsibility and the historic chance to take part in giving Europe a new direction. However, we should not take the Greek results as a way to resolve our national electoral challenges…

There is a remarkable extent to which Syriza is in practice a Green government. First, the Greek Green Party is a part of the Syriza coalition – they got one MP elected, who was promptly promoted to deputy environment minister. Secondly, they adopted the entire Green platform: look through the policy commitments of Tsipras’ government and the manifestoes of the Green parties in the UK, and you’ll find little to separate them.

After the Greek elections, Syriza’s Alexis Tsipras won’t get everything he wants – but he will probably get enough to paint it as a victory for beleaguered Greeks.

Something exciting is bubbling under the surface of British politics. The party system is breaking apart – ironically with the help of the enemy of the left, UKIP. People are becoming active in party politics again – particularly the Greens. 2014 was a good year for the party in the UK. So what will 2015 bring?

What is at stake in the upcoming national elections in Greece? Can Syriza surge to power? And what role do the Greens play in this constantly shifting political environment? However many questions there are, one thing is certain: these elections are different to any other held in recent decades. The results could change Europe permanently…

What is behind the success of the Hungarian Green Party ‘Politics Can Be Different’? Bright Green co-editor Violeta Vajda speaks to Hajdu Mária, newly-elected local Green councillor in Budapest, about the role of the Greens in Hungary today and in the years to come.

The rise of the radical Podemos party in Spain raises some serious questions for the Greens and all progressive parties and movements. We should look deeply at the party’s platform, leadership and policies and draw lessons from its rise – rather than resorting to pointless name-calling.