Voters are putting the past behind them – can SYRIZA?
Apart from the obvious, which is the complete triumph of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the devastating defeat of main opposition leader Alexis Tsipras, the outcome of the May 21 election marked an important turning point in the country's history by signaling the end, once and for all, of the turbulent time that began in 2012.
Last Sunday, citizens said that they were done with the “anti-memorandum” chapter – to use a term so favored by the big losers of the poll – and have consigned it to the annals of history. The anti-memorandum trend swelled on the back of society's desperation and on the wave of protests this triggered. It grew big enough to propel a political leader who was polling at just under 3% to secure, within three years, the support of 60% of society in the 2015 referendum.
Today, however, eight years later, the only people still energized by this trend are social media trolls, and the only thing it produces is toxicity, intolerance and a time trap. It should only be expected that those who put all their money on this trend and who exhausted all of their dynamism exclusively on naysaying were unable to convince voters that they have a reliable proposal for governing the country.
Another trend that was defeated last Sunday was the climate of extreme polarization between left and right, a climate that was artificially cultivated by people who rely on its continued existence because they have no vision beyond that for the future. By voting as they did, the majority of citizens last Sunday showed that they will not stay stuck in the past; that they are interested in what the future holds and how the country is going to deal with all the many significant challenges lying ahead. The faster our political leaders come to terms with this new reality, with the fact that a new political cycle has begun, and adapt accordingly, the better it will be for everyone and for them in particular.
SYRIZA is, of course, in a much worse position than others to make this shift, not only because of the shock of its very poor performance, but also because it is obviously struggling to understand it. And it will never properly understand its defeat unless it goes back and analyzes its strategy and tactics, unless it goes back the day after the 2019 election. This is the pivotal point when it completely misinterpreted the reasons why it lost a contest everyone knew it would lose, but it did so with 31% of the vote. It took that support for granted and continued peddling the same narrative and toxic rhetoric, overlooking the important fact that when you keep doing the same thing, you shouldn't expect a different result.
SYRIZA will never properly understand its defeat unless it goes back to the day after the 2019 election