Assessing Syriza’s first month in office: why Greece remains a long way from a break with austerity

The new Greek government, led by the Coalition of the Radical Left (Syriza), won power on 25 January. Theofanis Exadaktylos assesses the government’s first month in office. He notes that while Syriza won the election with a commitment to renegotiate the country’s bailout agreement, the subsequent negotiations have proven even more challenging than might have been expected, not least due to internal opposition within the party itself

Of union and trust

The motivation behind this short commentary is an editorial piece published in the Guardian few weeks ago (Never Closer Union, 29 September 2011, p. 36 of print edition). The main argument of the Guardian editor was that the financial crisis of the Eurozone has been transformed into a bigger political crisis of the European Union. Diminishing obstructionism and having a clearer federal vision may be able to save the European Union from a deeper existential crisis

Until Angela Merkel forms a governing coalition, Greece will continue to be in limbo

Following last weekend’s German elections, Theofanis Exadaktylos writes on the Greek reaction to Angela Merkel’s victory. He notes that the elections received extensive coverage in the Greek media due to their implications for the country’s economic crisis. Nevertheless, the general perception is that Germany is unlikely to change its course on Europe. The key concern is therefore likely to be the amount of time it will take for Angela Merkel to form a new governing coalition, as Greece will be unable to carry out key reforms until this situation is resolved

Whither the Indignados of Athens?

For seven weeks now the Indignados of Athens have been gathering almost on a daily basis in front of the Greek Parliament in protest against the austerity measures, the rising unemployment, the deepening of the recession in the country and a proclaimed surrender of sovereignty to the mechanisms of the IMF and the European Union. Despite the fact that the movement has lost some of its original momentum in the rest of Greece, the Indignados of Athens are still occupying the front pages of domestic newspapers and the headlines of the electronic media. Journalists are quick to present romanticized images of the protesters and to expose polls put together in haste that show a high degree of sympathy and support for the movement by the wider Greek public opinion. The international media were even quicker in comparing the Indignados not only with their equivalent movements in Spain, but with the Tahrir Square protests in Egypt and the turmoil in the Middle East making ill-founded claims on the similarities of violence, the raison d’être of the movement and issues of democracy and legitimacy. So what can we make out of this movement so far

Eureka? The entrepreneurial spirit in public debts

It is certainly not a secret that ‘Plan B’s have been cooked up for the future of Greece within the Eurozone. From time to time new ideas and incentives come to the forefront, the latest one being that of Mr. Simon Wolfson, CEO of Next and Conservative life peer, who is trying to entice economists to come up with a plan for how countries can quit the Eurozone by offering a cash prize of £250,000 to the best solution. Not too bad of an idea if only the solution was so cheap and, in fact, not political

Ouzo and out! What’s in it for Greece after ‘exiting’ the Euro 2012?

My German colleagues were certain: Germany was going to kick Greece out of the euro: but which one? I considered it unprecedented luck being in Berlin on the day of the Greece v. Germany football match for the semis of the Euro 2012 championships, during my participation at the EPSA annual conference. Walking alongside the former East and West Cold War borders, fans had been gathering by the Brandenburg Gate early on to watch the game on the big screens. I was surrounded by thousands of Germans in full attire of flags, face paint and other team paraphernalia and had to remain under the radar about my national identity. The outcome of the game was humbling but the excuse was that a small team like Greece was taking up one of the strongest teams in the world. Nonetheless, the message on the posters on Karl-Marx Allee was clear the following day: Ouzo and Out! (Yet still in the Eurozone.

Syriza is now a mainstream party and there is little for Europe to fear in its electoral success

The Coalition of the Radical Left (Syriza) is currently leading the polls ahead of Greek parliamentary elections on 25 January. Theofanis Exadaktylos writes on the development of the party and what a Syriza victory might mean for the rest of Europe. He argues that Syriza has significantly moderated its position since the last Greek elections in 2012 and that the party is unlikely to be able to implement the more radical elements of its proposed programme even if it wins a majority in Sunday’s vote

Policies that Succeed and Programs that Fail? Ambiguity, Conflict, and Crisis in Greek Higher Education

Why do some policies adopted by a wide margin fail to be implemented? Highlighting the role of policy entrepreneurial strategies within the Multiple Streams Approach (MSA), we examine the implementation of Greek higher education reform in 2011 to argue that when policies adversely affect the status quo, successful entrepreneurial strategies of issue-linkage and framing, side payments, and institutional rule manipulation are more likely to lead to implementation failure under conditions of crisis, centralized monopoly, and inconsistent political communication. The findings clarify MSA by specifying the conditions that increase the coupling strategies’ chances of success or failure and illuminate the role ambiguity and conflict play in policy reform and implementation

Reforms in health policy during the Greek bailout: what makes reform successful and why?

Despite consecutive MoUs (2010, 2012, 2015), Greek health reforms have been slow-moving with some successes and failures. Why did some reforms succeed while others failed to be implemented? Using the Multiple Streams Framework (MSF), this working paper presents evidence collected from interviews with health policy-related elites and stakeholders in Greece and traces the process of implementation to identify sticky points and configurations of pro- and anti-change coalitions. We hypothesise implementation outcomes are due to three factors: the strategies and power of the main non-state coalition partner (the medical profession), the size of resources needed for successful implementation, and the ability (or not) of government to mobilise public opinion. We examine three cases: the liberalisation of the pharmacy profession (successful implementation), family doctor reforms (partial implementation), and the referral system (mainly unsuccessful implementation). The working paper concludes with implications about policy implementation and practical lessons for policymakers considering possible implementation obstacles