Four Greek institutes have been collaborating for months to unify the fractured center-left in Greece and work toward a common progressive political platform that could provide a credible alternative to the current party in power.
INERPOST, the ENA Institute, the Initiative for the Progressive Alternative Governance Program, and the Alexis Tsipras Institute, have taken the lead in synthesizing party programs and policy proposals, aiming to respond collectively to growing public disillusionment and the latest political scandals shaking the New Democracy party under the leadership of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
This initiative was brought to the forefront by former Finance Minister Louka Katseli, who has called on center-left parties to combine their efforts to change Greek politics and topple the government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
Katseli is best known for the so-called Katseli Law, one of the very few pieces of legislation in Greece to bear the name of a politician. Enacted during the financial crisis, the law provided critical protections for over-indebted households, including safeguards against foreclosures on primary residences.
The New Democracy administration has been rocked by a series of scandals, including the illegal surveillance of journalists and political opponents using Predator spyware, the deadly Tempi railway disaster that exposed critical failures in public safety infrastructure, and most recently, the fraudulent allocation of subsidies to ghost farms and politically connected individuals unrelated to agriculture.
Recently, a minister and four high officials were forced to resign over the scandal. Furthermore, it has been implicated that Mitsotakis knew about the wrongdoings of his party members. Opposition parties are demanding the current Greek PM’s resignation and calling for snap elections.
However, opinion polls show that center-right New Democracy continues to lead by a two-digit difference from the second party (PASOK) on intention to vote. Former main opposition Syriza has split into three parties, while PASOK is stalled in the lower two digits. The right-wing opposition parties remain in the low single digits.
While PM Mitsotakis shows no signs that he is willing to leave the top chair two years before the end of his term, center-left parties remain divided and seem unwilling to cooperate. At the same time, Greek voters have grown tired of hearing about scandals and mismanagement of governments over the last fifty years since the restoration of democracy. The belief that all politicians—left, right, and center—are essentially alike and only get involved in politics for their own financial benefit seems to be ingrained in the minds of voters.
A unified response against the Mitsotakis government
Katseli said there is an ongoing effort to gradually form a unified progressive response to the Mitsotakis government that will gain the trust of the majority of Greek citizens. Katseli began by emphasizing that the country needs a change of course through a government that:
- actively defends national interests;
- promotes an economic transformation and productive transformation so that a new financial crisis does not arise;
- promotes a social cohesion program, as gaps in equality continue to widen significantly;
- protects democratic institutions, as these have been undermined in recent years.
According to Katseli, these are the four pillars that need particular attention if there is to be change in Greek politics and an opportunity to form a progressive party as is aimed for by the four institutes. These would speak to both progressive voters as well as those who traditionally belong to the center right. There must be hope that in the following elections there will be alternatives and people will be able to vote on the basis of an agenda of which they approve.
Katseli maintains that if change is expected, there must be an alternative political scene. At the moment, unfortunately, there is fragmentation of the progressive opposition, meaning that if Greek politics is not overhauled, a significant number of potential voters are likely to stay home in the next elections due to a crisis of confidence in the entire political system and existing parties, which, under the current circumstances, will be weakened even if they do enter Parliament.
Three scenarios that are difficult to implement
There are three foreseen challenges in such an endeavor, Katseli said. The first among these pertains to party leaders, who are unlikely to abandon their positions and party supporters to join an alliance. Secondly, if one party gains momentum, attracts additional members, and advances in polls, it is improbable that it would participate in an alliance to being with. Lastly, the formation of a new party could lead to attacks from all sides with accusations that this has led to greater fragmentation.
Due to such difficulties, Katseli has said that “there should be a grassroots movement that will call the parties together to cooperate. The parties themselves will take the responsibility, but the citizens will have choices. Can something like this happen? I think it can and this is something we are trying to do, at least I hope so, and that I will be able to contribute in this direction.”
Katseli has also said that considering the prevailing conditions, major international shocks, and geopolitical instability, the first thing that needs to be done in the Greek institutes’ endeavor is to establish a program basis with which a large part of the progressive opposition party can agree.
Four institutes already at work and committed to forming a progressive party for the country
Katseli reported that the four institutions that have taken part in the initiative for the founding of an alliance are:
- INERPOST (Institute for Research & Political Strategy);
- ENA (Institute for Alternative Policies);
- the Alexis Tsipras Institute;
- and the Initiative for the Progressive Alternative Governance Program.
This is in progress, she said, so that based on the existing programs of the parties, there might be a synthesis of specific interventions and people can—in their knowledge of these—vote for something different in the hopes that Greek politics can move towards more favorable conditions, as would be the goal of such an alliance.
A number of experts have been mobilized on each issue, e.g. from productive transformation and judicial system transformation to local government and its contribution to such change. As a coordinating group of four institutions, twenty interventions have been drawn up. These will be highly specialized and will start going public beginning at the end of September so as to allow parties to collaborate and come together.
A coordinating group has split the work up between the four institutions, with each working on pre-determined issues depending on its previous types of work. Regarding INERPOST, this will focus on financial and productive transformations and the results thereof. Open dialogue will be presented beginning at the end of September.
Differences between the parties
The differences between the parties are focused on a number of key points and are therefore manageable. “I am not afraid that differences will also emerge, e.g. in defense spending or energy policy,” Katseli said. “I consider the programmatic divergences to be completely manageable.”
“The main issue was to start the work . . . [and] that there is a programmatic basis, which I think everyone needs first in order to collaborate in something that is broader and is factional and not narrowly partisan,” the former FM said.
Moreover, Katseli believes it is equally important to dissolve the defeatist attitude—that nothing can be done or will change—of many potential voters, as it does not jibe well with democratic principles in general. “The [conclusion] for me and forgive me but I am a bit romantic about this, is that if you do not fight it, the worst is ahead of you,” she maintained.
Katseli referred to the need for an alternative plan if a co-existence proves impossible and all parties end up “fishing” from the same pool of voters with no strong ballot and a reduced prospect of victory. If Greece is to be successful in overhauling its political system, collaboration between certain parties is necessary, and corresponding initiatives in large cities, such as Patras, Heraklion, and Thessaloniki are needed to raise public awareness.
Local communities need to be mobilized and play a role in the goal of an alternative progressive government, which can be organized through a series of events, speeches, and discussions. Reaching out to communities is critical in determining a plan of action for the current circumstances.
Formation of election ballot for a progressive party by four Greek institutes
The Greek institutes’ formation of an election ballot with a progressive party at the center of it is possible through the alignment of forces of the broader faction. In an effective and bold—though difficult—move if parties find it challenging to work together, a group of ten to twenty prestigious individuals with no electoral aspirations themselves could commit to collaborating on an initiative. Members of such a group would be those who have contributed to the country in their own specialized way through their professional endeavors or work through social organizations and universities.
These individuals will comprise the coordinating consultation group, with responsibility for the formation of the final ballot for the broader faction. They will call on all parties to collaborate and cooperate on a “platform” characterized by three specific commitments, including:
- consensus on the programmatic basis that has been drawn;
- forefeiting candidacy in the elections with contribution from MPs to the platform;
- and cooperation and compliance while maintaining the independence and entity of each party.
Katseli clarified, there will be a quota for the parties and a search for prominent people from the wider society to renew the political staff. In response to a question about whether Alexis Tsipras might be among these figures, Katseli replied, “No, it should not be in my opinion. There should not be any prominent party people.”
In regard to the question of who would lead such a project, she replied, characteristically, “Let’s not put the cart before the horse. It is an issue that will be raised in a reasonable period of time, and the candidate for leader in this effort will also emerge.”
“It’s not only us in the center-left who care about our country,” she said. “There are too many of our fellow citizens who are extremely dissatisfied with the center-right, [and] we want alternatives. There are too many people who have ‘gone home,’ and they don’t care about Greek politics. This country needs role models and I hope that we can become better. If we can contribute even a little in this direction, we will have made a significant contribution.”