Tsipras: EU austerity boost for xenophobic movements

Syriza has called the European left to attention in the face of recent advances by far-right and neoliberal movements. In a speech to the European Parliament, Alexis Tsipras, the Greek prime minister of the only non-socialist left-wing government in the European Union, warned that the EU could be facing an existential crisis due to the rise of populist and xenophobic movements. A phenomenon which, according to him, came with the austerity policies of European diplomats backed by Brussels.

Aware of the difficult prospects facing left-wing parties in the next European elections in May, the Greek politician called for “the defeat of neoliberalism and the extreme right.”

Just a few weeks after the end of the eight-year bailout suffered by his country, Tsipras made his appearance yesterday to discuss the Greek crisis and the current political situation in the EU. He reproached the role of the troika and the Eurogroup in managing the economic drama that took place in Greece, lamenting that decisions were taken “behind closed doors by atypical bodies and behind the citizens’ backs.” Tsipras claimed that democratic deficiencies, coupled with the mismanagement of the wave of refugees, had led to xenophobia in Europe.