Communists claim to be best progressive alternative

The Greek Communist Party (KKE) could be the surprise beneficiary of the turmoil afflicting its left-wing rival, SYRIZA.

The days when SYRIZA won over 36% of the vote to gain power for the first time, in January 2015, seem far away. In July 2019, it came second with a respectable 31%. But, in the double elections of last May and June, its support collapsed, first to around 20% and then below 18%. The surprise election of Stefanos Kasselakis as the new leader failed to provide a jolt: recent polls show the party at about 13-15%, only slightly ahead of socialist PASOK.

But many PASOK officials are worried that SYRIZA’s decline has only translated to modest gains for them. KKE, which is polling in the high single digits, has noted that neither “the revival of bankrupt recipes” nor “social democratic self-delusions” will challenge the current dominance of conservative policies.