FT: SYRIZA and Podemos may be correct

“You may be surprised to see that there is not much choice. In Germany, the only one that comes close to such an agenda is Die Linke, the former Communists. In Greece, it would be Syriza; and in Spain, it would be Podemos, which came out of nowhere and is now leading in the opinion polls.

You may not consider yourself a supporter of the radical left. But if you lived in the eurozone and supported those policies, that would be your only choice”, Wolfgang Münchau says.

“Of the radical parties that have emerged recently, the one to watch is Podemos. It is still young, with an agenda in the making. (…) The parties of the centre-left and the centre-right are allowing Europe to drift into the economic equivalent of a nuclear winter.

The tragedy of today’s eurozone is the sense of resignation with which the establishment parties of the centre-left and the centre-right are allowing Europe to drift into the economic equivalent of a nuclear winter. It is a particular tragedy that parties of the hard left are the only ones that support sensible policies such as debt restructuring. The rise of Podemos shows that there is a demand for alternative policy. Unless the established parties shift their position, they will leave a big opening to the likes of Podemos and Syriza” the FT article concludes.