Tsipras Government's Rating Crumbling Due to Greek Austerity Policy - Scholar

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has warned Europe could face an existential crisis over nationalism unless it owned up to its failure to handle a fiscal crisis and deal with an influx of migrants effectively.

European nations must stand together to fight extremism and avoid sliding back into the past, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told EU parliamentarians in Strasbourg on Tuesday as he looked to the upcoming EU elections in 2019. The firebrand leftist is a frequent critic of European governments but his comments carry fresh weight given Greece’s emergence from a third European bailout and the rise of far right and populist parties in Germany and elsewhere.

It will be a fight of basic principles and values to defeat extreme neo-liberalism and right wing populism. He called on the bloc's pro-European and democratic forces to unite and stand side by side on the same side of history. Sputnik spoke to Stavros D. Mavroudeas, Professor of Political Economy at University of Macedonia about the impact of the Greek Prime Minister's speech.

Sputnik: What do you make of the speech by Mr Tsipras?

Stavros D. Mavroudeas: Regarding the essence of Tsipras’s speech, it is an insane hypocrisy and it was main internal electoral reasons. His government public rating is crumbling because of its capitulation to the EU and the IMF and austerity policy.

This reason Tsipras tries to revamp himself as a progressive European fighter and asks for socially and solidarity in the European Union. I think this is nonsense, the European Union is an imperialist organization, that it’s dominant core around Germany exploit other economies and the EU collectively exploits other countries outside of it and it cannot be reformed.

Sputnik: Do you think he will be taken seriously by the EU or not?

Stavros D. Mavroudeas: This was in the news; I mean there was a reaction against Tsipras by first the European right wing because it appeared Tsipras was lecturing them where as they know he is on his knees.

So there was an attack on him for saying big words again.

There was also a reaction from the Social Democratic wing, more measured, because it is well known the European social democracy courts with Syriza and wants to enlist Syriza in it ranks. Contrary to US coverage, the coverage in European media was much more negative  

Sputnik: There has been a lot of anti EU rhetoric in recent years, do you think the EU needs to evolve or risk losing other member states?

Stavros D. Mavroudeas:  I think the EU is a crumbling house; it is riddled with internal contradiction.

Its attempt to challenge the US supremacy has failed totally, now the danger is obvious since the EU cannot manufacture a compromise between the different and competing European elites on one hand and on the other hand the European unions’ face growing discontent. 

The European is essentially anti-popular in Europe, they suppress wages, they liberalise Labour markets, they have increased misery for the popular classes.

Views and opinions expressed in this article are those of Stavros D. Mavroudeas and do not necessarily reflect those of Sputnik.