This debate held by European Trade Union Institute (ETUI), and performed a trade union perspective and perception of the change of the Greek political landscape.
The main speaker Christos Triantafillou (Labour Institute of the Greek General Confederation) provided a short summary of impacts of the social-economic adjustment programmes in Greece and questioned the democratic legitimacy of an “ultra liberal imposition mandate” to Greece by the EU institutions.
Additionally, Mr. Józef Niemiec (General Secretary of CES) mentioned that what we see in Greece is a change of political paradigm, although the social costs have been high without result.
Mr. Triantafillou referred to the extreme asymmetry of power relations between Syriza and the Eurogroup in the negotiations. He would like to see the breaking down of the interrelation between banks, political system and the media system, while predicted that the confrontation between Greece and the creditors has just been suspended.
Dr. Sotiria Theodoropoulou, Senior Researcher at ETUI, wondered if the new Greek government has a concrete and long-term plan on how Greece could achieve growth and prosperity. She would like to see if Syriza could bring a new era of changes and upheavals in European policy-making.