Tsipras Expects Trump to Govern Differently Than He Campaigned. Tsipras Would Know.
Alexis Tsipras is living proof that populism doesn't always translate into policy.
At a joint Tuesday press conference in Athens, U.S. President Barack Obama and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras spoke about -- what else? -- the implications of Donald Trump’s election.
At a joint Tuesday press conference in Athens, U.S. President Barack Obama and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras spoke about — what else? — the implications of Donald Trump’s election.
Obama noted America is not alone in the popularity of its populists. In Europe and America alike, “people are less certain of their national identities or their place in the world,” he said. “It starts looking different and disorienting. And there is no doubt that has produced populist movements, both from the left and the right.”
And Tsipras noted, as Obama did at his press conference Monday, that though Trump had an “aggressive manner” during the campaign, the U.S. president-elect is likely to act differently once in office.
Tsipras would know. His party, SYRIZA, is a self-described coalition of Greece’s radical left. (SYRIZA is not to be mistaken with the country’s radical right, Golden Dawn. That party boasts a symbol that bears a striking resemblance to a swastika and hailed Trump’s victory for “ethnically clean” nation-states). In the July 2015 throes of the Greek debt crisis, Tsipras held a referendum urging his citizens to stand up to the European Union and the “northern European elite” by voting “no” to the terms and conditions of the bailout. And they did — 61 percent voted “no.”
And then Tsipras signed the EU agreement anyway, telling his parliament that keeping Greece in the eurozone was most important.
Even a prime minister — or president — of the people can learn popular support is not enough.
Photo credit: YORGOS KARAHALIS/AFP/Getty Images
Emily Tamkin is a global affairs journalist and the author of The Influence of Soros and Bad Jews. Twitter: @emilyctamkin
More from Foreign Policy
At Long Last, the Foreign Service Gets the Netflix Treatment
Keri Russell gets Drexel furniture but no Senate confirmation hearing.
How Macron Is Blocking EU Strategy on Russia and China
As a strategic consensus emerges in Europe, France is in the way.
What the Bush-Obama China Memos Reveal
Newly declassified documents contain important lessons for U.S. China policy.
Russia’s Boom Business Goes Bust
Moscow’s arms exports have fallen to levels not seen since the Soviet Union’s collapse.
Sign up for World Brief
FP’s flagship evening newsletter guiding you through the most important world stories of the day. Delivered weekdays.
By submitting your email, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and to receive email correspondence from us. You may opt out at any time.
