Seventeenth Global Studies Conference

Abstract

The paper identifies and interprets the communication patterns of Syriza on the road to the 2023 Greek parliamentary elections. Engaging in content analysis of the speeches of Alexis Tsipras since July 2022, when an alleged wiretapping scandal was first disclosed, the paper reveals the focal concepts of the left-wing party in its effort to return to power and will compare them with the party’s successful approach on the road to the 2015 popular elections. By reference to the defining characteristics of populism as a thin-centred ideology, namely people-centrism, anti-Elitism, unlimited popular sovereignty, divisive and antagonistic perception of politics, the salience of populist themes is explored. With particular focus on its approach to the established rule of recognition of the Hellenic Republic, which is the cornerstone of the liberal democratic constitution, we examine whether Syriza, through its rhetoric and strategy, aimed to diffuse a populist set of ideas to the general public, challenge the current constitutional premises, and infiltrate this foundational rule with populist characteristics.