If one were to attribute a single cause to the rise of the far-Right in the United States of America, across Europe, and even in India, it might be summarised as symptomatic of economic woes. Sometimes it is described as a two-headed beast, with economic stagnation and immigration going hand in hand; else, immigration is blamed for the exacerbation of existing economic concerns. But if one were to take away a key message, it’s that people are struggling financially and the far-Right turns that anxiety into anger against the most vulnerable members of society. In short, the problem is money.
Far-Right, populist politicians argue that the financial and the political elites do not suffer the consequences of their actions and view institutions as obstacles to the will of the people. In the run-up to the 2024 election in the US, Americans faced unprecedented levels of inflation and a suffocating cost of living crisis. Despite indications that the economy was healthy, this was hardly felt on an individual level. The same can be said of what is happening across Europe, in Italy, France, and Germany. In all of these places, immigration is blamed too, cited as ‘out of control’ by the far-Right and the liberals looking to gain populist favours alike.
Ten to fifteen years ago, there was one country that was synonymous with economic crisis: Greece. In 2009, Greece’s debt began to spiral out of control. Wages fell nearly 20% from mid-2010 to 2014 and unemployment reached a record high of 28% — higher than that of the US during the Great Depression. Austerity-induced poverty impacted all levels of life in Greece as even well-off families sacrificed heated homes at Christmas to afford a festive meal. A destructive, home-brewn drug called ‘sisa’ began to hit the streets and pockets of addicts could be found all over Athens. The drug, called the ‘cocaine of the poor’, is essentially a methamphetamine that could at times have additives that include battery acid, engine oil, shampoo, and cooking salt.
The causes of the Greek debt crisis were fundamentally a problem of inequality within the European Union. Before Greece joined the eurozone and adopted the single European currency, the euro, it was seen as a lower middle-income country with poor governance, which made it unattractive to investors. Once it joined the eurozone, its risk profile for investors dropped because it was now part of a much larger, fortified European economy floated by dominant western European economies. This meant that Greece was able to take out loans with the same lending rate as much stronger and low-risk industrial economies like Germany. As a result, Greece’s borrowing went into a frenzy and within a decade it was unable to repay its debts. When wealthier EU nations, most famously Germany, refused to repay Greece’s debt for the sake of eurozone economic stability, severe austerity measures were imposed on Greece.
As a result, few countries have suffered like Greece. And while it looked like the far-Right was ascendant, represented most by the thuggish Golden Dawn party entering government in 2012, many of the leaders of Golden Dawn have since been imprisoned and the party banned. If any country was primed for a far-Right takeover, it was Greece. Why didn’t it happen?
One might like to thank the anarchists. Or, at least the far-Left tradition.
Head to the centre of Athens and you’ll find Exarcheia, a small neighbourhood of squatted buildings. When I last visited, admittedly six years ago, residents told me they had at minimum weekly battles with the police — a violent dance that frequently ended with a firebombed cop car. Inside the neighbourhood are self-governed food banks, health and housing services. The neighbourhood is close to the Athens Polytechnic University where, in 1973, students and radicals led a revolt against the governing, authoritarian military junta. Some 40 people were killed by the Greek army and more than 2,000 injured. The uprising was the first of a series of events that led to the downfall of the junta, which ruled from 1967 to 1974.
The Leftist movement in Greece began, like in many other countries, as a labour movement at the turn of the 20th century. But whereas many of these groups were decimated in places like the US, wherein they were suppressed by pro-market interests and politicians, or in Europe, where they were targeted by fascists, in Greece, they were able to lead the resistance against the Axis forces during the Second World War. After the Second World War, the communist Left and the (mostly British-backed) Right descended into civil war from 1946-49. Ideological clashes continued and served as the justification for the 1967 military coup.
After the fall of the junta, the Left began to rise. During the eurozone crisis, voters turned to Syriza, originally a coalition of Leftist groups. Winning in 2015, Syriza promised, albeit without much of a plan, to put an end to the crippling austerity imposed on Greece. To cut a long story short, Syriza failed to undo the austerity measures and the Centrist New Democrats took the wheel. Greece has now stabilised and is even considered a ‘European success story’ with relatively flourishing economic growth. While it might be easy to credit this only to the Centrist leadership of the New Democrats, it would be short-sighted to not recognise the influence of the Leftist tradition which kept the far-Right at bay in the darkest moments.
The leaders of the Golden Dawn were sentenced in 2020 to 13 years in prison after being convicted in a five-year trial that linked them to organising a gang that carried out a string of hate crimes, including the 2013 murder of the anti-racism activist and rapper, Pavlos Fyssas. The Hellenes party, the successor of Golden Dawn, has also been banned to protect democracy. None of this would have been possible without the radical tradition represented by the broad spectrum of Greece’s Leftist and anti-fascist tradition.
As Donald Trump is set to retake the White House later this month, many critics have blamed the radicalism of the Left for pushing the US further to the Right. Similar rhetoric can be found in Europe where people also blame the Leftist culture of tolerance towards immigration for the rise of the far-Right in addition to economic concerns.
The story of Greece’s resistance to far-Right extremism offers a lesson in the power of grassroots resistance and the Leftist tradition. It serves as a reminder that in moments of economic despair, radicalism does not need to mean scapegoating or violence — it can also mean solidarity, resilience, and the defence of democracy. At a time when the far-Right is gaining ground worldwide, the Greek experience challenges the narrative that economic strife inevitably leads to authoritarianism. Instead, it shows that the fight against fascism is won not only in the halls of power but also on the streets, in communities, and through the enduring legacy of those who dare to resist.
Carol Schaeffer is a journalist based in Berlin, Germany, and is a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council in Washington D.C.
