ABSTRACT
A great deal of contemporary radical politics is dominated by pseudo-activity: activity that covers up a deeper inactivity. The Greek rioters had identified their enemy, and an embryonic alternative ideology and social model were beginning to creep into Greek politics. The indignant citizen's movement drew some international attention after the 2010 bailout, but the real positivity for the political Left in Greece is the rise of SYRIZA. People want to skip the fine details of the protests and protestors and move straight to the positive political momentum that today can be discerned in Greece. The establishment of SYRIZA was not a product of protests. It was a product of realist thought, communication and organisation in extremely difficult times. It began as coalition of leftist political parties. The social effects of austerity were becoming quite obvious by 2010. SYRIZA's popularity grew quite rapidly from this point. For the most part, its growing popularity involved the movement of voters from centrist parties.
