ABSTRACT
Democratic representation appears to be in crisis in view of growing systemic inequalities. While some theorists see in this crisis an opportunity to move away from institutions of representation (Tormey 2015, 2012; Hardt and Negri 2012), others argue that it is necessary to foreground the populist nature of modern democracy (Laclau, 2005; Stavrakakis and Katsambekis 2014; Katsambekis 2015). The chapter sides with the second group of theorists. It focuses on left-wing parties committed to an egalitarian agenda and it suggests that, contrary to the critics of representation, such parties hold the promise to strengthen democratic participation. They also hold the potential to reinscribe egalitarianism in systemic processes and institutions. To support this argument the chapter focuses on the Greek crisis, construed in its early stages as a crisis of democratic representation. It shows how the radical left party Syriza made the struggle for equality the mantra for its election and continued existence by using metonymic displacement – with ‘austerity’ becoming the metonymy for inequality, exclusion and systemic indifference.
