Left-populist strategy, not just structural context, made Syriza the antiausterity vehicle.

Evidence

Syriza was much better equipped than the communist party (KKE) to take on the electoral representation of social discontent. While the KKE, stuck in its own “old-school sectarian vanguardism,” criticized the Aganaktismenoi for their lack of ideological purity and dismissed them as “reformist,” Syriza’s ideological pluralism, as well as its patient and discreet work with the social movements and infiltration of the antiausterity protests, made it the perfect candidate to embody the protest in the institutional arena. This would not have occurred without a strong dose of political voluntarism, however. If all the contextual elements—Syriza’s organizational characteristics, an explosive economic situation, a large and lively popular movement, a sclerotic, clientelist alliance of trade unions and political parties—were the ingredients, Syriza’s left-populist strategy was the recipe. — Arthur Borriello and Anton Jäger, The Populist Moment, 173

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the general question of whether populist parties win through strategy or structural openings, echoing material on movement-to-party transformation from other sources. — connects to: Left-populist parties across countries followed an identically scripted rise and fall — Arthur Borriello and Anton Jäger, The Populist Moment: The Left After the…, 161; Populism can be mobilized either against or in service of the power bloc; Greek Syriza briefly converted antipolitical energy into state power, then collapsed — Anton Jäger, Hyperpolitics: Extreme Politicization…, 193

Broader Connections

• Greek Syriza briefly converted antipolitical energy into state power, then collapsed #exemplifies (0.85) — Anton Jäger, Hyperpolitics, 193
• Left-populist parties across countries followed an identically scripted rise and fall #qualifies (0.75) — Arthur Borriello and Anton Jäger, The Populist Moment, 161
• Populism can be mobilized either against or in service of the power bloc #expands (0.72)