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Left Populism in Europe ‘An outstanding contribution to understand the shortcomings and yet potentials of the left populist experience … explains what left populism modestly achieved but also points very convincingly to what it has to do in the future to promote the values of equality, social justice and internationalism.’ —Óscar García Agustín, Associate Professor at Aalborg University, Denmark ‘An important, timely appraisal of the European left, one that will inform and inspire activists.’ —Manuel Cortes, General Secretary of the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA) ‘It’s been a dramatic decade for left-wing political projects in Greece, Spain, and the UK. Through personal experience, a wealth of interviews and analysis, Prentoulis pulls together an assessment which is vital for anyone who wants to understand the post-crash upsurge of radical politics in Europe.’ —Nick Dearden, Director of Global Justice Now ‘Rigorously reflecting on the choreography of contemporary left-wing exper- iments flirting with left populism in crisis-ridden Europe, Prentoulis offers a challenging first assessment of its political advances, limitations and potential for left strategy.’ —Yannis Stavrakakis, Professor at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece Left Populism in Europe Lessons from Jeremy Corbyn to Podemos Marina Prentoulis First published 2021 by Pluto Press 345 Archway Road, London N6 5AA www.plutobooks.com Copyright © Marina Prentoulis 2021 The right of Marina Prentoulis to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 978 0 7453 3764 7 Hardback ISBN 978 0 7453 3763 0 Paperback ISBN 978 1 7868 0693 2 PDF eBook ISBN 978 1 7868 0695 6 Kindle eBook ISBN 978 1 7868 0694 9 EPUB eBook Typeset by Stanford DTP Services, Northampton, England In memory of my grandmother, Despina Manoli (1920–2017). Contents Acknowledgements viii Introduction: Why Left Populism? 1 1 The Politics of Left Populism after the Global Financial Crisis 9 2 Grassroots Resistance, Austerity and the ‘Populist Moment’ 34 3 Creating a Party for the Twenty-First Century: New Parties, New Structures? 57 4 Left Populism at Elections: Rhetoric and Programmes 82 5 The Institutionalisation of the Populist Promise 104 6 Europe and Its ‘Peoples’: Negotiating Sovereignty 127 Conclusion: Where We Are Today with Left Populism 149 Notes 155 Index 179 vii Acknowledgements This book was written as left populism started to recede in Europe and Brexit was well underway, so with less political commitments I tried to reflect on the events of the past few years. I draw on interviews I conducted and articles I wrote during this period. Material which didn’t make it into this book will hopefully be discussed in future papers. Since the financial crisis of 2008 I have crossed paths with many comrades committed to the fight against austerity in Europe. Each one of them has been a source of inspiration even if the views in this book may not reflect their own. I am indebted to many people for their continues support, first and foremost to my family, Leonidas, Sofia and Remy Prentoulis and Maria Spanou. My good friend and colleague Lasse Thomassen has always been by my side with his advice and comments on the manuscript. Kevin Conallen made sure that I could always turn to him for encour- agement and life wisdom. I would also like to thank Tom Walker for helping with the editing and Michael Klontzas for comments on the Introduction. Last but not least I would like to thank my editor, David Castle, whose patience and advice made this book possible. viii Introduction: Why Left Populism? The term ‘populism’ is used repeatedly to describe the politics of the last ten years across the world from Spain to Brazil and Venezuela and from Britain to the US. A number of political commentators have used, abused and loathed the term, and the more it is used the more it turns into an easy derogatory term that inhibits further analysis of specific political phenomena. For the mass audience with no specialisation in political theory and populism, the term has become synonymous with ‘deception’ and ‘demagogy’ and this perception is what this book aims to challenge. Instead, it proposes the examination of populism as a political logic, a way of doing politics that can be associated with different political actors, on the left and on the right, some visionaries as well as some deceitful demagogues. To put it simply, populism is a way of doing politics and it is the particular content that makes it good or bad. The context in which the ‘populist’ hype appeared in the historical period discussed in this book is the global financial crisis of 2007–8 and its aftermath, although the roots of the problem can be traced back to the beginnings of economic globalisation. In focusing on this particular incident what soon became evident was not only an economic crisis but also a deep crisis of political representation. The financial crisis, unexpected by most economists, revealed in a painful way that what was perceived as a functioning if unequal economic system was in effect based on the creation of wealth based on specu- lation and risky practices, which could end the livelihoods of ordinary people in the wink of an eye. The queues outside Northern Rock bank when it collapsed in 2007, the employees of Lehman Brothers leaving the building carrying their personal possessions in boxes, became the shocking visualisation of the fall of powerful institutions which had given in to a risk economy. The unprecedented crowds occupying the squares of Greece and Spain in 2011 became the image of what a crisis of political representation looks like: people who had never before demonstrated, from different backgrounds, all came together 1