Skip to main content
Greece - Europe

Anti-EU parties see Greece's 'No' vote as a win

Anti-European Union parties across Europe have seen the 'No' vote in the Greek referendum on international creditors' demands as a win in the face of Brussels. 

Greeks celebrate in Syntagma Square in Athens after the 'No' referendum vote, 5 July 2015.
Greeks celebrate in Syntagma Square in Athens after the 'No' referendum vote, 5 July 2015. Reuters/Dimitris Michalakis
Advertising

In France, politicians on the far-left and the far-right have been excited by the ‘No’ vote.

Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the co-founder of the Left Party or Parti de Gauche, maintains the result is very good news as Greeks have been subjected to what he called "unprecedented violence".

He believes the vote will force the Eurogroup to reopen negotiations with Athens on a different footing.

On the other side of the political spectrum in France, the far-right Front National president Marine Le Pen said that the ‘No’ vote was a "victory of the people against the oligarchy of the European Union".

She sees the resounding 'No' from Greece as a rebellion against European dictators and EU imposition of a single currency at all costs - even "inhumane austerity".

In Britain, the right-wing UKIP leader Nigel Farage has said the referendum shows the failure of the EU and praised Greece on Twitter by claiming the EU is now dying following the political and economic bullying from Brussels.

The EU, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank have given bailouts in the past to Ireland, Spain, Italy and Portugal. These countries have seen economic growth since then although some still have very high unemployment rates.

The far-left and far-right parties in these countries have been very supportive of the Greek vote. They see it as Greece standing up to the EU in the face of austerity - something they can relate to first-hand.

Pablo Iglesias, leader of Spain’s leftist party Podemos and a close ally of Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, said on Twitter that "democracy won".

Meanwhile, Ireland's Shinn Féin has openly been an ally of the Syriza party in Greece from the start.

Shinn Féin's finance spokesman Pearse Doherty travelled to Athens for the referendum and tweeted in support of the ‘No’ vote.

“As it turns midnight here in Greece no better to celebrate my birthday than with the Greek people who today made a stand for Dignity & Hope,” Doherty wrote Sunday night.

The Italian and Portuguese governments have been supportive of Greece staying within the EU.

Sandro Gozi, Italy's top EU affairs official, commented that in the wake of the referendum, the EU will have to make an effort to understand Greece's point of view.

Italy has the eurozone's second-highest public debt after Greece and is thought to be one of the country's most vulnerable to financial turmoil if Greece exits the euro.

Just before the referendum, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said: "We have to work for Greece to remain in the eurozone."

Daily newsletterReceive essential international news every morning

Keep up to date with international news by downloading the RFI app

Share :
Page not found

The content you requested does not exist or is not available anymore.