20 June 2019

Timbro’s methodological distinction in the Authoritarian Populism Index between extreme and authoritarian populist parties is highly relevant in the Greek political environment, as shown by the parliamentary voting patterns in the period 2012 – 2018.

The parliamentary voting patterns of the Greek populist parties are significantly different from that of non-populist parties. Populists when in the opposition tend to oppose the majority bills much more often and consistently than non-populists.

The extreme parties (KKE and Golden Dawn) when in opposition follow a confrontational and rigid parliamentary voting behaviour. They remain strongly opposed to both populist (2015-2018) and non-populist (2012-2015) majorities. Despite the deep ideological differences among them, when it comes to their respective voting patterns their differences are small and insignificant.

The authoritarian parties (SYRIZA and ANEL) when in opposition exhibit a different voting behaviour. They vote against most of the bills, but less consistently than the extreme parties. SYRIZA’s voting behaviour is more confrontational and rigid than ANEL’s.