Government-opposition dynamics during the economic crisis in Greece

Abstract

The paper examines the turbulent period of 2010-2012 when Greece became the first EU member-state to accept the IMF/EU bailout package. Unarguably, accepting the bailout package did not have only economic but also electoral consequences as the established party system has been steadily disintegrating. We focus on the relationship between government and opposition parties and MPs in the legislature and we examine their voting behaviour during key economic bills during this period. We find that their behaviour can be explained less by consensus-building and more by strategic considerations. Moreover, even though the economic crisis seems to have decreased polarization on the traditional left-right dimension, a new conflict dimension over the bailout package seems to have emerged. Taken together, these events can explain both the lack of consensus observed in other Southern European countries as well as the changes in the party system.