Paris Match: ‘Alexis Tsipras, The Man Who Scares Europe’

By Areti Kotseli on May 18, 2012 In EU, France, Interviews

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Two weeks after the May 6 elections, leader of left-wing SYRIZA Alexis Tsipras continues to be the favorite personality of international press. That doesn’t mean that the remarks are always positive; most of the time, they are negative.

”The man who scares Europe” – as titled by French publication Paris Match – was given to Tsipras a few days before he visits Paris.

The French magazine hosts an interview of the SYRIZA leader, where Tsipras explains that Greece’s “treatment” is worse than bad, while adding that Greeks became the lab-animals of the international financial crisis.

When asked how Greece is in the brink of collapse he answered: “It is not a random event, it is a historical moment for Greece and the whole of Europe. We are at the heart of the crisis of the financial market model and there hasn’t been anything like that before. We haven’t lived anything similar since 1929.” The leftist leader reminded people that the outcome back then was the rise of Nazi regimes.

When asked if the loan agreement was a sign of European solidarity, he responded that “Greeks were given the worst medicine. We became the lab-animals of the world financial crisis. The major countries are waiting for the results of this experiment…If the experiment fails, then the poor Greeks will suffer!”

Regarding the Golden Dawn party, Tsipras stated that the election outcome surprised him as well but “it expresses the vast discontent of the society.” “It was a vote against the political status quo. Many people hadn’t realized what Golden Dawn party members really stand for. Now that the voters see what these people really are, I believe that much less people will vote for them,” he added.

The French magazine gives its own explanation for the rise of the right extremist party, saying that since 2009, Greeks are increasingly more frustrated against the traditional parties and their corrupted policies, so they turned to extremists to punish the system. Immigrants are presented as the victims of their frustration. Paris Match also describes Athens in its article, saying “it melts in misery,” presenting an ugly image of the Greek capital.