European left populism in power: the experience of Greece and Italy

The article examines the cases of Greece and Italy, the two European countries, where left-wing populist parties (SYRIZA and Five Star Movement, respectively) recently managed to not only enter the parliaments, but also even to form coalition governments. The author notices that in both countries left-wing populists followed the similar trend: the rise in electoral support during the period of economic and social instability (that was considerably more rapid and large-scale in Greece), high results at the parliamentary elections, forming a coalition government with a right-wing populist party (except the second government of Conte in Italy in 2019). After several months in power both SYRIZA and Five Star Movement saw a stable decline in their ratings, which has already resulted in the end of the coalition government in Greece. The author also focuses on the extent to which both populist parties were capable to implement their electoral programs. Finally, the article considers if the two left-wing populist parties, that originally positioned themselves as anti-elitist ones, will be able to maintain popular support after joining the political elite.