The Wall Street Journal: What the Greek Left Wants - By Takis Michas

Syriza doesn't just oppose austerity, but reform itself.

By TAKIS MICHAS

Sunday's Greek elections have been widely interpreted as the logical outcome of harsh austerity measures imposed on Greece by its foreign creditors. According to this view, the Greek bailout, which also mandated sharp cuts in public-sector pensions and pay, led to widespread discontent and fueled the rise of the parties that reject Greece's international credit agreements.

But the problem in Greece is more profound than this. While austerity measures did play a part in voter discontent, the most important factor in the outcome of the elections was opposition to any talk of structural reform of the Greek economy.

The parties that gained in the elections—especially the radical-left Syriza, which ended in second place—do not simply oppose austerity measures. What Syriza opposes is any kind structural reform of the economy that will boost competitiveness. The party has, for example, consistently opposed teachers' evaluations or other overhauls to the ailing education system. It has vehemently opposed reducing state bureaucracy or reforming the inflexible Greek labor k labor market.

At the same time, Syriza—which began negotiations yesterday to lead the next government—has remained silent on the need to combat the widespread graft and corruption that characterizes the Greek civil service. Its only prescription for Greece's economic problem is that the country should refuse to pay its debt, expropriate the rich and staff the bloated public sector with even more people. Its leader, Alexis Tsipras, has suggested hiring 150,000 more people in the civil service as a way of reducing Greek unemployment.

The Greek left today does not represent an industrial proletariat that wants a bigger share of the economic pie. Syriza represents all the groups that have been able to grow and flourish under Greece's political system and who now feel threatened by reformed. It derives its support from various professional interest groups—lawyers, teachers, journalists and civil servants—who feel that their jobs and special privileges are at risk if Greece is forced to open up its economy to competition.

At the same time, the EU's hesitant reaction to what has been happening in Greece played a considerable role in the outcome of the elections. Mr. Tsipras argued throughout the campaign that even if Greece refuses the bailout plan and reneges on its agreements with creditors, this will have no adverse consequences for the country. Germany, he believes, will be unwilling to push for a Greek euro-exit or a suspension of the bailout payments, as this would hurt Germany's economy and banks. In other words, according to the Greek left, Europe's taxpayers will happily continue funding Greek deficits come what may. Thus the party can continue indefinitely, if only Greece has the nerve to call Europe's bluff.

Perhaps afraid of producing a self-fulfilling prophecy, the rest of the EU—and especially Germany—has been unable or unwilling to articulate a concrete and credible account of what will follow if Greece refuses to undertake the reforms it has promised. Had Brussels stated clearly that a Greek refusal to comply with the agreements Athens has signed will mean an immediate exit not only from the euro zone, but also from the European Union , the results of last weekend's election might have been quite different.

Mr. Michas is a columnist for protagon.gr.