The Political Consequences of the Crisis in Greece: Charismatic Leadership and Its Discontents

At this writing, eight years have passed since 2010, when the first memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between Greece and its creditors. Seven years of forced reform, seven years of economic recession. Today, having signed a third MoU, unemployment rates in Greece still hover above 20 percent and youth unemployment just below 50 percent, the emigration of highly skilled Greeks has dramatically intensified, and the country’s GDP has shrunk by 25 percent since 2009 (Eurostat 2016). The other European economies that faced similar hardships seem to be well on the path to recovery, and all but Greece have exited