Political Polarisation in Greece: The Prespa Agreement, Left/Right Antagonism and the Nationalism/Populism Nexus

Abstract

Following the signing of the Prespa Agreement in June 2018, the Macedonian name issue became the most prominent topic on the Greek political agenda, catalysing an exceptional political confrontation and contributing to the realignment of political parties and eventually to government change. Analysing the political discourse and public debate on the issue from January 2018 until the July 2019 national elections, as well as opinion polls and electoral results, the paper explores the conditions leading to the escalation of political polarisation on the left/right axis, at the expense of smaller centrist parties. It is argued that political antagonism was built on the previous political cleavage (although the populist/anti-populism axis was now reversed). By mobilising public emotions around an alleged ‘national threat’, the polarisation around the Macedonian name issue proved far more successful for the Greek right than for the left.