What's Left of the Left? The Third Greek Economic Adjustment Program, the Troika's Conditionalities, and the Washington Consensus

Abstract: On 26 January 2015, the Coalition of the Radical Left (Syriza) and Independent Greeks (ANEL) formed a coalition government with a clear mandate: "to tear up the Memorandums"—the agreements outlining the economic policies Greece had committed to in exchange for financial aid. After lengthy renegotiations with the European Union under the threat of Greece's exiting the eurozone, the government, led by Syriza, endorsed a third Economic Adjustment Program (EAP) that imposed financial and structural reforms to address economic imbalances. The endorsement of the EAP marked Syriza's shift once in government from anti-austerity rhetoric to strict austerity measures. Viewed in a political economy context, the conditionalities sanctioned by the Syriza-led government were consistent with the Washington Consensus—the ten economic policies agreed upon in Washington, DC, in 1989 between the United States Department of the Treasury, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Bank—and thus challenged the leftist credentials of Syriza.