The radicalisation of lower middle class Greek families was the key to Syriza’s victory

A number of commentators have written on the extent to which Syriza managed to attract the backing of a wide section of Greek society in its election victory on 25 January. Vasilis Leontitsis writes that one of the key dynamics in the election was the support Syriza received from lower middle class families. He argues that while such families had tended to vote conservatively in previous elections, the net effect of the country’s economic crisis was to radicalise this section of the electorate and push them toward parties with more radical platforms.