The rumored 50% reduction of the state funding towards political parties has prompted opposition leaders SYRIZA to issue a statement condemning such a move, since “the reduction aims to harm the political forces that have nothing to do with entanglement, business interests, favors, bribes and corruption”.
The party further underlined that “the parties must express true social and political relations, rather than be the ‘corner shop’ of big financial interests” and added that “contrary to the rational that the media and capital determine a party’s presence, the assurance that the political parties operate autonomously is an essential aspect of democracy”.
To that end, SYRIZA argues that the procedures regarding state funding “must be transparent, democratic and under social control, while the funding itself must ensure the projection of the [political parties’] policies and actions, as well as their independence”.
