Jean-Luc Melenchon

The results of the 19 June French elections reminded everyone that political extremes – whether the extreme left or the extreme right – are looming.

Populism has no ideology, because all populists speak the same language. They exploit identity issues and appeal to the baser instincts of an enraged and fearful electorate.

It appears that Mr. Tsipras' political reversals – or kolotoumba as the international press called it, borrowing the original Greek) are the basic characteristics of the SYRIZA leader’s political path.