Monday 11 June 2012

Greek spring by Farooq Sulehria

Greeks will again vote in general elections on June 17. A social revolt there is translating into an explosion of support for the far left. A 37-year-old Marxist, Alexis Tsipras, has become the most serious contender for the position of prime minister.

Tsipras’ party Syriza, a coalition of far-left groups, is leading in all opinion polls. At the May 6 polls, Syriza was the second-largest party (scoring 16.8 percent). In 2009, Syriza bagged 4.5 percent votes when Pasok received 44 percent and formed the government. Pasok was voted into power by Greece workers hoping it would not follow the austerity agenda. Electoral politics in Greece since the overthrow of the military dictatorship in the 1970s has been dominated by social-democratic Pasok and conservative New Democracy (ND).

At the May 6 polling, Pasok was reduced to 13.2 percent (a loss of 119 MPs, from 160 to 41!) while ND emerged as the biggest party with 18.9 percent votes [down from 33 percent in 2009). However, anti-austerity parties, including the Greek Communist Party, or KKE (8 percent votes) refused to lend support to either Pasok or New Democracy.

Similarly, Syriza refused to join hands with any establishment party associated with austerity. As a result, no party was able to form a government, necessitating another round of elections. Thus, in a refreshingly old-fashioned way Greek politics is validating the old Marxist truism, that politics mirrors the economic crisis.

The Greek crisis unfolded last year when Ponzi scheme, whereby the extent of Greek national debt was hidden from its international creditors, came to an end. International creditors refused to buy Greek bonds. Pasok government turned to the European Union for help. The EU was ready to help but demanded strict austerity measures – i.e., a cut in the Greek state expenditures on welfare – so that Greece can pay its international debt.

Among other steps, Greece was forced to cut over $20 billion from public spending, costing 15,000 public sector workers their jobs. By 2016, Greece is supposed to cut ten times more under these austerity measures. The so-called austerity has already reduced the minimum wage by 22 percent. Similar cuts in pensions have overnight pauperised the retirees.

However, the Greek workers decided to resist instead of take austerity measures lying down. Horror stories of poverty are emerging out of Greece. Meantime, mass strikes periodically shut down the country. This budding mass workers’ revolt ultimately led to the explosion of support for Syriza.

Syriza emerged out of collaboration among environmentalist and far-left groups to organise anti-globalisation protests marking the start of 21stcentury. These groups combined their anti-globalisation activities with participation in elections, and in 2004 they formally formed Syriza.

Ahead of the June 17 elections, all the polls suggest Syriza will score a victory (25-34 percent of the votes). In panic, Greek and world capitalism is trying to blackmail the Greek electorate. For instance, employees of Greece’s second-largest bank have been advised to tell customers that a Syriza victory will mean bankruptcy.

Meantime, bankers are pulling their money out of Greece, threatening to bring down the entire Greek banking system. They are also threatening to kick Greece out of the euro zone if a new regime reneges on austerity measures. Even before the May 6 elections, German finance minister Wolfgang Schauble was proposing that Greece should postpone elections as a condition for further help.

The German financial czar wanted to prevent a “wrong” democratic choice. “The euro zone wants to impose its choice of government on Greece – the euro zone’s first colony,” The Financial Times commented. June 17 will soon manifest the Greek reaction to Euro-colonialism.
Posted by Unknown at 23:17
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