SYRIZA: THIRD PARTY OF
GREEK CAPITALISM! SOCIAL DEMOCRACY CANNOT SAVE EUROPE. FOR WORKERS’ RULE!
04-02-15 It only
lasted a few hours. Within that time, SYRIZA – the “Coalition of the Radical
Left”, which had won the majority of votes in the January 25 elections, began
negotiations with the Independent Greeks (ANEL), in order to form a capitalist
government. ANEL are an ultra-nationalist, xenophobic anti-immigrant party of
the far right. SYRIZA, which began as a split from the Communist Party of Greece
(KKE), has now morphed into a classical social democratic formation, which has
been moving steadily rightwards since 2012. Despite constantly employing all
kinds of anti-austerity, social justice and progressive rhetoric, SYRIZA has
been at pains to assure the Greek and European ruling class that its
administration will pose no danger to their wealth and power. The unprincipled
manoeuvre with ANEL was a part of this.
The Greek working class, which has endured 5 years of horrific attacks
on what remains of their living standards, and remain in a precarious
situation, are offered only crumbs from SYRIZA.
Despite this, many Greek workers see little other option, and have cast
a vote for SYRIZA in vain hope.
Social democracy is never the correct option for the working
class, but it is a positively dangerous option in times when capitalism is
looking for ways to contain and prevent the workers from moving towards taking
state power themselves. Social democracy, i.e. using the capitalist state to
redistribute wealth, will not be able to improve the living and working
conditions at this historical juncture, when world capitalism finds itself
mired in the worst economic crisis it has endured, perhaps ever. It is not an
option for the capitalist rulers now, as it was, for example, in the post
Second World War period. Then, with the massive destruction of human and
physical capital as a result of the war, AND with the counterweight of the
Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc – the Western capitalist ruling classes felt they
had no option but to deliver a form of “welfare state” for workers – relatively
free healthcare, education and social security generally. Moreover, wartime
destruction meant that capital was able to expand rapidly in that time,
ultimately causing a labour shortage, and thus plentiful employment. Yet even
these conditions only lasted until the mid-1970s, when world capitalism began
once again to enter recession like conditions. Since then, to varying degrees,
the workers in the capitalist West have endured some level of austerity.
The austerity that Greek workers have endured is, of course,
much more drastic since 2009. Yet it is a mistake to believe that the classical
period of social democracy - the post
Second World War period – can now be revived, or that social democratic
policies can simply be put in place by a more “left” government, such as one
led by SYRIZA. For one thing, the
devastation of workers’ living conditions in Greece caused by a decrepit
capitalist system has led to the rapid growth of the fascist Golden Dawn.
Golden Dawn is now the third largest party in the Greek parliament, and has
well known support amongst the police and armed forces. Between 40 and 50 per
cent of police officers are said to have voted for Golden Dawn at the last two
elections. If SYRIZA does not deliver on its anti-austerity rhetoric, the
resultant despair could well lead to Greek workers turning towards fascism.
After all, it was the failure of social democracy in Germany in the 1920s that
was a huge factor in the coming to power of the Nazis – who are the historical
idols of Golden Dawn. This dangerous scenario is now more likely given that
Panos Kammenos of the ANEL, has been appointed Defence Minister by SYRIZA.
Perhaps the central issue in relation to the austerity
measures brought against the working class, is membership of the European Union
(EU). The infamous troika of the EU, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the
International Monetary Fund (IMF), have been the initiators of the unrelenting
savagery against workers on behalf of capital. The EU is essentially a
capitalist trading bloc which is used for intra-ruling class backing for the
suppression of workers all over Europe. This intra-capitalist state is the
mortal enemy of the workers of Europe, and indeed the world. Yet SYRIZA fully
backs the EU, and thoroughly rejects the notion of leaving or resigning from
it. It is the case that SYRIZA questions German leadership of the EU, but it
goes on to uphold the fantasy that the EU can be “democratised”, or made to
work in the interests of the less affluent southern European states. Greece’s
debt to the EU, which has been accumulated by the capitalist state attempting
to prop up ailing Greek businesses, stands at around 300 million Euro. This
debt, which previous New Democracy (ND) and PASOK (Pan-Hellenic Socialist
Movement) attempted to lump on Greek workers, has not been accumulated by
workers and therefore should not be paid by workers. Yet Yanis Varoufakis, the new SYRIZA Finance
Minister, rejects any suggestion that they will seek to write off even half of
Greece’s debt. He declared “…there won’t be a duel between us and the EU….there
won’t be any threats.”
SYRIZA Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis in a warm
embrace with the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Christine Legarde. The
IMF, along with the European Union (EU) and the European Central Bank (ECB)
comprise the hated Troika – the architects of austerity and mass misery for
Greek workers. SYRIZA claim to be against the Troika and against austerity,
while at the same time working with parts of the Troika to implement austerity
with minor alterations.
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Varoufakis has form. He wrote an op-ed for the New York Times
with James K Galbraith in 2013. In it, he wrote that if SYRIZA was elected
“nothing vital would change for the United States”. He went on: “SYRIZA doesn’t
intend to leave NATO or close American military bases”. This says all that needs to be said about the
international outlook of SYRIZA – not so much “all the way with LBJ” but all
the way with the US Empire. Unfortunately, this position in an op-ed was
effectively put into practice within a few days of SYRIZA’s election “victory”.
After initially sounding some caution, SYRIZA folded and voted for extended EU
sanctions on Russia. That is, SYRIZA is effectively standing with the illegal
fascist Kiev government, which is backed by the US, Germany and NATO against
the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics as well as Russia. This is at a time
when the US is openly discussing arming the Nazi Kiev government to the tune of
3 billion dollars – or the amount they are admitting to. Yet for SYRIZA, the
prospect of world war is less important than its loyalty to the capitalist EU.
SYRIZA supporters hail its “Thessaloniki Program” as evidence
of its commitment to break with the austerity imposed on Greece over the last
six years. In reality, the Thessaloniki Program barely chips away at the house
of horrors Greek workers have endured. According to the Greek Centre for
Progressive Policy Research, 62.5 billion Euro worth of austerity measures were
dumped on Greece from 2010 to 2014. However, SYRIZA’s Thessaloniki Program only
proposes to spend 1.8 billion Euro of the 11.3 billion Euro total cost of the
program on “confronting the social catastrophe”. This will barely reach the
millions of Greek workers, pensioners and unemployed as a result of the
capitalist onslaught. What is more, SYRIZA leaders are already backing away
from the extremely modest proposals contained in their program. On January 26, SYRIZA
Central Committee member Stathis Kouvelakis wrote that “the financing plan set
out in the Thessaloniki Program was based on very over optimistic estimates (or
even simply wrong ones).” This is the social-democratic program that SYRIZA was
elected on – and already it is preparing to water it down! This should put paid to any notion that
SYRIZA are somehow in a different category to the usual parliamentary parties.
Here in Australia, some left parties have been falling over
themselves to opportunistically make mileage out of the SYRIZA election win –
despite its alliance with the ultra-right. Most prominent amongst these are the
Socialist Alliance and Socialist Alternative. These organisations do not appear
to see any contradiction between claiming adherence to Marxism on the one hand,
and building political support internationally for the clearly electoralist and
liberal methods and aims of SYRIZA on the other. “SYRIZA is Greek for hope”,
proclaims the Socialist Alliance. Yet “hope” is precisely why many Greek
workers have cast a vote for SYRIZA – they “hope”, as a last resort, that
SYRIZA may do something which may
alleviate their suffering. It’s not as if it’s a vote of confidence or a
ringing endorsement. And if SYRIZA insist on staying within the capitalist EU
at all costs, it will be virtually impossible to seriously curtail any of the
austerity measures. Likewise Socialist Alternative has hailed the SYRIZA
victory as a “stunning victory for the left”. Their sister organisation, the
Internationalist Workers Left (DEA), works within
SYRIZA, as part of the “Left Platform”. So in a sense it is bound to talk up
SYRIZA, while making some suggestions about continuing the struggle to retain
left credibility. Yet from all reports within Greece, it is not uncontroversial
to refer to SYRIZA as a reformist party – people on the ground there experience
this.
The KKE correctly criticise the liberal reformism of SYRIZA,
and their electoral slogan “Don’t trust SYRIZA” has proven to be remarkably
apt. Yet while the KKE have refused to join this bourgeois government with
SYRIZA, they have in the past, and indeed they hold the local administration of
the port city of Patras. ANTARSYA – the coalition of the anti-capitalist left,
also correctly criticise SYRIZA for not being anti-capitalist, but also want to
act as a left pressure group on SYRIZA. There may be an organisation in Greece
which is attempting to form a group or a party based on Marxist-Leninism, which
fights for workers’ rule by organising workers to seize state power. In any
case, this should be the central aim. In the meantime, we would suggest that
Marxist-Leninists continue to recruit to their own banner, while attempting to
drive a class struggle perspective forward in the current period.
The lessons for workers internationally should be clear.
SYRIZA’s rapid sell outs – forming government with an ultra-right party, voting
for sanctions on Russia, proceeding with the privatisation of the port of
Piraeus – on top of pledging allegiance to the EU and NATO – once again
demonstrate the folly of the call for a “government of the left”. A capitalist
government, even with a “left” one led by SYRIZA, will be incapable of
seriously addressing the dire needs of Greek workers. Indeed, the call for a
“government of the left” is a call for a new capitalist government. Waiting for
a reformist government to deliver reforms is like waiting for increased funding
for the fire department while your house is burning down. Instead, workers need
to push aside all liberals, and fight directly for state power. No
trust in social democracy! For workers’ rule in Europe!
MARXIST-LENINIST FRONT
Marxistleninistfront.blogspot.com
0421 408 692
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