Over the last year Greece has rarely
been out of the news across Europe. With headlines such as “Greek
tragedy”, “Corruption in every corner” and “Greece’s lazy workers”, the
capitalist media have painted the Greek people as first amongst the
so-called P.I.G.I.’S. (Portugal, Italy, Greece, Ireland and Spain) of
Europe. It’s one-time international image as a sunny, friendly place has
been replaced by one of greed, corruption and chaos. This is part of
the ruling class campaign to blame the crisis of capitalism on the Greek
people, and tells us nothing of the hardships they have to endure
Over the last year Greece has rarely
been out of the news across Europe. With headlines such as “Greek
tragedy”, “Corruption in every corner” and “Greece’s lazy workers”, the
capitalist media have painted the Greek people as first amongst the
so-called P.I.G.I.’S. (Portugal, Italy, Greece, Ireland and Spain) of
Europe. It’s one-time international image as a sunny, friendly place has
been replaced by one of greed, corruption and chaos. This is part of
the ruling class campaign to blame the crisis of capitalism on the Greek
people, and tells us nothing of the hardships they have to endure.
Greece is in a crisis, a crisis which most ordinary people don’t
understand the causes of and are being offered little in the way of a
solution. An increasing number of austerity measures have been imposed
on the people, which started with the working class but has now reached
and affected middle class people too. A severe cut in salaries and
pensions joined with a massive increase in unemployment has caused an
increasing and justifiable indignation of people, expressed by huge
demonstrations, strikes and general strikes. Greece has also seen an
increase in suicide rates throughout its age groups ever since the
crisis exploded at the beginning of 2010.
Greece’s slow way into the crisis
People have been resentful for a long time before the crisis
started affecting their lives in such a drastic way. This can be seen
when you look back to 2007, when there was a great movement of students
across Greece to defend their education against privatization. The
similarities with last year’s demonstrations against education cuts are
only apparent: both governments were getting into a financial crisis;
they both attacked education first and in both cases the youth resented
it fiercely. Greece, however, which by increasing its heavy dependency
on the European banks, managed to avoid an escalation of the student
revolt by not issuing the privatization article.
This “satisfaction” however didn’t last for long, as soon after that
people started feeling the unemployment rates rising amongst the youth,
making young people even more resentful. Students who had finished
university were unable to find a job to start their lives as adults and
were, instead, forced to live with their parents depending on their
income, savings and pensions. In addition to that, a number of scandals
involving the Greek government, judiciary and church were coming to the
surface, making people feel the ethical degeneration of key pillars of
the capitalist state. Anger grew and was finally expressed after the killing of Alexandros by a policeman in December 2008.
At that time the Greek youth occupied the streets; it was a massive
movement starting from Athens and affecting even the tiniest places on
the Greek map. This fierce movement had slogans such as “the state was
stealing our future, it’s now steal our lives as well” expressing the
pressure that was building up amongst the frustrated youth. This
stopped, however, very suddenly after three weeks as with no formulated
demands or a strong leadership offering an alternative to unite and lead
them, the movement dissipated.
Crisis Deepens: Situation Today
With this we come to the current situation, where private and public
sector workers unite with the youth in a movement characterized by its
size, force and social variety. As we have seen before, and in other
countries as well, the workers and youth are the two most revolutionary
parts of society, the first to express discontent against oppression and
injustice. Deep crises, however, that have deep economic as well as
sociopolitical roots affecting the masses’ lives, radically push people
from all social strata to react and express their demands. But such
demands can never be expressed or united unless there is a strong
leadership to unify and show people the way forward.
Before he was removed the Greek Prime Minister, Papandreou, tried to
act on behalf of German and French capitalism, which demanded ever more
severe austerity measures. Yet at the same time he could increasingly
feel the voice of the Greek people. This was highlighted on November 1st,
when he called for a referendum in which the people would be asked to
agree or disagree with the “salvage” package, meaning further austerity
measures, which he had already agreed on with the European leaders.
This did not please the likes of Merkel, the German Chancellor, or
Sarkozy, the French President, who in no way want the Greek people to
have a say. After all, if Greece refuses to pay, and defaults on its
loans, then it is French and German banks – the holders of much of Greek
debt – who the very next day will go into crisis and be forced to go
begging to the French and German people to be bailed out.
The referendum was prevented by the European leadership as it would
destroy the whole arrangement that they strove to make with Greece
capitalism behind the backs of the people. If a referendum had gone
ahead the market would have reacted. Knowing that the Greek people
cannot take further austerity and would vote against the measures,
interest rates on Greek debt would have sky-rocketed and Greece would
default and be pushed out of the Eurozone and into chaos.
With the threat that Europe would stop lending money to Greece
leading to a default and exit from the Eurozone, they demanded the
formation of a coalition government. Now we have a junta of unelected
bankers leading Greece, headed by the technocrat Papademos. This shows
the true nature of democracy under capitalism – a convenient charade
whilst it can be afforded but ultimately subordinate to the dictatorship
of the banks. So the Greek people are faced with a financial crisis
affecting all aspects of their lives while having no say on who they
elect to deal with such a crisis.
Yet sacrificing democracy will not stop a default. By March Greece
needs the full amount promised by the European governments of 130bn
Euros just to pay back maturing debts. This comes with strings attached,
such as the austerity measures that are contracting the market and so
aggravating the crisis. They also need private holders of Greek debt to
agree to take a 50% “haircut” – i.e. forego the money owed to them. The
problem is many have insured their debts and therefore it is in their
interests to keep their “hair long” and force a default! We can see that
in all likelihood the question of Greece defaulting is not if, but
when.
Some on the Greek Left call for people to reject the European
austerity plans for Greece after the slogan: “We don’t owe you anything,
we won’t pay you anything”. This rejection of the bailout package on a
capitalist basis would mean an instant default of the country. The idea
is that people would be able to take their future in their hands and,
using the country’s resources, would eventually reach a state whereby
they would be in greater control of their lives. They say this programme
would eventually lead to the prosperity of the working class of Greece
as opposed to the capitalist monopolies of Europe. However, there is a
problem arising here: Greek capitalism will need time (10-20 years
according to rough estimates) and money in order to reconstruct its
economic base in such a way, as its entrance into the Eurozone led to
its de-industrialization, as they were outcompeted by European industry.
This is a solution on a purely national basis which ignores the
crushing domination of the world market. Even if Greek industry were to
recover it would be faced with huge export tariffs in order to protect
European industry, as many European leaders have stated. That is why the
solution for Greece cannot be built solely within its national
boundaries, but must be a socialist solution, which can only be based on
the overthrow of capitalism and workers governments being established
throughout Europe. Socialism cannot be built in one country. If the
USSR, with one-sixth of the earth surface couldn’t do it, what hope
would tiny Greece have!
Such a plan would require a united and strong working class
leadership, something that does not exist at present. While the Greek
Left combined has a majority according to present opinion polls, such is
the volatility in Greek society that the situation could turn suddenly
in the direction of reaction if the Left does not seize the initiative.
This is not a normal period and sharp swings to the left and the right
are implicit in the situation. An alliance of the left-wing of the PASOK
and the PAME – the Social Democratic party and trade union fraction –
and the Greek Communist Parties of the KKE and SYRIZA and their trade
union fractions, should be formed, united around a programme of refusal
to pay the debt and reversing the austerity measures by taking the Greek
banks, monopolies and industries into public ownership under democratic
workers control, organised by the trade unions. The European Central
Bank-sponsored government of Papademos should be rejected in favour of a
workers’ government, based around the resurrection of the popular
assemblies that sprang up last Spring throughout Greece. Finally, in
place of the national solutions put forward by some on the Left, an
international appeal to the working class of Europe and the world should
be made, calling on workers and youth to assist the Greek people by
fighting capitalist austerity in their own countries. If ever a time
existed for a truly international movement against capitalism, it is
now, where the workers throughout Europe and the World are united in
their opposition to the bankers’ solution to the crisis.
The Greek people are disappointed by the politicians “representing”
them, and frustrated by the lack of a substantial alternative, and
combined with the discrimination they have to put up with from the rest
of the European powers, have over the past 18 months occupied the
streets of every city. But how long will they be able to sustain such a
movement? Greece is left with no money, no future, no respect and, very
soon, no government. That’s the Greek crisis through the eyes of a Greek
student.
However, the Greek youth as well as the youth around the world should
not be pessimistic. For it is us, together with the workers and
oppressed layers, who are going to fight to preserve our future!
Unite and Fight: We have nothing to lose but our chains. The chains put on us by the capitalists and their banks, the chains that prevent us from winning our future.
