The ‘Greek Crisis’ – The people fight back.

By George Zangalis

It is now abundantly clear that the “ Greek crisis ” has been but the very tip of  the iceberg of a deep and deepening crisis of capitalism in Europe and indeed worldwide.

It is an all embracing economic, social, political and ideological one. The usefulness and “humanity” of the capitalist system is questioned by millions of people searching and working for an alternative system embodying many of  the fundamentals of socialism.

This is certainly the case in Greece, where the Government, the State and the cosy two party system cannot subdue and control the popular resistance.

Popular support for the two party system has fallen from something like 75% 4-5 years ago to under 40% now.  Conversely that of the Communist Party of Greece and the other smaller left parties is on the increase, reaching collectively nearly 20%. As often happens in extreme times, an extreme right wing party – which has now joined the “National Salvation Government” has picked up a bit of ground.

The current solutions offered and in fact dictated by the perpetrators of this situation in Greece cannot and will not work in the interests of the people and the nation. They are clearly designed to make the working class and the popular masses in general   pay dearly to ensure the preservation of the capitalist system, the profits, possessions and spheres of influence of the foreign and local plutocrats.

The promise of the European Union and a “Eurozone paradise” has turned into a very long nightmare for the people. The EU and the Euro was not created to help but to plunder the weak and the underdeveloped in southern, and later, eastern Europe, to bolster its capacity to compete with the then mighty USA and its dollar for world markets and super profits.

The so called generous EU packages to Greece were directed not to increasing the country’s productive capacity but to destroy it and to increase, on credit, consumption of goods made largely in Germany.

The Greek debt – a small fraction of what is owed by almost all advanced capitalist countries – is owed basically to German, French and Greek banks and most of the loans given to Greece go straight to these lenders with huge interest. It is only the banks and not Greece that have bail out guarantees from the EU Emergency Fund fed from the public purse.

The frantic efforts  of stitching up a Government of “National Unity and Salvation” in Greece (and  other countries) is not even a short term answer, as the whole EU and Eurozone system is collapsing.  Incidentally the new Government in Greece, (and in Italy) is headed by a eurocentric banker, the nominee of the lenders. It is a government put together to execute without any hesitation, the draconian austerity measures dictated by the Eurozone masters. Most Greek people are visibly and militantly opposed to the measures the lackeys of imperialism have signed up to against  their expressed wishes as demonstrated in huge rallies and strikes.. The people are denied any opportunity to have their say even through the much touted democratic ballot box. An election may be held after this puppet Government signs off to the Eurocrats and their bankers, the people and the country’s sovereign rights.

Greece in effect is a country under foreign economic and political occupation, facilitated by the Greek capitalist establishment and the two party system that sustains it.   A troika of representatives of the EU, European Bank and the International Monetary  Fund would now be permanently based in Greece overseeing every detail of Greece’s compliance with the conditions of the loan. If these conditions are not met in full and ahead of time there will be no loans.

The sacrifices demanded from the people for another dose-loan- of sickening medicine are horrendous, and condemn generations to no present and no future, and the country to negative growth for several decades. Productive forces are being destroyed at an unprecedented rate. Unemployment has risen to 18% and up to 40% for those aged between 23 and 45 years. Hundreds of small and medium businesses are closing every month. One third of public employees have been put into reserve, (under the constitution public servants cannot be sacked yet), with proscribed annual employment of 13 weeks at $25 a day, a quarter of their normal rate. Awards and collective bargaining are legislated out and private contracts are a hundred times worse than Howards Work Choices.  Working hours and working life are extended. Education and health, always the poor relative, are starved of funds and are increasingly privatised while the remaining public property – services and land – are up for grabs at fire-sale prices  with German companies in the drivers’ seat. Wages and pensions have already been cut by up to 30% and superannuation funds are being raided by banking and other financial institutions, with worse to come. At the same time the cost of living is rising.

GST went up from 13% to 23%, income tax went up and extended to catch people with as little income as $6000 per annum down from $14000, last year, the family home will also be taxed and if people cannot pay then electricity will be cut off. This brought an instant reply by Unions that they will never cut power to a pensioner or working class family home. At the same time the big tax evaders and others responsible for the Country’s plight continue to enjoy all sorts of legal and under the lap protection. The blame game, that the Greek people are responsible for the mess, of squandering good money, of lazing in the sun, but now the time has come to pay, is the classical ploy of condemning the victim. For the great majority of the Greek people have never seen, let alone pocket the “big money”.

They work twice as hard and long as their German counterparts and live a life of chronic austerity. Of course there are those who did profit and still do and usually never turn up for work. The Greek rich are filthy rich ,as they are in all exploitive societies.

But what is of perhaps greater significance is the massive and sustained resistance of the Greek people  combining the spontaneous and the organised, demanding a break with the present socio- economic system and the EU  link, often referred to as the wolf’s lair. For over a year tens and hundreds of thousands of people demonstrate almost daily. They come from all walks of life and spread all over the country and across all generations. Even forces aligned politically with the two major parties, PASOK and New Democracy, are taking to the streets. The battle cry – “ we did not cause the crisis and we cannot and will not pay”, finds almost unanimous support among the people and strikes fear in the  capitalist establishment in Greece and their European masters. Committees of resistance are being formed in many cities, towns, suburbs, work places and schools.

A leading role in this resistance is played by the left which refused point blank to fall for the psuedo dilemma of being either with the EU and the Euro or catastrophe  and  join the austerity committed the government of “National Salvation” . In the first place  are  the militant unionists and  the  Communist Party of Greece, the countrys’ 3^rd largest party with a massive influence in the working class, popular, youth, women’s and student movements. My wife and I attended the 3 day  Festival of the Communist Youth of Greece in late September on the closing night. There were over 100.000 people mostly young, in a huge park decorated with socialist slogans, forests of red flags proudly waved and soul raising revolutionary music and songs, the country’s most famous  singers, writers and musicians performing from a number of  stages. The CPG is visible and active everywhere in Greece in the everyday battles of people and in parliament. It has a 24hour television and radio station, a daily newspaper, industry, locality and specialist branches. Later I attended a workers demonstration outside the Greek Parliament organised by PAME, the Workers Militant Front aligned to the Greek Communist Party. Over 50,000 rallied with several thousand workers providing a protective guard around the demonstration.

The smaller  Left and Radical Forces Coalition  and the Left Party are very important contributors in this resistance and in the call for a debt write off, an  immediate election and non acceptance of the austerity measures. The CPG has been most consistent in opposing the Country’s entry into NATO, the EU and other aggressive and oppressive alliances. Greece’s territorial sovereignty is continually threatened by Turkey, a NATO ally.

The left above all and the CPG in particular, call for people power, and an end to monopoly exploitation of the people and the country and the building of a mass movement to get there. Workers and Peoples Councils would be the foundations of such a society. Working and producing for the common good, and most certainly for the working class and the popular masses. They point out and continue to struggle for Greece to develop its own resources, to become a country of producers as against one of consumers, of which Greece and indeed all countries poses in reasonable abundance. These resources in the first place are people, who could be assisted and encouraged to regain the countries’ self efficiency – and export capacity – in agricultural and animal production, cotton, some minerals, shipbuilding, new technologies ,and of course its natural wealth, sun energy. Free of the European ties and the expansive Euro, Greece can trade competitively with countries of its own size near and afar from its borders.

Such fundamental change will not be easy or without costs.  But compared with what is on offer now many people, not only from the left, believe it is by far a better and long term alternative.

Some may ask, can something like that be achieved now or in a short time. If not, why build the dream. In Greece and elsewhere the question of fundamental change is as much political and ideological as it is practical. The vision for a non exploitative society and how it will work, especially when people suffer, inspires history making struggles and outcomes.

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