Part 1
By Katerina Selin, World Socialist Web SiteOn July 7, the Greek government led by the “Coalition of the Radical Left” (Syriza) was voted out of office. In its perspective from July 10, the World Socialist Web Site described the four-year reign of Syriza to be a “strategic experience for the Greek and international working class.” The pseudo-left party, which before its election in January 2015 campaigned on a platform of ending EU austerity dictates, revealed itself to be an essentially bourgeois force that proceeded just as viciously against workers and refugees as did the social democratic PASOK and the right-wing conservative Nea Dimokratia (New Democracy, ND) before it.
The intention of this article is to depict what the four years of Syriza’s government policy meant concretely for workers, youth and retirees in Greece. Syriza’s “betrayal,” which paved the way for return of the ND to power, was no mistake. Like its European sister parties—among others the Left Party in Germany and Podemos in Spain—Syriza has its roots in the well-heeled petty bourgeoisie that is essentially hostile to the political interests of the working class.
Austerity packages of the third memorandum
Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras needed less than half a year to toss every promise for which he was elected in January 2015 overboard. He defied the overwhelming opposition of the population to EU austerity demands, which was expressed most clearly in the Greek Referendum of July 5 of that year, and bowed unreservedly to the demands of Greece’s creditors—the so-called Troika of the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund—agreeing to the third “Memorandum of Understanding” that went into effect on August 20. It provided for loan payments totalling €86 billion, which Greece would receive in individual tranches if it met the required “reforms” and budgetary cuts.
After its September 20, 2015 re-election, with a historically low 56.6 percent voter turnout, Syriza again forged a coalition with the ultra-right Independent Greeks (Anel).
The government committed itself to continuing the rigorous exploitation of the working class in order to fill the portfolios of the banks and corporations. Of the interest-bearing credits of the memorandum, euphemistically called “relief” and “rescue programs,” between 2011 and 2015 less than 5 percent (€10.6 billion) was accounted to the Greek state budget.
The lion’s share of the money was disbursed as interest payments, debt repayment, debt restructuring and the financing of incentives for private investors. Creditors earned handsomely. Germany alone cashed in €2.9 billion in interest under the memoranda.
As part of the third memorandum, between 2015 and 2019 at least seven comprehensive austerity packages have been rushed through parliament. According to the EU Commission, the Tsipras government implemented at least 450 individual measures, including countless cuts in pensions, reductions in wages, redundancies, tax hikes and budget cuts across the entire public welfare, education and health sectors. The WSWS has regularly reported on these measures (including May 2016, June 2017, as well as January and June 2018). These measures include:
* the increase of the value-added tax (VAT) to 24 percent and the abolition of the VAT rebate for the islands;
* raising the retirement age to 67 years by 2021 as well as reductions of early retirement;
* massive reductions in retirement benefits and the gradual abolition of supplementary pensions (EKAS);
* reduction of social benefits;
* reduction of the tax-free allowance from the previous €8,600 to a maximum €6,600 per year;
* the implementation of the EU Banking Directive, in particular the resolution of insolvent banks;
* the increase of numerous taxes and duties (including fuel, alcohol, cigarettes, coffee, internet and landline telephones as well as PayTV);
* the increase of the hated ENFIA tax, a land and real estate tax, whose abolition Syriza had demanded before being elected because it affected so many working families that own a house or small apartment;
* the easing of drug sales to the advantage of pharmaceutical companies;
* a restriction of the right to strike;
* the introduction of so-called “koftis,” a commitment to automatic cuts and “budgetary adjustments” if savings targets are not met;
* the implementation and preparation of numerous privatizations.
The cuts to pensions incited particularly strong resistance. The police cracked down brutally on protesting pensioners and went so far as to use tear gas against them. Syriza’s attempt this spring to campaign among retirees sparked outrage when a cynical promotional video made no mention of the pension cuts under Tsipras and celebrated alleged positive developments in pension policy.
In fact, Syriza has implemented at least 15 pension cuts and increased pensioners’ health expenditures. It is common for a pension to be the only steady income a family has. According to a study from the Hellenistic Federation of Skilled Workers, Craftsmen and Traders (GSEVEE) from 2018, 51 percent of households depend on pensions.
Syriza demoralized and suppressed broad opposition to the austerity dictates not only with police violence but also with a direct attack on the right to strike. At the beginning of 2018 thousands of workers protested the draconian restrictions to strikers’ rights, which were passed on January 15.
By the new rules, future strikes will only be legal if at least half of those members paying union dues participate in the vote and the majority votes to lay down its work. Up until that time it was sufficient for a mere third of members to participate, in some cases even just a quarter. The strike law existing to date was written in 1982, after the overthrow of the military junta.
Privatizations under Syriza
In 2016 the parliament founded the “Superfund,” a privatization agency, largely controlled by the European Union (EU). The Superfund (Hellenic Company of Assets and Participations) is to remain in operation for 99 years and merges a number of daughter companies, including the privatization agency TAIPED. Half the winnings are earmarked to pay off debts, the other half for the development of the economy.
Syriza has completed a number of major projects:
After the EU—with the German government at the helm—juiced the Greek population and drove the economy to the brink, foreign companies smelled blood. Among them was the German air transport company Fraport AG. On December 14, 2015, this company concluded the purchase of 14 lucrative regional airports located primarily on popular tourist islands such as Rhodes, Mykonos, Santorini and Corfu. The possession of these assets was transferred in April 2017.
**This is the first of a three-part series.
