Perspectives in Greece

On 15 January 2015, Syriza, the Coalition of the Radical Left, was elected in Greece. There was immense hope that this new government would finally stand up to the European Union and defend working class living standards so ravaged by the economic crisis and the punishing memorandums.

But by July of that year, prime minister Alexis Tsipras had capitulated, signing up to a new (third) memorandum. The attacks on workers, the poor and immigrants have continued unabated.

Red Flag’s Liz Walsh spoke to Antonis Davanellos, a member of the editorial committee of the Greek socialist newspaper Workers’ Left and a member of Internationalist Workers’ Left (DEA), to draw a balance sheet of their intervention in Syriza as well as the challenges ahead for rebuilding the struggles against austerity and racism and reconstituting a radical left on a firmer foundation.

International Viewpoint has published a compilation of articles on Greece and the failure of SYRIZA. In the present comment I want to deal mainly with the contribution by Alan Thornett, titled The capitulation of Tsipras leadership and the role of ‘left europeanism’. We will look, in particular, at Thornett’s assertion that the SYRIZA government was, at least potentially, an example of a “workers’ government”—as that concept was developed by the Comintern in a set of theses adopted at its third congress in 1922. I will assert that Thornett’s approach reflects both a misunderstanding of the Comintern’s text and a disorientation regarding the SYRIZA government itself.

The Greek left is organizing an opposition to the betrayals of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who capitulated to the demands of the European blackmailers and agreed to a new Memorandum of harsh austerity measures in return for a further bailout of the financial system—exactly what his party SYRIZA came to power in January vowing to challenge. Ahead of new elections in September, the left wing of the party, organized around the Left Platform, broke from SYRIZA to work with other organizations in forming Popular Unity, a new alliance of left organizations that won 2.86 percent of the vote in September, falling just short of the 3 percent threshold to qualify for representation in parliament.

A lot of nonsense has been said about reform and revolution. However, the experiences from Greece in 2015 shed clear light on this question.

Opinion polls in advance of elections in Greece on September 20 show the former ruling SYRIZA party of ex-Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in a dead heat with the center-right New Democracy, and the left-wing SYRIZA rebels of the newly formed Popular Unity shaking up the elections by winning enough votes to take seats in parliament.

Two months ago, on July 5, more than 60 percent of Greeks voted "Oxi!" in a national referendum, rejecting the terms of a new austerity agreement that European governments and international financial institutions—commonly referred to as the "Troika"—were demanding that the SYRIZA government sign in return for a bailout. The voters showed they still supported the radical anti-austerity program put forward by SYRIZA in the January elections that brought it to power. But in an incredible about-face, Tsipras signed an even harsher austerity agreement only days later.

Anger with Tsipras’ capitulation to drastic cuts in social spending, wages and pensions have cut the former prime minister’s approval rating sharply, opening the door to the possibility of a narrow victory by the conservative New Democracy. But while Tsipras has moved to the right, SYRIZA’s influential Left Platform refused to accept the Memorandum. It has left SYRIZA and participated in founding a new political front called Popular Unity, with other sections of SYRIZA and left groups outside the party.

Here, we publish a joint statement by Olivier Besançenot of New Anti-capitalist Party in France; Antonis Davanellos, a member of the Political Council of Popular Unity in Greece; and Miguel Urbán Crespo, a member of European Parliament representing Podemos in Spain. Referencing the threat of a Greek exit from the eurozone — dubbed "Grexist," they call for an exit from austerity — or "Austerexit."

What lessons can we draw, in the member countries of the European Union (EU) and beyond, from what we must call, and denounce as such, a "financial occupation of Greece"? As Stathis Kouvelakis has stated forcefully, the OXI, this magnificent "no" from the Greek referendum "has not been defeated".

IN "Asking the Right Questions," a thoughtful and thought-provoking essay for Jacobin, Catarina Príncipe and Dan Russell argue that the strategy of building "mass workers parties" is the "only viable path toward an eventual rupture with not just austerity but capitalism itself."

Catarina and Dan have taken up important questions that arise for the left, based particularly on the experience in Greece, where radical left organizations participated in the formation of SYRIZA, the electoral coalition and then political party that came to power after elections earlier this year. As noted below, I agree with many of the points Catarina and Dan make in recounting the experience of the last eight months. But where their assertions about the left and "mass workers parties" become more generalized, I have questions and disagreements, which I want to lay out below in some detail.

Costas Lapavitsas has been vindicated — not that there’s much comfort in that. From the beginning he argued that Greece leaving the eurozone was the only way Syriza could carry out its election program. The Syriza leadership instead stuck to their “good euro” policy, with disastrous results. The party recently split, with Lapavitsas and other members of Syriza’s parliamentary group, along with a coalition from across the Greek left forming Popular Unity to contest in the elections later this month.

A crucial debate is taking place on the left, inside and outside of Greece, following the dramatic capitulation of the Tsipras leadership to the austerity agenda of the EU in return for the so-called ‘bailout’ deal of £86bn over three years.

As was to be expected, the direction taken by the Tsipras government after the fatal day of July 13 confirmed the pessimistic forecast that it would turn with unheard cynicism and violence – albeit only verbal for the moment - against those who dare challenge its total pro-memorandum transformation. And since the ’Tsipras Tendency’ in Syriza has chosen to take charge of a new government that would govern the country with the absolutely decisive collaboration of all the neoliberal parties (New Democracy, PASOK, Potami), its offensive was clearly directed solely at the opponents of its government program, ie the third Momorandum. And naturally, these opponents are not to be found in yesterday’s opposition which has now turned into a government partner, but first and foremost in the left wing of Syriza, which is now the main opposition force, seeing as Golden Dawn and the PCG (KKE) are in the words of their leaders, lately in agreement with the Tsipras government that Greece must remain faithful to the Euro!