New government in Greece

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SOCIALIST ACTION JULY 2012 11 The elections to the Greek Parliament of June 17 were needed because after the elections of May 6 no parties were able to form a coalition government. The result, not unexpectedly, was a “victory” for the rightwing New Democracy (ND), with 29.7% (compared to 18.9% from May 6). The left alliance SYRIZA rose from 16.8% (May 6) to 26.9%, but was again only the second strongest party. Thus, the 50 “extra” seats in parliament, decisive for the formation of a government, were captured by the now leading memorandaparty ND.

ND is forced, however, to form a coali­ tion government with the badly shrunken and discredited ex-social democratic PASOK, the third strongest party, with 12.3% (a decrease of 0. 9%). DIMAR, the right-wing split from the SYN-party (the leading force in SYRIZA), will also be involved in the new government. DI­ MAR polled 6.3% (+0.2%) and is thus the sixth strongest party. For the first time, DIMAR openly takes over responsibility for the memoranda policies. The “Inde­ pendent Greeks,” a spin-off of ND, who refuse to support the memoranda policies, achieved a fourth place finish once again, with 7.5% (- 3.1).

The neo-Nazi gang of Chrysi Avgi (“Golden Dawn,” GM) is now in fifth place, with 6.9% (- 0.1). The stabilization of the neo-Nazis is even more remarkable since their terrorist character was openly revealed in the weeks after the May 6 vote, with open attacks on immigrants and leftist politicians using knives and clubs—in full public view. Nobody can say any longer that the voters do not know what they were voting for.

The Communist Party (KKE) received just 4.5% and lost 4% compared to May. All parties below the 3% threshold on May 6 had high losses and became almost insignificant for the outcome of these elec­ tions, including LAOS with 1.6% (- 1.3), “Dimourgia Xana” with 1.6% (- 0.6), the “Green Ecologists” with 0.9% (- 2.0), and [the far-left coalition] ANTARSYA with 0.33% (- 0.9). The valid votes cast rep­ resented 61.5% of the electorate (- 1.2), again significantly lower than ever before. A closer look at the election result shows that the shift between “right” and “left” compared to May 6 is not very big. The right-wing parties (from ND to GM) together polled 47.3%. The percentage of PASOK as a “new” right-wing party should be added to this. The left received altogether 39%, taking into account also DIMAR and the Greens. The memorandaparties, so far ND and PASOK, but now DIMAR too, scored together 48.3%, and of course have a clear majority in Par­ liament. In accordance with the rules of bourgeois parliamentarism, this might be interpreted as providing a “demo­ cratic mandate” for the continuation of the memoranda policies. Nevertheless, this “mandate” is, even in a formal sense, quite weak.

ND’s ”success” must be partially at­ tributed to the unprecedented propaganda campaign of the memoranda parties and the mass media in Greece and other Eu­ ropean countries, according to which an electoral victory of the left would have meant Greece’s immediate exit from the euro, the absolute economic ruin of the country, the termination of all payments etc. In addition, ND was able to attract most of the traditional right electorate that was very fragmented on May 6. Nonetheless, the election results of ND are generally weak, reflecting a historic downward trend that will continue now with ND’s role as the leading government party. On the left, the SYRIZA party or alliance could establish itself as the clear leading force primarily because had it come in first this would have held out the prospect of a “left government.” Situation of the left As for the left-wing parties or alliances and their prospects, it should be noted that the slogan “Elections now!” issued by the two leading reformist parties, KKE and SYRIZA, especially since the great general strike of October 2011, represents a strategic failure. It was not possible to stop the memoranda poli­ cies through parliamentary elections. The relative strengthening of the Left as a whole in the two elections was the result of the large mobilizations of social resistance from May 2010, with its high points of June and October 2011 as well as Feb. 12. It must be understood that the resistance was not strong enough to bring down the memoranda policies. Thus it is not accidental that the strength or weak­ ness of the entire left in the elections re­ flects the real balance of power between the main classes in Greek society. In this respect the election results are the politi­ cal expression of the temporary defeat of the resistance movement.

The weakening of KKE in the elections can be partly explained by its resolute “isolation tactics” along with its strict re­ fusal to cooperate with other left forces at any level. This is connected to a necessar­ ily complete lack of any prospect designed to end the prevailing policy, whether it be by strengthening the resistance movement or by the (ultimately illusory) parliamen­ tary path.

The SYRIZA leadership has taken clear steps to carve out space as a “left” alli­ ance for the management of the existing political and social system—i.e. Greek capitalism—at the government level, par­ ticularly after May 6. Still, it is obvious that the ruling classes of Greece and the EU prefer to get along without the serv­ ices of SYRIZA in this regard. The SYRIZA leadership has fully ac­ cepted the logic of the Troika credits and their principal legitimacy and thus the debt repayments, at the same time also the wage and pension cuts and the general lowering of living standards imposed by the first memorandum, as well as the pros­ (Left) PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos during talks to form a government with New Democracy.

pect of remaining in the euro-zone. These things were seen as the primary objective of government policy, thus accepting the “legitimacy” of the extortionate dilemma posed by the ruling classes. In this way, the main demand of last year’s move­ ment “We owe nothing, we do not pay, we do not sell!” was completely diluted, or turned into its opposite.

On the central issue of migration the SYRIZA leadership succumbed in large part to the prevailing policies and de­ clared immigrants to be a “problem.” The SYRIZA leadership has not said a single word about how the social resistance can be put back on its feet or how the deadly threat posed by the neo-Nazi hordes can be stopped.

For ANTARSYA the election results of June 17 are almost tantamount to a col­ lapse. All of the weaknesses of this for­ mation after May 6 have become blatantly clear—for example, its lack of coherence at the central level as a result of an in­ ability to overcome the egoism of various organizations, the weakness of the basic units of the local committees, an inabil­ ity to confront the political situation after May 6, to take a stand and respond clearly and convincingly to the central issues.

ANTARSYA must make the necessary self-criticism in the face of this defeat and draw the appropriate conclusions. It can hardly continue if it fails to do so. Only in this way will it be possible for ANTAR­ SYA to develop as one of the main en­ gines of the resistance movement and as the anti-capitalist and revolutionary pole of the left.

There is no shortage of starting points for joint actions by the entire left in the spirit of a united front policy. The programmat­ ic perspective for the battles ahead has, to a large degree, been correctly outlined by ANTARSYA. The class struggles will un­ doubtedly sharpen in the coming months.

This is what the social resistance must prepare for. n tive rights south of the border, Bill 13 and Toby’s Law are a testament to how much activists can challenge author­ ity and make a change in Parliament, schools, and homes. From one student daring to form a club, to a last minute amendment to legislation, the struggle against injustice is advancing. n Kostas Tsironis / AP Nevertheless, we continue to seek participation in the Fourth International, and we appeal for your support.

The FI contains the larg­ est international grouping of revolutionary militants who identify with our his­ toric programme and strat­ egy. That is where to begin to re-build the revolution­ ary workers’ international needed to save humanity from economic and environ­ mental catastrophe.

Together we must build a revolutionary international, build Leninist parties in ev­ ery country, and strive for the world so­ cialist revolution.

Capitalism has nothing to offer by pov­ erty, war, environmental disaster, sexism, racism, and national oppression. We have a world to win.

Archimedes explained the principle of the lever. Our political lever is the party. With this lever we can move the world. And as Leon Trotsky famously said, “With this lever, we shall be all.” n