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But there is a new fact, the hypothesis of a left government. This question must come down from the leaderships of the parties into the social movement. There are two conditions for the creation of a left government: firstly a political programme to break with the Troika, a government that cancels the debt and the memoranda, at the risk of being excluded from Europe. And then, the transfer of power downwards. A left government can only represent the interests of those below only to the extent that those below have power. So what is necessary is a transfer of responsibilities and powers to popular assemblies. This would be the first task of a left government - to convene a national Constituent Assembly of popular assemblies. Dimitris Hilaris is a member of the leadership of the OKDE-Spartakos (Greek section of the Fourth International) and of the International Committee of the Fourth international. This interview was conducted by Paolo Gilardi and published in L’Anticapitaliste, no. 70, journal of the Anticapitalist Left in Switzerland. Dimitris Hilaris is a a member of OKDE, Greek section of the Fourth International NOTES [1] In effect, a call to vote for the centre-left PASOK or the centre-right New Democracy Greece - A Pyrrhic victory “It is not on fear but on hope that we base our future.” It was with these words that Alexis Tsipras reacted to the electoral defeat of Syriza, the coalition of the radical left which he leads. For, beyond the right’s victory, nothing is resolved for the Greek people, and nor will anything be easy for the parties called upon to govern in the context of a cabinet of national unity. Also, paradoxically, Syriza’s defeat seems to be a factor not of demoralisation, but rather of hope. This interview with Dimitris Hilaris of OKDE-Spartakos was conducted by Paolo Gilardi for l’Anticapitaliste. How disappointed are you, Dimitris, with this victory for the right in the June 17 elections? It is a Pyrrhic victory. During the electoral campaign, the media played on fear, on exit from the euro, the effects of not respecting the memorandums signed with the EY, of governmental instability. The right has thus succeeded in capturing the votes of the social layers terrorised by this instability. Whereas scooped up votes among workers and youth, the right won the votes of the middle classes and an older section of the population. But neither New Democracy, who won with 29.66%, nor Syriza with 26.89%, have succeeded in mobilising the 35% who abstained. Syriza gained 10% extra in relation to May 6th from the other left forces. The ND did the same on the right. And now? Now we will see that it is a Pyrrhic victory. A national unity government including the ND, PASOK and the Democratic Left will go through the same contradictions which traverse Greek society. Also, except for short periods, we have never had a national unity government in Greece. And this government will be responsible for applying the potions of the on the street. Exactly, the street mobilisations… The result for Syriza has given confidence. Confidence in a social dynamic, that of the mobilisations over the last three years, but also confidence in the possibility of creating a radical left force, whatever the ambiguities of Syriza. This situation favours a discussion on alternatives because a demand is made to go beyond protest and advance alternative solutions. That stimulates politicisation, and that isn’t good for the government. A social and political dynamic is underway. And it is currently more important than the temptation, which exists, of relying on a strong parliamentary representation of the radical left. It is necessary however to be wary of a division of labour between the movements, responsible for protesting, and the left parties which practice politics. As an electoral expression of struggles, Syriza appears as a model in Europe As its leaders say, Syriza is “a party of democratic normality”. But if Syriza respects bourgeois legality, this latter in no way respects Syriza. And it is in this dynamic that things can happen. It is not enough to denounce the ambiguities of Syriza – its programme is much more moderate than its slogans - but we should stimulate the emergence of a debate on the left on a political alternative. We, the forces of the anti-capitalist coalition, should draw the lessons of this experience. We need to be involved in a social and political dynamic which desires change. It should lead to a united front with Syriza and the KKE around the idea of a left government which is not a government of management but of rupture. 6
Which means? Which means cancelling the memorandums, breaking with the euro and the European Union. Not to go back to the drachma, but to deprive the troika of the instrument of threat and blackmail which is the euro. Indeed, how can we speak of the nationalisation of the banks –or of simple public control of the latter as Syriza advocates – if we don’t control the creation of the currency? It is up to us to deal with the threat: if you continue with your diktats, we can leave the euro. And for that we must convince the masses that there is a life beyond the euro but not in nationalist terms. And precisely, in relation to that, the far right has confirmed its presence. That is why it has to be combated in the street, displacing the conflict to the social rather than the national terrain. Some estimates talk of 560 billion Euros of tax evasion for the year 2010 alone. What can be done in Europe in support of the Greek people? International solidarity is precious for us. We would feel less isolated at a time when they wish to make us think that we are alone in Europe. And then, if you can put pressure on the banks so that they reveal the breadth of the deposits they hold from rich Greeks… The Federal Council has provided a list of 4,000 US citizens who hold accounts in Switzerland; can we expect them to make public the names of the Greek billionaires who hold their assets in Switzerland? First published in French in the Swiss journal l’Anticapitaliste. Dimitris Hilaris is a a member of OKDE, Greek section of the Fourth International Greece - Fear triumphs, but hope continues The troika sighs with relief. There will be a new pro-Memorandum government in Greece. The weakest link in the Euro zone has not snapped. The financial oligarchy has lived through a worrying few days, as if a ghost had returned to haunt them, but yesterday bought some time, giving a precarious underpinning to a collapsing scaffold. But the ghost has come back to stay. The reality is that the economic and social crises have been transformed into a generalized political crisis, in Gramscian terms a crisis of hegemony and an “organic crisis of the state”. Structural adjustment policies have imploded Greece’s traditional party system and the breach opened will not easily be closed. Fear, fed by a veritable media campaign of terror from the right and the neo-colonial blackmail of the Troika, triumphed over hope. But the Troika’s joy may prove ephemeral. The new government will be weak, formed by discredited parties lacking legitimacy, and will have the task of continuing with unpopular policies which will lead to new and decisive mobilisations. The statement of the New Democracy candidate Samaras acknowledging his victory, which talked of returning to the “path of prosperity”, was little more than an exercise in cynicism that will soon be denied by reality. No Future is all that the policies of the Troika offer to the Greek people. Although tired by two years of tenacious resistance, this people has decided not to die without a battle, nor to abandon its indignation. From the accumulation of defeats, the Greek people have paradoxically recovered their best weapon - confidence in the ability to overcome. The rise of Syriza, out of the ashes of a broken and ruined PASOK, is based on its ability to combine political and social credibility with electoral credibility, in a context of prolonged social uprising. The key to its success is appearing as a “distinct” formation which is untainted with respect to collaboration with the cuts, unlike PASOK, and which has not been responsible for governing regions and municipalities and implementing cuts there. Its proposal for the formation of an anti-Memorandum government of the left during the campaign for the May 6 elections was the lever that propelled it electorally and changed the coordinates of the electoral debate. Suddenly, the possibility of a "left government" appeared as a specific and feasible way out of the nightmare of the cuts, as a quasi magical formula to a part of the Greek people in the midst of destitution The positive and impressive rise of Syriza has given a ray of hope to Greek workers, but it also captured the imagination of the European left, lacking practical successful references and experiences and aware that the most decisive battle of the continent against finance capital’s plans is taking place in Greece. It is important, however, not to uncritically idealise Syriza, a plural coalition in which distinct orientations coexist – some of them very moderate, others consistently anti-capitalist. Its weaknesses in terms of organisation and social implantation are huge and its programmatic proposals and political discourse present significant limits and inconsistencies. From May 6th to June 17th there was a slight shift in Syriza’s proposals on the Memorandum, the debt and other key questions towards formulations which were a little more ambiguous and less for a radical break, while maintaining a clear profile of opposition to the logic of structural adjustment, which underpins its political credibility and identity. 7
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Page 5 and 6: Eric Toussaint : That should also b
Page 7: Greece - Toward a government that w
Page 11 and 12: Greece - The cradle of what kind of
Page 13 and 14: The champions of charity are also t
Page 15 and 16: labour market" after a period of un
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Page 25 and 26: Exactly. What they are doing in Gre
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The National Assembly made what man
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South Africa - The ANC transformed
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masses. The successful concluding o
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measure of coercion. The worker dis
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Support from personalities. - On Ma
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NOTES [3] See Amanullah Kariapper a
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Is there a future for left politics
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’Torch rally against the dissolvi
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Red faction Already before the sign
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insurrection and lead to the taking
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has declined among siginificant par
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Visayas). We were tasked by the CPP
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warlords. Even as we try to organiz
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Americas. By the 1950s, Marxist-ins
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This presents us with a conundrum.
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of these environmental services are
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growth. The root of the problem is
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Environment - Land Grabs and Food S
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in Orissa have taken various forms:
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eal democracy of the people—in co
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overlooked entirely or barely given
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down so that they couldn’t get tr
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peace camp surrounding an important
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