(en) WSM.ie: Greece, Even after referendum Syriza forced to
propose massive austerity
The new Greek finance minister has tweeted that "Greece reforms' proposal sent to the
Institutions and Eurogroup's Dijsselbloem" well ahead of the midnight deadline. If media
reports are to be believed it appears the Syriza led government is offering massive
further austerity cuts of 13 billion in return for some debt relief and a further 50
billion bailout. ---- According to the Guardian "Greek negotiators are believed to have
accepted the need for VAT rises and rules blocking early retirement as the price of a
deal" If these are the terms those who saw in Syriza some confirmation that electoralist
politics could deliver real change are going to be disappointed.
According to the Financial Times "In a sign Mr Tsipras could face stiff resistance at
home, his Syriza party called a rare meeting of MPs at 8am Friday morning to weigh the
proposal. Government officials said the plan - known as the bailout's "prior actions"
because they are the specific reforms that must be implemented before receiving aid
funding - would be presented to parliament late Thursday night"
Despite getting a massive 61% backing in the referendum it turned out the EU institutions
and individual EU leaders felt no particular need to pay serious heed to maintaining the
democratic illusion. The not so invisible dictatorship of the market was their first and
indeed only priority.
And its not a trivial dictatorship, although of course its not how the media presented it
the papers have been full of stories of fears of medicines and even food shortages in
Greece. We have seen the threat of starvation used as weapon of mass terrorism in Europe
today by the same politicians who have to be passed smelling salts if a protesters so much
as shouts at the car they are in. They had no problem pursuing policies that would deny
insulin to diabetics but a water ballon horrifies them.
The worst aspect is that the concessions offered may be deemed to not be enough. We won't
know that till the EU summit on Sunday but its already clear that there is a bloc that
sees delivering a hard public beating to Syriza as being of more value than going out of
their way to reach a deal that keeps Greece in the eurozone. Parts of the right wing media
are already paving the path for rejection by suggesting that the debt relief offered would
be a defeat for Germany.
And so perhaps we reach the end of the play on the big stage. Now the question is how will
the social movements in Greece react both to the deal and to the imposition of austerity
that will follow. What positions will those elsewhere in Europe who were in solidarity
with a fight dominated by Syriza take when that fight becomes a messer one in the streets,
communities and workplaces.
WORDS: Andrew Flood
http://www.wsm.ie/c/even-after-referendum-syriza-forced-propose-massive-austerity
