(en) Greece: from the absurd to the tragic By Periodico
Solidaridad.Chile. (ca) [machine translation]
Anyone living or simply following the events in Greece knows all too well the meaning of
terms such as "critical times", "tense atmosphere", "dramatic turn" and "pushing
boundaries". Since the events of Monday, a new term should be added to that list:
"absurd." ---- The word may seem strange, or exaggeration. But how else can one
characterize the total investment of the meaning of such an extraordinary event as the
referendum on July 5, just hours after its completion, by those who called to vote for the
"no" from the beginning? ---- How could one explain that VangelisMaimarakis New Democracy
leader and To Potami, Stavros Theodorakis -cabezas faction so brutally beaten Sunday past-
have become the official spokesmen of the line that is following the Greek government? How
is it possible that the devastating "no" to the Memorandum of austerity policies being
interpreted as a green light to a new memo? And to put it in terms of common sense: if
they were willing to sign something even worse and even more stifling than the proposals
of the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, what was the point of
the referendum and the struggle to get in it a victory?
The feeling of absurdity is not only a result of this unexpected reversal. It derives
mainly from the fact that all this is happening before our eyes as if nothing had
happened, as if the referendum were something like a collective hallucination that ended
abruptly, leaving us free to continue with what we were doing before. But as we have not
become all about Lotus Eaters, let us at least give a brief résumé of what has happened in
recent days.
On Sunday, the Greek people shook Europe and the world, responding en masse to the call of
the government and, under unprecedented conditions for postwar standards of any European
country, voted overwhelmingly "no" to extortion and humiliating proposals lenders. Both
the scope and the qualitative composition of voting "no", with its huge leads among young
people and workers realize the depth of the changes that have been happening, or rather
have crystallized in so little time in Greek society.
The mass mobilization of last Friday, the weather "bottom" has availed since last week,
not to mention the enthusiastic wave of international solidarity, they realize the
enormous potential opened by the election of popular political conflict rather than retreat.
No But since Monday morning, before the shouts of victory in the streets across the
country would have dissipated completely, started the theater of the absurd. Under the
aegis of actively pro-Si and president of the republic, Prokopis Pavlopoulos, the
government summoned the leaders of the defeated parties to develop a framework for
negotiations, putting the euro as absolute limit of Greek stance and specifically stating
that no no mandate to leave the monetary union.
The public, still happy hazy Sunday, watched as the representative of 62% was subordinated
to 38% immediately after a resounding victory for democracy and popular sovereignty.
On Tuesday, the government, no new "proposal" to do, transferred its operations to
Brussels for the extraordinary meeting of the Eurogroup and, as is quite logical, I was
faced with a new and even harder ultimatum. The next day, Euclid Tsakalotos inaugurated
his duties as finance minister (in pursuit of brevity, omit the factor Yanis Varoufakis's
resignation, merely pointing out that it was a demand of the lenders) sending to the
European Stability Mechanism (ESM) the organization that manages most of the Greek debt, a
letter requesting a new loan of 50,000 million euros, which, of course, would be
accompanied by a third memorandum. It is expected, of course, that the parliament will
begin voting on the enabling legislation required since Monday.
The letter Tsakalotos continues to refer to the commitment of Greece to "honor their
financial obligations to all creditors a full and timely manner." It is obvious that,
despite hearing promises after proclaimed the referendum to "start the discussion from
scratch," "negotiations" continue xactamente from the same point where they were
interrupted, with the Greeks facilitating work opponents to each step.
The same day, the new "proposals" that are supposed Greek would be still pending
"reliable" and "detailed", Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras gave a speech at the European
Parliament declaring: "If the aim had been to remove Greece Euro, could not have made the
statements I made at the close of the polls, and interpreted the referendum result as a
mandate not to break with Europe, but as a mandate to strengthen our efforts to negotiate
in order to reach a better agreement."
This amounts to a more or less open recognition that the referendum was being interpreted
with a specific goal in mind, which was to negotiate at all costs and avoid breakage.
In the same speech, Prime Minister quite succinctly outlined the philosophy that for weeks
has characterized the entire Greek position that the parentheses of the referendum has not
changed in the least:
"In this proposal, we have taken evidently a strong commitment to meet the fiscal targets
required according to the rules, because we recognize and respect the fact that the
Eurozone has rules. However, we reserve the right to choose, the right to be able, as a
sovereign government, will choose where and increase the tax burden in order to be in a
position to achieve the required fiscal targets. "
So there is a frame: He made up the restrictive measures that ensure fiscal surpluses and
focus to debt repayment. It is unquestionably the framework of the memorandum. The
disagreement is the "burden sharing". This implies a (supposed) variant of "socially just"
austerity will be presented as "redistributive" while perpetuating the recession (any
reference to the commitment not to take recessionary measures has been eliminated) and
impoverishment of the majority.
In the meantime, and while these reassuring promises are presented, they are destroying
what was left of the program commitments of Syriza, gradually increase the siege that
supports the country, with the European Central Bank keeping closed the key liquidity and
further reducing value of bank bonds, leading inevitably to collapse.
And yet, despite the gravity of the situation and despite the fact that through the
imposition of capital controls part of the way has already been covered, nobody, except
Costas Lapavitsas and some pictures of the Platform of the Left, is talking basic and
obvious measures of protection required by circumstances like these, starting with public
control and nationalization of the banking system.
This is due, of course, very simply: any of these measures would leave Greece with one
foot out of the euro, which the government is merciless to prevent, despite the fact that
even mainstream economists like Paul Krugman asserts that " most of the cost has already
been paid "and that it is time for Greece to" reap the benefits ".
A simple conclusion emerges from all this: with the movements performed during the last
week, the government has done nothing more than to be back as before, trapped now in a
much less favorable position, under pressure from economic strangulation yet more
implacable. He has managed to squander the political capital injection powerful referendum
in record time, always in line with those who opposed him, and they are right to feel
vindicated despite having been defeated at the polls.
However, the referendum took place. It was not a hallucination from which all have
awakened. Instead, the hallucination is the attempt to reduce it, presenting as a "safety
valve" temporary, before returning to the course, down the hill toward a third memorandum.
But it seems that the government is taking precisely this suicidal path. Yesterday, late
at night, he sent to all members of parliament hastily written text, in English, by the
experts sent by the French government and based on Tsakalotos request a new loan of 50,000
million euros at MEE.
This is nothing but a new austerity package-indeed a "copy and paste" Juncker plan
rejected by the electorate a few days ago. Its core is too familiar: primary surpluses,
reduced pensions, increases in VAT and other taxes, and a handful of measures to give a
slight taste of "social justice" (for example, an increase in the corporate tax two
points). This document was approved by all ministers except for Panos Kammenos, leader of
the Independent Greeks (ANEL) and Panagiotis Lafazanis, leader of the Left Platform.
Parliament has been called to vote this text today (10.07.2015) under the same emergency
procedures that were strongly denounced by Syriza. In many ways this process can be
considered a "parliamentary coup" because the parliament has been convened to vote on a
text which is neither a law nor an international treaty, giving a kind of "carte blanche"
to the government to sign any loan. But this parliamentary approval has been expressly set
as a condition for any future negotiations by the German Finance Minister, Wolfgang Schäuble.
Predictably, and probably even planned, this agreement has caused a scandal within Syriza.
At the moment, most of the strongest reactions come from the Left Platform and other
current left-wing Syriza as KOE, a Maoist organization that has four MPs. In the dramatic
meeting of parliamentarians of Syriza, held today, the energy minister and leader of the
Left Platform, Lafazanis, said the deal is "incompatible with the program of Syriza" and
"does not provide a positive outlook to the country ". It is expected that ministers
resign Left Platform today.
Thanassis Petrakos, one of the three spokesmen Syriza parliamentary group and a prominent
member of the Platform of the Left, said:
"The 'no' in the referendum was radical and class. Some senior partners insisted on the
logic of 'no way out'. We must prepare to leave the eurozone, and to clearly tell people.
The Left has no future when it opens its wings into the unknown, not to nothing. Those who
insist on staying in the euro regardless of the cost should be aware that is a disaster.
We need an outlet prepared to open a new path. The first steps are the public control
banks and the Central Bank of Greece, and a campaign against the oligarchy. "
Varoufakis also said to have opposed the agreement, as well as some parliamentary group
known as the "fifty-three" (the left of the majority sector), although in an internal
meeting held yesterday a significant gap emerged among ordinary members and current and
boxes means staunchest opponents of the agreement, and parliamentarians, more willing to
support. The vote will take place later will no doubt crucial to future events, but also
for the future of Syriza (1).
Regardless of what happens in the hours and days to come, one thing must be clear: Any
attempt to overturn the popular will to end austerity and memo amounts to hubris (or
excess) as it was understood in ancient Greek. Anyone who dares to lead the country and
left to surrender and dishonor must be prepared to face his nemesis.
Stathis Kouvelakis
(Translation: Luis Cortés and Vicente Grubsic)
Notes:
(1) In the vote on Friday, July 10 the motion to approve the plan won con250 votes in
favor, 32 against and 8 abstentions.
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http://www.periodico-solidaridad.cl/2015/07/15/grecia-de-lo-absurdo-a-lo-tragico/
