Guest post - Greece: the battle for ERT and the difficult but necessary path from protest to political change

By Panagiotis Sotiris [1]

After the June 2012 election in Greece one of the main preoccupations of both the Greek government and the Troika (EU-IMF-ECB) representatives was to present an image of a strong government that would stand firm and would not succumb the pressure coming from a society in despair. For some time this tactic seemed to work, aided by the inability of mass protests to produce concrete positive results and the choice of the SYRIZA leadership to opt for a “ripe fruit” strategy regarding governmental power. However the ongoing struggle over the fate of Greek Public Television and Radio (ERT) has put an end to this fantasy of a strong government in a position to smoothly pass socially devastating legislation.

In the struggle for ERT, for the first time we have had a mass movement that led to a significant political rupture. The combination of  a defiant stance from ERT employees who decided to occupy the premises and continue broadcasting, even in the form of web TV, creating a tangible example of the quality of public service that self-management can bring, with a broader social and political mobilization in support of ERT and in opposition to the authoritarian turn of the Samaras government that led to the mass presence outside ERT headquarters and local stations, intensified a deeper governmental crisis that had its roots in the social and economic crisis and the inability for the Greek government to offer an exit from the vicious circle of recession, austerity and unemployment. Contrary to the prevailing myth, even within the forces of the Left, that people are disappointed and that it would be difficult to urge them to go back in the streets, the struggle over ERT brought forward the potential for solidarity, mass mobilization and support of an important struggle. The struggle over ERT became the metonymy for all forms of aggression against not only social rights, but also against democracy per se. The black screens became the symbol of the aggressive, undemocratic character of both contemporary neoliberalism and Troika supervision that dictate political measures. This can explain the extent and the duration of the protests about ERT.

Guest post: Exit from the Eurozone: the elephant in the room or why we cannot have socialism based upon EFSF recapitalisation

By Panagiotis Sotiris [1]

The report by Costas Lapavitsas and Heiner Flassbeck on the crisis of the Eurozone has been an important step in re-opening the euro debate within the European Left. The political significance of the report was made even more evident by the fact that it was published by the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung, and was endorsed by the leadership of Die Linke, especially after Oskar Lafontaine had also recently insisted on the need to consider the exit from the Eurozone as a potential solution for countries of the European South such as Greece. It follows the decision by AKEL the Cypriote left-wing party to propose Cyprus’ exit from the Eurozone, a proposition based upon scientific advice offered by amongst others Lapavitsas and Flassbeck.

The report itself is not a radical or Marxist manifesto. Although Lapavitsas has a strong Marxist background, the report is marked by Flassbeck’s much more Keynesian approach. Moreover, it is not a report with an a priori hostility towards monetary union or currency coordination for Europe, nor is it filled with anticapitalist references. On the contrary it seems to take the internationalization of trade and capital flows as granted. However, it is exactly this kind of critique from within aspects of the dominant economic paradigm that makes it even more interesting.

"Sue Venizelos now!" by Kostas Vaxevanis

By Kostas Vaxevanis

Re-posted and translated from Pandora's Box by @IrateGreek

Is there a prosecutor to do the obvious? Yes, I know, this sentence has been written and said thousands of times before, but I don't know what else I can write anymore. The Parliamentary Committee investigating the issue of the Lagarde list [1] has now officially received from the French authorities documents describing how the list arrived in Greece. This fully confirms HotDoc's findings: we wrote that the list arrived through official channels from France, together with official handover and delivery notes, in order for it to be used by the tax department. Everything we uncovered as journalists with information provided the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Greek Embassy in Paris has now been forwarded, officially, to Parliament.

Guest post: The Greek government denies secondary education teachers the right to strike

By Panagiotis Sotiris [1]

In the past three years Greek society has gone through a series of extremely aggressive austerity measures, under the terms dictated by the EU-IMF-ECB Troika that have led to a severe deterioration of living conditions. It has also been experiencing a constant erosion of democratic rights and basic civil liberties. Part of it is the attempt by the Greek government to practically abolish the right to strike in many sectors. Government representatives have repeatedly insisted that it is time to get rid of the “anomic” forms of protest and struggle that have been the main legacy of post-1974 radicalism.

The latest such example is the decision of A. Samaras, the Greek Prime Minister, to issue “civil mobilization” orders for all secondary education teachers, because OLME, the Secondary Education Teachers Confederation, has announced that it proposes to its member unions to stage a strike during the University Entry Exams beginning May 17. The order issued by the Prime Minister includes references to a potential “important disruption of the social and economic life of the country” and to “grave dangers for public order and the health of candidates taking the university entry exams”, and was issued as a preemptive measure before the strike is even decided by the local secondary education unions on Tuesday May 14.

6 May 2012 - 6 May 2013: one year from the Greek general elections of May 2012

By @galaxyarchis, translated from Greek by @anarresti, corrections by @IrateGreek

By Spyros Derveniotis
Translation: "Dirty immigrants, dying
where the Greeks eat!

Greece recently had two very important political anniversaries. More specifically, May 6th, 2013, marked three years since the adoption of the Memorandum which caused the greatest political rearrangements in the country's recent history, and one year since the 2012 general elections, when those dramatic changes were first expressed through the ballot box. Greek society is living in a period where political time is condensed to such a degree, that the changes occurring every month and every week can hardly be conceived by its collective consciousness. Since the May 2012 elections, which did not lead to the formation of a new government but to repeat elections a month later, the country's image and its political landscape kept changing at a rapid pace until today. In light of a greater tribute to the one year anniversary since last June's elections, when today's three-party coalition government came to power, we take a look at the facts and data which changed in this past year, starting from last May's elections.

Greece: a new, tougher law against racism?

By @IrateGreek

Greek media hailed on 07 May 2013 a proposed new bill against racism that was reportedly prepared by the Ministry of Justice and will be submitted to parliament after the Easter holiday. According to news reports (see e.g. here, here, here and here), the new bill proposes much harsher penalties for all forms of hate speech, with prison sentences ranging from 3 to 6 years and fines up to €20,000, while deprivation of political rights would be considered in certain cases. Discussion of this bill began in the public debate as it was announced that parliament would discuss lifting the immunity of Golden Dawn MP Germenis following his assault on Mayor of Athens Kaminis last week during a food distribution "for Greeks only" organized by Golden Dawn.

"Corpus Christi" censoring attempts and the politics of faith in Greece

By @inflammatory_

 Protester’s jumper against “Corpus Christi” reads
“Orthodoxy or Death” via lifo.gr

Back in May of 1998, Manhattan Theater Club (MTC) in NY cancelled the scheduled production of the three-times Tony Award winner Terrence McNally’s Corpus Christi play, prompted by anonymous telephone threats to burn down the prolific theater and kill its staff and the playwright. The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights that was already campaigning against the play for blasphemy, disavowed responsibility for the phone-calls.  Those developments swiftly sparked outrage in the artistic community over the religious group's intimidation and MTC's administration for backing off and not standing firm.

Apparently the play was set on schedule again, following talks among NYC Police and MTC's artistic director Lynne Meadow, who was seeking reassurance that security will be adequate. Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's office also issued a statement, reading "Although the mayor doesn't agree with the tone of the play, threats of violence in New York City will not be tolerated." During opening day, there were two counter demos outside MTC, one supporting the play and another demanding to get banned. Police officers and journalists were on the spot and the audience had to pass through metal detectors.

Was the bailout of Greece legal?

Edited by Keith Ewing, Professor of Public Law at King’s College London, for USI

As the European political crisis becomes ever more intense and the economic crisis ever more acute, there is a third crisis yet to unfold.  This is the crisis of legality now engulfing the EU, an entity that seems to be free to do what it likes and to ignore the legal foundations on which it is supposed to be built.

The EU, its institutions and its representatives are required to act with legal authority and within the scope of legal powers.   To this end, the post–Lisbon treaty is full of clearly expressed principles and obligations, the EU apparently founded on the values of ‘human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights’.

The pre-electoral commitments that shape the “electoral polarization” in this June’s elections.

By @galaxyarchis, translated by the #rbnews international team.

The shaping of the pre-electoral landscape concludes with the final pitch of the leaders of the two parties which theoretically and practically, have a claim to power on June 18. Under the circumstances, PASOK has to a large extent withdrawn from the battle for leadership and is reserving for itself –as expressed by the statements of its leader Evangelos Venizelos– a regulatory role. The same goes for the Democratic Left which has also stated its intention to participate in a coalition government.

The rupture between Samaras (leader of conservative New Democracy) and Tsipras (the leader of left wing SYRIZA) reached a climax with the presentation of their pre-electoral commitments on Thursday and Friday respectively, thus shaping a new polarization around the dilemmas which they put forward clearly: “Memorandum or Drachma” and “Memorandum or Syriza.”

What follows is a detailed juxtaposition, on a point by point basis, of these commitments.

A French translation is available on Okeanews. 

PASOK's downfall and the attempts to stay afloat

By @inflammatory_


Say hello to a new era where PASOK's ability to rule with a comfortable parliamentary advantage is over. With the repudiation of austerity policies at the ballot box, it saw its vote plummeting from 43.9% in the last elections to 13.2%. "PASOK is rotten" said its leader -Evangelos Venizelos- to his aides, highlighting the need for readjustment as many of those sustaining the party's state electoral clientèle -nurtured by favoritism, contracts, and subventions- seem to "abandon the ship". With perks cutbacks under the bailout agreements, high-profile members of major trade union bodies cut ties with the party, while others move around on the political spectrum, seeking shelter with hints of electoral success. 

Thanks to Simitis' embrace of neo-liberalism in the mid 90's and Papandreou's approval of austerity measures that kicked Greeks in the guts, PASOK abandoned certain clauses of its own charter and shifted to the right, setting voters deprived of a genuine "socialist" choice. Now Venizelos will have to use his soft media skills to reposition the party in the centre-left, a challenging task considering Syriza's rapid gains in popularity. Putting his six-point plan on the table, he strives to promote the idea of reviewing Greece’s loan agreement and come across as a potent force in politics that has taken stock of negotiations with international leaders over the last year. Although determined to start building the party's reputation from scratch and win back a part of the votes lost to Syriza, Democratic Left or apathy, the feasibility of the matter in hand within a few weeks time remains questionable.

Admittedly overshadowed and squeezed between New Democracy and Syriza, PASOK sees itself playing a secondary role for the first time in decays. To this end Venizelos puts the message of "unity efforts in view of country's troubles" ahead of rivalries. Since the hard-line attack on Tsipras somehow backfires on PASOK but works for New Democracy, Venizelos mellowed down the confrontational rhetoric against Syriza without keeping the divides aside though.

Τsipras gets the international treatment: non-Greek media coverage of the leader of SYRIZA focuses on the man, not the message

By @zoemavroudi

It has been only two weeks since Alexis Tsipras was thrust into the international political limelight after leading the Coalition of the Radical Left-SYRIZA party to a surprising second place in Greece’s May 6 election and major media outlets in Europe and the United States have been hosting a slew of articles about him, in an attempt to piece together a coherent narrative.

This post is also available in French on Okeanews. 

Greece: the assault on labour

Edited by Andrew Brady for USi

The labour movement in Europe faces its most important battle arguably since its creation.  It’s not sensationalist to make such a statement. There is a global assault on organised labour. The epicentre of an economic agenda that is getting rolled-out on the  continent of Europe is Greece.

For some this agenda is abundantly clear but for the vast majority, its underlying ideology remains obscured. The reason being is that there has been a deliberate and orchestrated ‘fog of war’ perpetuated by politicians, multi-national firms and media outlets.

Reflections on Greece: a social crisis

Edited by Andrew Brady for USi

USi spent six nights in Athens recently to gather momentum for our ‘Solidarity with Greece’ campaign with trade unions and community networks. This article is one of three on our reflections on the challenges facing the City and Greece – and what as trade unionists we must do to assist.

With Greece’s future increasingly in doubt an emergency government was established on Wednesday (16 May) with new elections set for 17 June. Away from the debates swirling around about GDP debt ratios, sovereign debt, and, bond rates something very profound and alarming is happening on the ground.

Unemployment, suicides, prostitution, drug abuse, depression, homelessness and hopelessness are sky-rocketing. You can see the visible impact of the economic crisis when you walk around areas of the City such as Omonoia and Agios Panteleemonas. It is not easy to witness or take in.

Greece’s jobless rate hit a new record in February. Data from Greece’s statistics service on Thursday (17 May) showed unemployment hit 21.7 percent in February. In the 15-24 age group it rose to 54 percent. The data showed nearly 1.1 million people were jobless, 42 percent more than in the same month a year ago, reflecting the huge scale of the human damage. However, the true scale of unemployment and underemployment is higher. The country’s economy continues to contract for a fifth consecutive year.

The New York Times reported in April that in Greece, the suicide rate among men increased more than 24 percent from 2007 to 2009, government statistics show. The suicide rate increased by 40 percent in the first half of 2011. Greece’s financial crisis has also made some families so desperate they are giving up the most precious thing of all – their children – as they can’t take care of them any longer. There are estimates that up to 20,000 people are homeless in Athens.

Prostitution is legal in Greece, with regular health checks for sex workers required, but authorities say only a fraction of brothels are operating with a license. According to the disease control center, 954 new HIV infections were reported in 2011, a 57 percent increase from the previous year. The authorities say they are concerned about the overlap between drug use and illegal prostitution. The Athens City government has said at least 315 brothels are currently operating illegally in the Greek capital. Greece is also the busiest transit point for illegal immigration in the European Union – and for human traffickers bringing women from Eastern European countries.

In conversation after conversation USi was told of the network of grandparents who are holding Greek society together with their pensions and support but this entitlement is continuously under attack to the point of being eroded. Wages have been decimated as you can read elsewhere on our site. People openly speak about moving out their homes (owned or rented) to move back in with family or friends as they can’t afford to pay the costs of living. Solidarity networks have sprung up all over Athens such as the Network for Cheap Potatoes and Convenience Stores to help alleviate the pressure and pain. But people and communities are hanging by a thread.

Society is approaching a critical point. This is the story the vested interests who pursue austerity do not want you to read or hear.  They would rather it remains focused on the perpetuation of myths such as ‘lazy Greeks’ in order to carry through privatisation and liberalisation of the whole state for profit. The human damage is irrelevant or at best secondary to private sector investors being reimbursed for ill-judged financial decisions and the subsequent exposure they bear on other European markets. As has been illustrated elsewhere – particularly by Yanis Varoufakis – the economics of Greece is minor to the financial tsunami that threatens to implode across Europe – and the people of Greece are way down the pecking order.

The imposed conditions of the second bailout will be enforced in June including tens of thousands of job losses and further pay cuts. Those fortunate to still have a job are of course extremely worried about their futures. On the day the agreement was reached in February this year Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy said: “Today the problem is solved”. To the contrary, unless resistance to austerity continues and increases – the problem may be only beginning.

Greek elections: the politics behind failure and the challenges ahead of success

By @inflammatory_ 

There was media frenzy over fruitless coalition talks and the "last-ditch efforts" to form the so-called "government of prominent personalities". Following Papademos leadership, the option of having unelected technocrats in government again, was under consideration. With the tyranny of pragmatism enslaving politics and society, fully trained economists are seen more competent to spot the right policies. They are supposed to have the skills and experience to ensure successful execution of EU guidelines and maintain effectiveness in a financial environment of ambiguity. Is there any clear evidence to support that? The euro for instance, was launched without significant political institutions behind it, which was not proved to be very clever. However the prospect of a second round of elections, was expected to bring havoc anyway. Under edgy circumstances,  voting -the backbone of democracy- is considered lethal. No need to wonder which section of society might feel threatened when people have their say for their own matters. Apparently a caretaker prime minister took over until elections in June, with a possible "Grexit" making headlines at the moment.

The day after elections: all the latest developments

By @inflammatory_


With more than two years of cuts, layoffs, unemployment and…suicides’ rising toll, Greeks expressed their resentment over the political establishment yesterday, in what appeared to be one of the most low-key general elections.  There were no massive rallies, not excessive use of promotional material whilst for the first time, socialist PASOK and conservative New Democracy avoided setting up in public space their pre-election campaign kiosks, in case passersby attempt to destroy them.

From the beginning, it appeared unlikely for any political party to win a majority. Some believe that the election results officially dropped the final curtain on polity, the time period from 1974 onward, where PASOK and New Democracy succeeded each other in power. With many voters backing small parties and left-wing Syriza achieving its best result ever with sweeping gains in constituencies that traditionally belonged to rivals, there is a merit on that assumption.