The decisions of Syriza's core leadership, as they dealt with the German led offensive against the new Greek government, will be minutely studied, most importantly by the Greeks themselves.
'The facts' Lenin once said 'are revolutionary.' Whatever people might think of Lenin in his role as the main leader of the early part of the Russian Revolution of 1917, he made a determined habit of pulling out the salient facts in any new situation as events spun and surged (and most of them had painful or worse implications for the success of the new Union of Soviets.) Then he faced them, published them, and forced all those who called themselves friends of the early USSR to face them too.
Alexis Tsipras is not a new Lenin. And unlike countless far left, pocket-Napoleons over the years, he has never claimed to be, nor acted as though the rest of us better think he should be. Alexis Tsipras concentrates on the undoubted success of his government not to be forced out of power by an ECB/German led bank run in the last few days. He points to the stabilisation of Greek's financial system and the time that has been bought by the agreement made with Europes' 'Institutions.' Finance minister Yanis Varoufakis has gone further and claimed that the deal has made Greece '
'partners in its own destiny.'
The left in Syriza is critical of the agreement. The right wing Independents - who have made a coalition with Syriza in the Greek parliament - have called for an 'investigation' into the deal (because, in their view, it does not allow the implementation of all of the anti-austerity measures they signed up to in the bloc with Syriza.) The Greek Communist Party have always denounced Syriza as a 'dangerous left cover' for the old social democrats and they now shout that history has confirmed their stand! Lots of little left groups think likewise. They are confirmed in their decision to stay outside of the political centre of the struggle. A much wider debate has started in the enormous 'Solidarity Movement' that organises food for the hungry, medicine and treatment for the sick, shelter for the homeless and, of course, across the streets and homes of Greece.
Any serious study of the details of the agreement with the EU and the following letter from Syriza to the EU Commission, the ECB and to the IMF, cannot help but to come to the view that Syriza's election programme and even its five first priorities, as laid out to the new Greek parliament, are severely compromised. If they are not removed (like the new jobs guarantees to the unemployed and the emphasis on rapid restoration of the spending power of pensions and the minimum wage) they are cribbed and made conditional on remaining within current budgets, or subject to EU, ECB and IMF supervision (extending health care to all Greeks for example.) BBC comparison gives a quick and fairly objective view of the changes in Syriza's position from prior to the Greek election to post deal.
But it might be argued that the concessions made were absolutely necessary. Anything and everything had to be done to ensure the survival of the Greek democratic choice for Syriza and anti-austerity in the context of some of the greatest powers on the planet seeking political AND financial means to destroy it. All the furniture had to be available to be thrown in the fire. Everything might be sold in order to pay for the future. Such a view, however brutal, might be understandable. The honour and self respect of the brave Greek people was surely worth the highest of prices.
What is incomprehensible is commentators who argue that the Syriza anti-austerity pledges remain essentially intact after the deal! This is perhaps more acceptable in the debates in Greece and among Greek political leaders whose intentions may burn as bright as ever to blow the Troika's malaise out of the Greek atmosphere. It becomes literally unbelievable when British and other European supporters of Syriza seriously write tripe like this;
'What the Greek government has signed up to is to continue running a budget surplus, as opposed to a deficit. That is not, in itself, austerity. Austerity is the practise of balancing budgets through cuts in public spending.'
Even the Scottish SNP (see SNP speech on ending austerity) understood that you had to spend money, and not 'pay down' the debt when you ended austerity. Because the services and incomes that people had lost through austerity needed to be refinanced, before any more debt was paid 'down'. Increased government spending, from now, precisely not only using the current budget, is required to break austerity. And you will have to increase your debt until you get people back to work and get increased taxes to come in. And you do not have 'institutions' with a veto on 'fiscal expansion' looking over your shoulder. Ask Nicola Sturgeon.
Trying to be more Alexis Tsipras than Alexis Tsipras is not going to help either the debate now happening nor, in the longer term, the solidarity movement with Greece. The Greek people have launched a momentous movement against austerity in Europe and, especially in relation to debt, across the world. They have elected a government committed to fight for that cause. An initial, violent and bitter clash has taken place between that government and the power centres of EU capitalism. A debate about that clash has opened up (as it should and inevitably would) and, if nothing else, it has confirmed the desperate necessity for a wide and deep movement across Europe in the first instance, in defence of the Greek people and their anti-austerity government. The balance of forces have to be evened out to prevent more concessions having to be made.
In the course of this struggle there will be major obstacles and many critical moments. Already the question of the relationship of Greece to the Euro has emerged. (See last blog.) There will be others. A vast and deep solidarity movement will, by its existence, enormously aid the confident resolution of these questions in Greece, by the Greek people, as well as providing a significant part of the material force that will help create a victory.
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