Tag: Greece

“CHANGE GREECE – CHANGE EUROPE – CHANGE4ALL!”

da Peter Herrmann's Blog, posted in contemporary socio-economic situation, general

Please, find in the following an initiative addressing the situation in Greece … and in Europe.

This is a call which you can sign when following the link

“CHANGE GREECE – CHANGE EUROPE – CHANGE4ALL!”

 

Syriza’s potential victory in the forthcoming elections in Greece is of the utmost importance for all those who want Europe to change course. Such a victory would be an expression of the demand for dignity and justice: for hope. The threats and pressure applied by EU leaders, the Troika and financial circles to influence the electoral choice of the Greek people are unacceptable.

Throughout Europe, we will defend the right of the Greek people to make their decisions freely; to break with austerity; to say ‘no’ to the humanitarian crisis which has plagued the country; to pave the way for a real alternative for Greece – for a social and democratic reorientation.

Most political forces in Greece bow down to the Troika, but Alexis Tsipras and Syriza decided to do the opposite. They have created, working closely with the social movements, a broad coalition whose dynamism may well win a majority. Syriza and its allies propose to fight back against the humanitarian crisis, to restore collective agreements and labour rights, to create a fair tax system and to democratise the political system. A Syriza government will make Greece a credible player and will make the survival of the country and the people a precondition at the outset of any negotiations. The government will commit the country to a new path, rejecting corruption and patronage, opting instead for a new type of development in the interests of all. It will propose a European Conference on Debt to partially cancel the debt. The reimbursement modalities for the remaining part can facilitate an economic recovery through a large public investment programme – which should not be included in the Stability and Growth Pact – and a response to urgent social needs. At European level, it will propose a “European New Deal” for human development and environmental transition. Throughout Europe, we need to break with the rationale which is destroying Europe’s collective social gains and fuelling the rise of nationalism and right-wing populism. We need a new project, based on inclusive development, cooperation and democracy.

Throughout Europe, we believe that such a change in Greece will not affect the future of the Greek people alone. A victory for Syriza will allow Greece to escape from the current catastrophic situation but it will also represent green shoots of change for Europe. Breaking with austerity policies would be a signal, a source of hope for those who want to stand tall. At the same time, if Syriza is voted into power, its government will need massive support from the people of Europe in the face of the pressures from the financial markets and political forces which fear any departure from the obsolete framework of capitalist globalisation.

Across society, from wide political and social forces, from many organisations and walks of life: we do not accept the pressure brought to bear to prevent the Greek people from exercising their free choice. Those exerting this pressure today share responsibility for the perpetuation of harmful ‘shock therapy’ at all costs.

Throughout Europe, we are assuming our responsibilities, supporting those engaged in struggle, changing the balance of power, waging the battle of ideas and uniting all those who want to build – alongside the Greek people – a social, environmental and democratic Europe. We stand with the Greek people because their battle is also ours.

Greek elections and financial market upheavals

da Peter Herrmann's Blog, posted in contemporary socio-economic situation

Guest Contribution by Marica Frangakis[1]

On 9 December the Greek Prime Minister, Antonis Samaras, called for early presidential elections for December 17. On the same day, the Athens Stock Exchange fell 13 pc, the biggest one-day drop since 1987. Further, yields on 3-year Greek debt exploded by nearly 300 basis points to 9.52 pc, while Italian and Portuguese yields also increased noticeably. What is the underlying rationale of these developments in the financial markets? What is the latest stage in the Greek saga that began in 2010? We shall probe into these questions and try to provide some answers.

According to the Greek constitution, parliament must elect a new president one month before the end of the incumbent’s 5-year term, which in this case ends in March 2015. Following the announcement of early elections, the first presidential vote takes place on 17 December and, if this fails to achieve a majority of 200 (out of 300) members of parliament, the vote will go into a second round on 23 December, again requiring a 200 vote majority. If in the third and final round to take place on 29 December, the present government coalition fails to obtain the lower requirement of 180 votes, snap parliamentary elections will be held by early February 2015.

The probability of the government’s presidential candidate to be elected by the present parliament is slim. This is because the government coalition of the conservatives (New Democracy) and the socialists (PASOK) has 155 seats in the Greek parliament. Thus it needs to convince 25 additional MPs to support its candidate. Although it could co-opt support from other parties and independent MPs, it is unlikely that it will succeed to secure the required quota of 180 votes. Therefore, early parliamentary elections (20 months ahead of schedule) will have to take place. However, why does a legitimate constitutional process cause such a furore in the financial markets? Why has it led to an instant downgrading of Greek government bonds?

The reason is that the main opposition party SYRIZA (Coalition of the Radical Left) is predicted to win the next parliamentary elections. Its appeal to the Greek electorate has been increasing in leaps and bounds since 2009, when it registered 4.9% of the vote in the October elections of that year. For example, in the European parliamentary elections of May 2014, SYRIZA obtained 26.6% of the vote, as compared with New Democracy’s 22.7%. The prospect of a SYRIZA government is unsettling for the financial markets, given that it is highly critical of the ‘cure’ applied to Greece since 2010, which has resulted in five years of depression believed to be ‘longer and deeper than Europe’s worst episodes in the 1930s’.[2]

Brute austerity has been applied in Greece since early 2010, resulting in the shrinking of the economy by almost 30%, as consumption and investment, both private and public, continue to contract, while exports do not make up for the deepening gap in demand. Unemployment has almost trebled reaching 26% of the labour force, hitting especially hard women and the under-25s, while a brain-drain to the US, Canada, Australia, Germany and the UK is taking place, as young, qualified Greeks leave the country in large numbers. Long-term unemployment and poverty are on the rise, making for an explosive situation, as the public services – health and education – have deteriorated irrevocably due to spending cuts.

The prescription of the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the IMF (the Troika) for Greece has failed miserably even on its own terms. In particular, the public debt increased from 109.3% of GDP in 2008 to 174.9% in 2013, in spite of a debt restructuring exercise in 2012, which was however funded by new public borrowing.

The dire economic and social consequences of the failed policies implemented in Greece have led to a political re-ordering of great proportions, as the traditionally large parties – New Democracy and PASOK – have lost in credibility, while SYRIZA is gaining in support. At the same time, the fascist party, Golden Dawn, has grown steadily in popularity over the course of the crisis, obtaining 9% of the vote in the 2014 European elections, in spite of the fact that its leadership is in jail for criminal conduct!

Overall, Greece is at the cross-roads. It is very likely that national elections will be held in early 2015. Should this happen, SYRIZA will most probably be called upon to form a government. This will have to deal with a large number of especially difficult problems, including not only the humanitarian crisis faced by large sections of the population and the collapse of the Greek economy, but also the high financing needs of more than €20 billion (11% of GDP) in 2015.

SYRIZA is committed to renegotiating the deal with the EU and the IMF. It will seek some form of debt relief, so as to halt the downward spiral Greece finds itself in and set the economy back on track. Such a renegotiation may well open the way for a meaningful restructuring of the Eurozone architecture, which has been an integral part of the euro- crisis. The more smoothly this is done, the fewer the repercussions on the financial markets.

Should Greece’s Eurozone partners, however, refuse to enter into such negotiations, this will cause a new wave of speculative betting in the financial markets, destabilizing them yet again and reviving the risk of contagion to other Southern European countries, such as Italy. Furthermore, such a refusal will have severe political repercussions, since it would risk humiliating not only the Greek, but also the European Left, while it would drive greater sections of the population to the far-right in Europe.

___________

[1] Independent Researcher (frangaki@otenet.gr); Member of the Board of Nicos Poulantzas Institute (www.poulantzas.gr); Member of the Steering Committee of the EuroMemo Group (www.euromemo.eu)

[2] Evans-Prichard, A, 2014, Greek candidate willing to call European leaders’ bluff, The Telegraph, Dec 10

HOPE II – The Story of Remembrance

da Peter Herrmann's Blog, posted in general, thoughts on life and its philosophy, Uncategorized, works, projects, publications

The municipality of Haidari, near Athens, is implementing these days an interesting project – actually it is a follow up: HOPE II.

The discussion so far showed that learning from history is especially of importance when authoritarian statehood is gaining power and actually the EU is loosing direction. Starting from the idea of an Economic Community: surely driven by economic interests, but also acknowledging the importance of fundamental freedoms and rights of people, it drifted to a position that is fundamentally based in the idea of a neoliberal market strategy. We can see the current tendencies of separatist, regionalist and nationalist movements as part of the consequences of the social drawbacks of austerity policies and the orientation on competitiveness.
It is of remarkable importance that the municipality here engages in such a project on the

THE STORY OF EUROPEAN REMEMBRANCE AND THE CIRCLE OF EUROPEAN FRIENDS WHO RESISTED HITLER

To engage in an open dialogue and to engage young people in this important aspect of dealing with the dark side of history has to be seen as special meritL Remembering the past should be warning for today to make sure that there will be a humane tomorrow.

Tomorrow the speech will be available on this site.