The Workers’ Party of Ireland reiterates its solidarity with the KKE, and its support for our fraternal allies in tomorrow’s election. Over decades, and especially since the beginning of the current assault on the living conditions of the Greek people under the name of austerity, the KKE has resolutely fought for the interests of the Greek working class. The KKE can be trusted to stand up for the ordinary people of Greece not just during the election, but in the weeks, months, and years afterwards.
The same cannot be said of other forces on the Greek left, including SYRIZA. We have heard many fine words, but as the election approaches we have seen more and more positions abandoned. This is the continuation of a constant move further to the right that began when disillusioned PASOK voters began to gravitate towards SYRIZA when PASOK continued the austerity agenda following its victory in 2009. During this move, many of SYRIZA’s positions have been abandoned.
For example, in the course of the campaign, its long-standing policy of withdrawal from the NATO war machine has been reversed by its leader, Alexis Tsipras, who now says that this is “not in the interest of the country”.
We believe that the people of Greece, like the people of Ireland, must be freed of the debt imposed on them by the Troika in the interests of speculators and bankers. SYRIZA has also been constantly moving on this fundamental issue, with mixed messages being sent. Having abandoned its original position of repudiating the debt, SYRIZA now talks of renegotiating it, and even merely extending the time to pay it back.
SYRIZA has mounted a charm offensive with the international markets and media to reassure them that it offers no threat to the system. It promises “fiscally balanced measures” and to stick to the eurozone targets designed to make profits for speculators and prevent the state transforming the economy in the interests of the people. Following some bland words about enhancing democracy and social cohesion, Tspiras even declared his aim in the Financial Times as being to “put the middle class back on its feet”. This is not the language of someone who wishes to place political and economic power in the hands of the working class.
It is clear that SYRIZA is on an irreversible rightward trend. Despite the hopes of many in Greece and abroad that it can be pushed substantially to the left from within or without, all the evidence points in the opposite direction. We have watched as SYRIZA did a deal with the austerity parties to keep the KKE out of power at local government level. We have watched as it has taken in many former members of PASOK without requiring them to change their politics. Not only has it taken them in, it has given them an increasingly prominent role within their party. Not content with this, Tsipras personally intervened to ensure that a candidate who until very recently was in the right-wing, racist Independent Greeks will stand for SYRIZA.
We note too that SYRIZA’s closest relationship in Ireland is with a party already implementing austerity in Northern Ireland.
None of this surprises us. We have heard the promises of SYRIZA before – not least from those who abandoned socialism and broke from us to form Democratic Left. We heard these same people make similar promises to end austerity in the leadership of the Irish Labour Party in 2011. We know they took Frankfurt’s way.
The Workers’ Party stands for the transformation of society, for government and the economy to be organised in the interests of the majority of society, the working class. SYRIZA is neither committed to nor capable of truly transforming Greek society. Our comrades in the KKE have proven consistently that they can be trusted to fight for the working class. The KKE has taken the lead in opposing austerity and in agitating for the socialist transformation of Greek society. We once again offer them our fraternal support and best wishes for the election and beyond.