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Greek ruling elite prepares for showdown with working class
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Steve Hayes
May 26, 2012, 3:20:16 PM5/26/12
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Greek ruling elite prepares for showdown with working class
By Robert Stevens and Chris Marsden
26 May 2012
As Greece prepares for elections on June 17 amid an overwhelming popular
rejection of austerity, the ruling class is making secret preparations for a
military crackdown against the workers. These preparations are taking place in
parallel with more public discussions within the European Union on financial
mechanisms to penalize Greece, should the Greek population vote to reject EU
austerity demands.
An article published Wednesday in the right-wing Greek daily Kathimerini,
“Euro Exit Scenario Gives Greece 46 Hours to Manage Process,” lays out a
“synthesis of euro-exit scenarios from 21 economists, analysts and academics.”
The newspaper writes that the introduction of a new Greek currency would need
to be meticulously planned and carried out within a 46-hour window, over a
weekend, in consideration of global stock market trading schedules.
There would be immediate moves to repress social opposition. The article
states: “Over the two days, leaders would have to calm civil unrest while
managing a potential sovereign default, planning a new currency,
recapitalizing the banks, stemming the outflow of capital and seeking a way to
pay bills once the bailout lifeline is cut.”
Citing two senior researchers, the article notes that “the country may deploy
its military as soon as early morning Saturday and close its borders,
preparing to stamp euros as drachma as an interim solution once a public
announcement has been made.”
Greece’s outgoing finance minister, Filippos Sachinidis, said of an exit from
the euro, “All our achievements will be wiped out and it will happen in such a
violent way, I don’t know if we will be able to continue functioning as a
modern democracy.”
In these comments there is an undoubted element of political blackmail. The
ruling elite declares that the workers must accept every cut demanded by
finance capital and the Greek state or face an apocalypse. Should the workers
refuse, they warn, the banks will cut off credit to Greece, forcing it to
print its own money. Overnight, the markets will financially ruin the country
by speculating against the new currency. At this point, the army will be
deployed to halt bank runs by depositors and crush social opposition.
The political establishment hopes by publicizing such arguments to secure a
vote for Greece’s traditional ruling parties, the right-wing New Democracy
(ND) and the social democratic PASOK, which support the EU austerity measures
and so-called “bailouts.” In the May 6 elections, these two parties together
won only 32 percent of the vote.
More fundamentally, however, the “contingencies” being discussed and planned,
both openly and secretly, reflect the acute intensification of class
antagonisms in Greece and internationally.
What has been imposed in Greece, under the diktat of the “troika”—the European
Union, European Central Bank (ECB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF)—is
barbarity on a scale unseen since the Nazi occupation. An official at Greece’s
official statistics bureau said last week: “By the close of 2012, we estimate
the economy will have shrunk by a total of 27 percent since the start of the
recession five years ago... That’s almost a third. It’s completely
unprecedented for an advanced Western economy.”
Whether finance capital tries to continue its failed euro bailout or decides
to speculate against a national Greek currency, the enforcement through the
existing parliamentary mechanisms of such brutal and unpopular social attacks
will grow increasingly difficult. Hence the growing threat of a recourse to
some form of military-police rule. The Greek people have already had a bitter
experience with such methods in the form of the 1967-1974 military junta.
Since the eruption of the financial crisis in 2008, the Greek ruling class has
repeatedly relied on the army to suppress working class opposition. The army
was mobilized to smash the 2010 truckers’ strike and was poised to intervene
against the 2011 refuse workers’ strike.
On February 4, 2011, the Athens News Agency reported that the army’s 71st
Airborne Brigade had staged an exercise involving a mock confrontation with
anti-austerity protesters. In September that year, thousands of retired army
officers protested and hundreds stormed the defence ministry, calling for the
overthrow of the PASOK government. The Association of Support and Cooperation
of the State Armed Forces warned then-Prime Minister George Papandreou that
the army was following his policies “with increased concern.”
Then-Defence Minister Panos Beglitis declared, “Such bullying and
anti-democratic behaviour that goes against the democratic government of the
country is an insult that will be immediately repressed.” On November 1,
shortly before Papandreou resigned, Beglitis sacked the entire general staff
of the armed forces, leading to suspicion that a coup had been narrowly
averted.
Ten days ago, with no party able to form a government following the May 6
general election, Prime Minister Lucas Papademos, having himself been
installed without an election, handed over power to a caretaker government
under senior judge Panayiotis Pikrammenos. The character of this interim
government is instructive.
Frangos Frangoulis, a retired general and ex-chief of staff of the armed
forces, was appointed defence minister. Frangoulis, a former Marine commander,
was removed from his position as armed forces chief of staff in Beglitis’s
surprise reshuffle in November 2011.
Named as minister of citizen protection was Eleftherios Economou, a former
chief of police with a long history in the state intelligence services. In
addition to running the Hellenic Police, he will oversee the Secretariat for
Civil Defence, the National Intelligence Service, the Hellenic Fire Service,
the Hellenic Coast Guard and the Greek Agrarian Police.
One of the last acts of the Papandreou government in October 2011 was to
appoint Economou to the post of general secretary for public order. He was
made deputy minister for citizen protection by the Papademos regime and has
now been promoted to his current role.
There are also numerous reports of close connections between the police and
the fascist Golden Dawn, which garnered 7 percent of the vote in the May 6
election. The Guardian on May 3 wrote of Golden Dawn members being allowed to
“terrorise, insult and attack their perceived enemies, often with members of
the police looking the other way or, even worse, collaborating with them...”
An analysis of Golden Dawn’s vote by To Vima calculated that more than half of
all police officers in Greece voted for the fascists.
A warning must be made in particular concerning an attack Thursday morning by
some 30 police officers who attempted to break into the headquarters of the
Socialist Workers Party (SEK) in Athens. They were reportedly joined by a
“group of fascists... in shouting racist obscenities and attempting to kick
down the front door.” The raid was called off only after the arrival of a
senior police officer.
The greatest threat posed to workers in Greece is their lack of political
preparation for the grave situation they face. SYRIZA (the Coalition of the
Radical Left) has thus far been the main beneficiary of anti-austerity
sentiment among workers. But it is a bourgeois, not working class, party,
despite its left rhetoric and criticisms of the terms of the EU bailout
packages. Adamantly opposed to a revolutionary struggle against capitalism and
the Greek state, it works to sow illusions and politically disarm the working
class, promoting the myth that voting for its candidates in the June 17
general election will help persuade Europe’s politicians and bankers to give
way.
Meanwhile, the ruling class in Greece and Europe is left to plan its own
response to the growing anger and resistance of the working class and a vote
against the austerity measures—the economic devastation of Greece and mass
repression.
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/may2012/gree-m26.shtml
--
Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
Blog: http://khanya.wordpress.com
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk
By Robert Stevens and Chris Marsden
26 May 2012
As Greece prepares for elections on June 17 amid an overwhelming popular
rejection of austerity, the ruling class is making secret preparations for a
military crackdown against the workers. These preparations are taking place in
parallel with more public discussions within the European Union on financial
mechanisms to penalize Greece, should the Greek population vote to reject EU
austerity demands.
An article published Wednesday in the right-wing Greek daily Kathimerini,
“Euro Exit Scenario Gives Greece 46 Hours to Manage Process,” lays out a
“synthesis of euro-exit scenarios from 21 economists, analysts and academics.”
The newspaper writes that the introduction of a new Greek currency would need
to be meticulously planned and carried out within a 46-hour window, over a
weekend, in consideration of global stock market trading schedules.
There would be immediate moves to repress social opposition. The article
states: “Over the two days, leaders would have to calm civil unrest while
managing a potential sovereign default, planning a new currency,
recapitalizing the banks, stemming the outflow of capital and seeking a way to
pay bills once the bailout lifeline is cut.”
Citing two senior researchers, the article notes that “the country may deploy
its military as soon as early morning Saturday and close its borders,
preparing to stamp euros as drachma as an interim solution once a public
announcement has been made.”
Greece’s outgoing finance minister, Filippos Sachinidis, said of an exit from
the euro, “All our achievements will be wiped out and it will happen in such a
violent way, I don’t know if we will be able to continue functioning as a
modern democracy.”
In these comments there is an undoubted element of political blackmail. The
ruling elite declares that the workers must accept every cut demanded by
finance capital and the Greek state or face an apocalypse. Should the workers
refuse, they warn, the banks will cut off credit to Greece, forcing it to
print its own money. Overnight, the markets will financially ruin the country
by speculating against the new currency. At this point, the army will be
deployed to halt bank runs by depositors and crush social opposition.
The political establishment hopes by publicizing such arguments to secure a
vote for Greece’s traditional ruling parties, the right-wing New Democracy
(ND) and the social democratic PASOK, which support the EU austerity measures
and so-called “bailouts.” In the May 6 elections, these two parties together
won only 32 percent of the vote.
More fundamentally, however, the “contingencies” being discussed and planned,
both openly and secretly, reflect the acute intensification of class
antagonisms in Greece and internationally.
What has been imposed in Greece, under the diktat of the “troika”—the European
Union, European Central Bank (ECB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF)—is
barbarity on a scale unseen since the Nazi occupation. An official at Greece’s
official statistics bureau said last week: “By the close of 2012, we estimate
the economy will have shrunk by a total of 27 percent since the start of the
recession five years ago... That’s almost a third. It’s completely
unprecedented for an advanced Western economy.”
Whether finance capital tries to continue its failed euro bailout or decides
to speculate against a national Greek currency, the enforcement through the
existing parliamentary mechanisms of such brutal and unpopular social attacks
will grow increasingly difficult. Hence the growing threat of a recourse to
some form of military-police rule. The Greek people have already had a bitter
experience with such methods in the form of the 1967-1974 military junta.
Since the eruption of the financial crisis in 2008, the Greek ruling class has
repeatedly relied on the army to suppress working class opposition. The army
was mobilized to smash the 2010 truckers’ strike and was poised to intervene
against the 2011 refuse workers’ strike.
On February 4, 2011, the Athens News Agency reported that the army’s 71st
Airborne Brigade had staged an exercise involving a mock confrontation with
anti-austerity protesters. In September that year, thousands of retired army
officers protested and hundreds stormed the defence ministry, calling for the
overthrow of the PASOK government. The Association of Support and Cooperation
of the State Armed Forces warned then-Prime Minister George Papandreou that
the army was following his policies “with increased concern.”
Then-Defence Minister Panos Beglitis declared, “Such bullying and
anti-democratic behaviour that goes against the democratic government of the
country is an insult that will be immediately repressed.” On November 1,
shortly before Papandreou resigned, Beglitis sacked the entire general staff
of the armed forces, leading to suspicion that a coup had been narrowly
averted.
Ten days ago, with no party able to form a government following the May 6
general election, Prime Minister Lucas Papademos, having himself been
installed without an election, handed over power to a caretaker government
under senior judge Panayiotis Pikrammenos. The character of this interim
government is instructive.
Frangos Frangoulis, a retired general and ex-chief of staff of the armed
forces, was appointed defence minister. Frangoulis, a former Marine commander,
was removed from his position as armed forces chief of staff in Beglitis’s
surprise reshuffle in November 2011.
Named as minister of citizen protection was Eleftherios Economou, a former
chief of police with a long history in the state intelligence services. In
addition to running the Hellenic Police, he will oversee the Secretariat for
Civil Defence, the National Intelligence Service, the Hellenic Fire Service,
the Hellenic Coast Guard and the Greek Agrarian Police.
One of the last acts of the Papandreou government in October 2011 was to
appoint Economou to the post of general secretary for public order. He was
made deputy minister for citizen protection by the Papademos regime and has
now been promoted to his current role.
There are also numerous reports of close connections between the police and
the fascist Golden Dawn, which garnered 7 percent of the vote in the May 6
election. The Guardian on May 3 wrote of Golden Dawn members being allowed to
“terrorise, insult and attack their perceived enemies, often with members of
the police looking the other way or, even worse, collaborating with them...”
An analysis of Golden Dawn’s vote by To Vima calculated that more than half of
all police officers in Greece voted for the fascists.
A warning must be made in particular concerning an attack Thursday morning by
some 30 police officers who attempted to break into the headquarters of the
Socialist Workers Party (SEK) in Athens. They were reportedly joined by a
“group of fascists... in shouting racist obscenities and attempting to kick
down the front door.” The raid was called off only after the arrival of a
senior police officer.
The greatest threat posed to workers in Greece is their lack of political
preparation for the grave situation they face. SYRIZA (the Coalition of the
Radical Left) has thus far been the main beneficiary of anti-austerity
sentiment among workers. But it is a bourgeois, not working class, party,
despite its left rhetoric and criticisms of the terms of the EU bailout
packages. Adamantly opposed to a revolutionary struggle against capitalism and
the Greek state, it works to sow illusions and politically disarm the working
class, promoting the myth that voting for its candidates in the June 17
general election will help persuade Europe’s politicians and bankers to give
way.
Meanwhile, the ruling class in Greece and Europe is left to plan its own
response to the growing anger and resistance of the working class and a vote
against the austerity measures—the economic devastation of Greece and mass
repression.
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/may2012/gree-m26.shtml
--
Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
Blog: http://khanya.wordpress.com
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk
Steve Hayes
May 28, 2012, 3:58:44 AM5/28/12
to
On Sat, 26 May 2012 21:20:16 +0200, Steve Hayes <haye...@telkomsa.net> wrote:
>Greek ruling elite prepares for showdown with working class
28/5/2012 11:49
>Greek ruling elite prepares for showdown with working class
Greek Media Goes On Strike
Topic: Financial crisis in Greece
10:26 28/05/2012
ATHENS, May 28 (RIA Novosti)
As a financial meltdown continues to grip the country, the media of Greece has
gone on a 24-hour strike on Monday morning, according to the coordinating
committee of unions in the Greek media.
Television channels and radio suspended news broadcasting at 6 a.m. local
time, and news websites are not being updated. The Athens News Agency has also
stopped work, and there will be no newspapers released on Tuesday.
Journalists are seeking collective contracts from their employers, which are
considered to provide better outcomes than individual contracts.
The current financial crisis in Greece and its shaky position in the euro zone
has hammered the Greek media and advertising markets, among other sectors,
forcing out the leading TV channels, radio stations and newspapers. The
remaining media outlets are struggling to keep afloat, with revenues slumping.
http://en.rian.ru/world/20120528/173710908.html
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