by Wilhelm Langthaler
Tsipras’s wavering on clear break threatening secure victory
The world is looking to Greece. Tsipras’s decision to call for a referendum was a courageous but risky forward defence. A strong NO will mean a significant political defeat for the European capitalist elites and first of all for the German leadership. It will open up the gates for popular struggles against the neo-liberalist Euro regime across Europe and especially the German monetarist dictatorship institutionalised by the EU.
But the shortcomings of Syriza’s leadership are obvious and endangering this possible popular victory. They have had nearly half a year to dissolve the widespread paradigm within the popular masses of being able to ending austerity while maintaining the Euro. All Greek attempts to pressurize Berlin into a “compromise with dignity” along the last months clearly taught that this is completely impossible. Instead of helping the people to understand the need of a rupture dissolving the impossible electoral mandate of January, instead of openly and convincingly preparing a plan B, Syriza keeps sticking to the contra factual idea that they can soften austerity within the Euro regime. They presented the referendum as nothing more than the last bargaining chip to threaten the troika into the impossible compromise so far not achieved.
The entire last week of mobilisation to the referendum they have been sending ambiguous signals in an apparent attempt to appease the middle classes who live through a terrorising campaign by the media apparatus aligned to the oligarchy. They sent another letter to Brussels repeating a compromise close to surrender – which again and again was humiliatingly rebuked by the creditors. Syriza played with withdrawing the referendum. All in all they did not appear determined adding to the bewildering of the middle classes. Instead of winning them they pushed them into the arms of the old elites. A vast majority for a NO turned into a very tight match.
There is, however, a possibility of a compromise – but only after defaulting and initialising the break! By contrast within the Euro regime Greece will have to carry the German yoke of austerity in the name of monetarism for decades.
The global capitalist oligarchy fears the default and also the consolidation of a popular government in the European periphery which could well serve as a spark to the subaltern masses of the ailing European south. The US and also the IMF has been pressurising Germany not to exaggerate their fervour which might at the end to starve the Greek people out of the western orbit.
While they will all be united in bringing down a radical democratic and social government, they will have differences as to how the shock waves emanating from a Greek rupture can be cushioned.
A strong popular mobilisation in concomitance with a broad political front fighting for the democratic and social interests of the lower and middle classes can indeed extract some gains from the global rulers. And it can push the people of Southern Europe to rebel possibly changing the relationship of forces in favour of the popular masses for the first time since decades.
All out for a resounding Greek NO!
Break with the Euro regime!
For a plan B outside the Euro (and eventually the EU) led by a popular government!