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Will SYRIZA hold the line? Europe's bureaucrats and bankers think they can crush the SYRIZA-led government in Greece, but the party's left is resisting. Lee Sustar looks at the dynamics of the battle. Socialist Worker, U.S., June 2 <http://socialistworker.org/2015/06/02/will-syriza-hold-the-line> THE EUROPEAN ruling class's latest push for more devastating austerity in Greece could force the left-wing SYRIZA government to choose between capitulation and confrontation--and the party's left wing is calling for drawing the line, even if that means a rupture with the European Union (EU) and leaving the euro common currency. . . . FOR SYRIZA's left wing, a break with the eurozone and the risk of a split in the party are both preferable to the conversion of SYRIZA into another pro-austerity party that capitulates to the demands of Europe's rulers, betraying the hopes of its voters and dooming Greece to even more years of suffering. The roots of SYRIZA lie both in Greece's far-left traditions over the last century and in the working class and social movements that emerged in Greece over the last decade. . . . ...the rulers of Europe have demanded that SYRIZA carry through privatizations of government assets that it had promised to halt. The government is also expected to cut pensions, weaken labor laws and impose a stiff sales tax--moves that would further drive down living standards. What comes next is unpredictable. Under the IMF's rules, a missed repayment doesn't automatically lead to a default as long as it is paid in the future. It's also possible that a default wouldn't necessarily lead to "Grexit"--an immediate exit of Greece from the euro currency. But with the ECB limiting credit to Greek banks and deposits in those banks--already 40 percent below 2010 levels--continuing to decline, it's entirely possible that the banking operations could seize up, forcing a sudden and accidental exit from the euro--a "Graccident." . . . Driving all this is Germany, which, behind the façade of European federalism, has imposed an imperialist hierarchy that allows it to not only dominate small countries like Greece, but push around bigger ones like France, Italy and Spain. Greece's agony serves Germany's economic and political goals splendidly. Because the euro trades on the market for much less than what the old German deutschmark would, the common currency gives Germany a tremendous advantage as an exporter, both within and beyond the eurozone and the EU. In 2014, Germany ran a current accounts surplus--the net value of all goods and services traded and financial flows--of $244 billion. That's a big jump from $206.75 billion the previous year, despite the depressed European economy. The 2014 total amount is the equivalent to 7.4 percent of German GDP--and much bigger than China's $193 billion surplus. Thus, for Germany and its closest allies, the eurozone setup is highly beneficial. In their view, if the mass of the population in Greece has to endure endless misery in order to discipline the rest of Europe, than so be it. Such policies are nothing new in developing countries in Africa, Latin America or Asia, where IMF-sponsored "structural adjustment" programs have periodically imposed austerity in order to facilitate debt repayment and free-market "reforms." What's different today is that these programs have come to Europe itself. What's also different, of course, is that SYRIZA was elected by one of the most combative and radicalized working classes of Europe, with an experience of huge struggles against just such policies. Now comes a critical moment in that living history. The stand by SYRIZA's left wing against further concessions to the austerity agenda urgently needs our support and solidarity. _________________________________________________________ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
