"The European elections [in] May ... provide an opportunity to start a real dialogue with the people – especially those who feel that no one cares for them – about a new basis for meaningful democracy and human dignity ... We must rebuild solidarity among the young, the workers, the pensioners and the unemployed to break down the new dividing line between Europe's rich and poor." ~ Alex Tsipras (The Guardian)
It is ironic that Greece, the original birth place of Democracy, is now the place where Democracy is working the least effectively.
After six years of austerity and policies that are bleeding the country white, the Greek People are demanding radical reform.
GREECE: A COUNTRY RAVAGED BY THE PLUTOCRATS
There is no way to sugar coat it, Greece has become the cannon fodder of a malicious system of neo-liberal economics.
Greece's citizens are getting killed by policies that are forcing them to pay for the mistakes made by the very rich.
Austerity measures in Greece have left nearly a million people without healthcare, soaring rates of infant mortality, rising rates of HIV infection, rising numbers of the homeless and suicides (The Independent).
The notion of "austerity" itself is a lie. The plutocrats tell the citizens of Greece that they need to "tighten their belts" and "cut back" in order to get the country out of debt. Yet this is not only a dubious lie - but it is a policy that is getting people killed and could possibly lead to a total economic and political train-wreck. After the country's sixth year of debt crisis, it is clearly a policy that is not working.
As the country on the front line of Europe's debt crisis, Greece has been forced to adopt excruciating reforms and spending cuts in return for rescue packages sponsored by the EU and International Monetary Fund. The Greek economy was delivered a brutal shock therapy that resulted in wages being brought back to the 1970's, workers' rights have been demolished and the Greek unemployment rate is the highest in the European Union at 27%. Amidst this economic crisis, Greece has become a hotbed of social anger and chaos, this kind of social upheaval hasn't been seen in Greece since the end of the Second World War.
There has also been a sharp rise in the Neo Nazi party, the Radical Right and crimes committed against foreigners.
ANGER IN GREECE
ALEX TSIPRAS, A LEADER OF THE RADICAL LEFT
DEMANDS REAL REFORM AND AN END TO AUSTERITY
Alex Tsipras, the leader of the Radical Left party, Syriza, in Greece is speaking out against policies that are plundering Greece. "We have become the guinea pig for barbaric, violent neoliberal policies," Alex said at a forum at Columbia University Law School in 2013 (Aljazeera, 2-2-13). He states that Greece's fiscal problems could be solved if the rich paid their taxes. The IMF's numbers concur with this statement: "annual uncollected net tax revenue [is] at 86 percent of collections in Greece, against an OECD average of 12 percent (IMF Numbers, PDF)."
The polls show that many Europeans agree with Alex Tsipras. Greece's Coalition of the Radical Left (Syriza) has recently surged in the polls, receiving 27% of the political vote in the European election (The Guardian, 5-25-14). This is a huge spike in popularity compared to 2009 when they only won 5% of the popular vote. Alex Tsipras, the leader of Syriza says the outcome of the vote proves that there is no moral legitimacy' to these austerity policies (The Guardian, 5-25-14). This was a historic victory for the Radical Left. For more information, read about the Syriza victory in the May European elections.
THE POLICIES OF SYRIZA: A COALITION OF THE RADICAL LEFT
Syriza is highly democratic coalition of euro-communist, ecologist and socialist parties unified into a single organization. The political party Syriza has a platform that focuses on auditing the public debt, raising income taxes, increasing taxes on big companies, raising minimum wage, offering health benefits to the unemployed, the nationalization of banks and a preference for renewable energy policies that protect the environment. Syriza will ask for a substantial haircut of the public debt to attempt to bring it to a somewhat reasonable level. Debt levels are currently at 175% of the GDP.
IS GREECE A PORTENT OF EUROPE'S POLITICAL FUTURE?
Austerity and bailouts have been a failure in Europe. That is the bottom line. The plutocratic, neo-liberal economic management of the crisis in Europe from 2008-2014 has resulted in record levels of unemployment and public debt. Many European people are ready for a radical political alternative. Does the Radical Left in Greece pose a portent of the political future for the rest of Europe? Is Alex Tsipras a fresh new face on the political horizon?
Europeans need a radical political ideology that they can unite under in this time of crisis. Is a united, populist revolution against the plutocracy on the way?
RELEVANT LINKS
ABOUT ALEX TSIPRAS
Alex Tsipras (Wikipedia)
ABOUT SYRIZA AND THE EUROPEAN RADICAL LEFT
Syriza Home Page (In Greek Language)
European Left Manifesto for the 2014 European Elections (PDF)
Syriza can be the future for Greece, and for Europe too (The Guardian, 6-3-14)
Leftwing Syriza party triumphs in European elections in Greece (The Guardian, 5-25-14)
Alexis Tsipras, leader of Greece's opposition Syriza party: Q&A With The Guardian (The Guardian, 5-6-14)
European authorities still punishing Greece - can they be stopped? (Aljazeera, 2-2-13)
MORE LEFT WING PARTIES IN EUROPE
Gregor Gysi (Wikipedia)
Die Linke (Left Wing Germany Party)
CRISIS IN GREECE
Tough austerity measures in Greece leave nearly a million people with no access to healthcare, leading to soaring infant mortality, HIV infection and suicide (The Independent, 2-21-14)