New Greek Party Calls for Return to Drachma and Bank Separation

Launched on May 8, the new party, Greek Democratic 5 Star Movement or Drachma 5, calls on Greece to dump the euro, return to its former currency, the drachma, and implement banking reform based on the separation of commercial and investment banking as modeled on the Glass-Steagall Act.

Contributed to HellasFrappe
By E.I.R. Strategic Alert
www.eir.de

The key initiator of the movement is Theodoros Katsanevas, a Professor of Labor Economics who was among the featured speakers of the Schiller Institute’s international conference, “The Last Chance for Humanity” held last April 13-14 in Germany. Prof. Katsanevas also signed the Resolution: “Either Glass-Steagall, or Chaos and Genocide” issued at the end of that conference (cf. SAS 17/13). He is not new to politics, having been a founding member of the Pan Hellenic Socialist Party for which he served several terms in parliament, as well as serving in government.

While similar to the name of the Italian “Five Star Movement” of populist Beppe Grillo, the five stars in the Greek party stand for the basic positions of the party:

• 1) overthrow of the Memorandum of the IMF, European Commission and ECB;
• 2) return to the drachma;
• 3) facilitating robust growth;
• 4) restoring national dignity
• 5) ensuring social justice.

Its 25 member organizing committee includes no comedians, but they do represent a cross-section of the Greek population with teachers, businessmen, engineers, economists, university professors, etc. Their program clearly recognizes that the “Memorandum and the euro are an absolutely indisputable unity”, therefore a withdrawal from the Eurozone is needed as well as implementation of “a comprehensive plan,” including cancelling 70% of the Greek debt.

After denouncing “casino-capitalism” and the “‘holy alliance’ of globalized economy of gambling that erodes the real economy of human labor”, the party manifesto calls for bank separation:

     “Control of the banking system, capital flows and speculative financial transactions, separation between commercial and investment banks...”

Under the principle of “patriotic socialism with a human face with social solidarity,” the manifesto promotes development of the industrial and agricultural potential of the Greek economy through investment in technological innovations and expansion and development of its infrastructure, and the creation of “international university training centers and research institutes to utilize Greek scientists who excel internationally,” and are now emigrating by the thousands.

The manifesto calls for establishing an alliance among Italy, Spain, Portugal, Cyprus and Greece to exit the euro and enter into a cooperative economic and political alliance.