Over the last few months, or since his trip to the US last year, Tsipras' team has been working on his image. Following the election last Sunday, and with a burnishing statesmanlike image, Tsipras is strutting around the country promising Greek entrepreneurs of tax breaks and reforms that he believes can actually bolster healthy enterprise.
For instance, of all the political courtships and engagements none is probably more startling and more significant than Wednesday's efforts at rapprochement between SYRIZA and Greek industrialists. (Or some of our most corrupt oligarchs).
He promised them lower energy costs, more favourable business conditions and to streamline bureaucracy, but anyone with half a brain immediately understands that he is offering these oligarchs energy tax breaks. Also, everyone who reads HellasFrappe, or that follows the political developments in Greece, knows that SYRIZA is 100 percent in favor of an even larger public sector, so it is a wonder how he will help to reduce the red tape he promised them, since a larger public sector equals to more jobs, which equals to even more bureaucracy.
His party's spokesman Panos Skourletis dismissed the idea that energy tax breaks will be a handout to BIG business, and said that this was stated by Tsipras because it is a necessary condition for jump-starting the real economy.
"Labour costs have fallen greatly and energy is the main cost that makes Greek production expensive. It is a joke to speak of an outward looking economy, and businesses with a focus on exports that can compete in the EU framework, with such high energy costs," Skourletis said.Lobbying for the monopolization of Greece's electrical company, he said that state intervention in energy prices cannot be implemented if the Greek Power Corporation (DEH) is in private hands.
"I say no. But it can be done with a DEH under public control, which can implement social policies for the weaker segments of the population, but also can implement a more favourable pricing policy toward businesses that truly produce.".(Huh? Who will determine which enterprises are productive and which ones are not? Will those that support SYRIZA be signaled out as being more productive -as they were during PASOK's reign-? What force will issue favorable social policies for the weak? Is it the same forces that literally divided our nation over the past 30 years by offering benefits exclusively its own voters? C'mon folks... the answers to both questions are more than obvious! Tsipras only did what politicians have been doing for years... selling benefits for votes.)
Skourletis may have ruled out any cooperation with today's PASOK or its former leader George Papandreou on Thursday, but Tsipras did not.
Speaking on the private radio station “Vima”, he noted that it was clear that there was no room for cooperation with Papandreou and today's PASOK on the basis of either policies or principles. He said that he realised that “in an effort to make a political comeback, Papandreou is trying to cause a sensation but this has nothing to do with SYRIZA,” noting that his party “cannot be an interlocutor with today's PASOK and social democracy”.
He added that “a new strategic basis will be created if they redefine themselves through their own procedures; if they redefine themselves as regards neo-liberalism, austerity policies and how they understand market conditions and the social state.”
Skourletis said that the memorandum issue was very important, noting that “in case they insist that the memorandum must stay - this tight leash on the economy and society - there aren't many options available; there are enabling laws and the medium-term fiscal strategy, which were passed in parliament just two weeks ago.”
Still not convinced?
Well while speaking to Bloomberg earlier this week Tsipras said that his party is pro-European and that it wants “to change Europe, not destroy it”. He said that SYRIZA is ready to cooperate with the Podemos movement, which secured 5 seats in the new European parliament.
And (as predicted) SYRIZA is also considering working with the Socialists, which is the second largest group in Europe. Softening the blow of this confession, which we here at HellasFrappe have been wrning you all about from DAY ONE, Tsipras said that if the Socialists are prepared to challenge Angela Merkel’s austerity policies then his party will take this last consideration more seriously.
Turning to domestic affairs, Tsipras stressed that his not bound by any agreements that were made under the Antonis Samaras government in 2014, especially towards Greece's creditors, unless it includes a demand for erasing part of the country’s 240 billion Euro debt.
“We want a final solution that will give the economy room to grow, so that it is in the position to pay off part of the debt”.He noted that the current government has no mandate to make deals that are going to bind Greece for decades “without taking into consideration the results of last Sunday’s elections and without consulting the biggest party in Greece”, while he added that political stability can only be achieved with general elections.
The leader of SYRIZA then warned the government to also consult his party in the appointment of a new Governor of the Bank of Greece, otherwise the coalition government’s refusal “may set a precedent against the public interest, in which case I would like to remind what happened in Cyprus”.
Following Tsipras' speech, Samaras said that the SYRIZA party, and especially its leader, have acquired "arrogance of power" well before even coming into power, and he then accused the far-Leftist party (whose members have stocks at JP Morgan) of seriously trying to provoke ungovernability.
He said that SYRIZA is trying to make it impossible for the government to do its work, and then accused SYRIZA of behaving arrogantly.
"The main opposition failed to overturn the government or to trigger early elections. Now it is trying to provoke ungovernability. It says 'don't think of governing without asking us'. It has acquired the arrogance of power before coming into power. The electorate's statement of confidence, however, was given in the elections of 2012," he stressed.Turning to the economy, the prime minister underlined that Greece was finally starting to recover after six years of recession.
"International organisations predict growth rates of 2.9% this year, 3.7% next year and a 10% reduction of unemployment by 2018 ... The economic climate index reached 99.1 in May. This is the highest level since August 2008 when the crisis began," he pointed out.The prime minister stressed that if Greece continued to do the right things and stayed on the right path, things will get better and that this positive outlook confirmed by the strictest judges of all, the international markets.
"They received us earlier than was expected," Samaras said, underlining that confidence in Greece was restored and was back to stay.The public discourse was shifting from what had been done until now to what must be done from here on, he added.
"Greece is looking toward a hopeful future. We are no longer talking about whether or not we will default and whether or not we will stay in the euro. That discussion is over. Now we are talking about growth and competitiveness and exports, with healthy enterprise and above all, with stability that some can still undermine. In short, the culture in Greece is changing," Samaras said.Outlining his priorities, the prime minister emphasised the need to revise the constitution in order to boost governability, stability and seriousness in politics. He also presented his goals for the country, saying these hinged on fighting bureaucracy, reforming the justice system, and reducing taxes, which he said was his "dream for Greece".
He said the government will announce a roadmap for reducing the tax burden in the autumn, while noting that lower taxes and lower energy costs were essential for improving competitiveness.
The prime minister also pledged a more "compassionate" tax collection mechanism that dealt less harshly with those unable to pay, promising to "correct injustices that were made", as well as promising full access to hospital care for the uninsured from June 1.
"We have a plan that works," Samaras stressed, pointing out that productive investments were now unblocking and some 37.6 billion Euros in foreign capital were coming to Greece, while stressing that Greek businessmen must take the lead since the right conditions now existed.
Papandreou’s policy, while in all reality they work hard at legitimizing his policies in practice.
A definite division of labor emerges: Papandreou’s social democratic PASOK party negotiates cuts with the European Union (EU) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and provides the votes for them in parliament. For its part, SYRIZA disorients and demoralizes working class opposition.
Disagree? Well... it would be wise to know that one of SYRIZA’s leading factions, the Renewal Wing, advocates forming an open political coalition with PASOK.
Also, you should know that one of the biggest things SYRIZA shares with the DIMAR and PASOK is its commitment to the EU social model: These parties are left GLOBALISTS, or internationalists. Hence they could make any attempt to force Greece out of the Euro look, to the Greek population, like a Brussels/Berlin initiative no matter how it looks to the rest of the world.
Still not convinced that SYRIZA is putting on the show of the century? Then check out the facts for yourselves... But to help you out we have decided to post the following article from the BBC that was released on May 14th, 2012.
BBC article: Greece: Trying to understand SYRIZA
- Syriza is an acronym signifying "Coalition of the Radical Left". It's key component is a party called Synaspismos, itself an umbrella group of the far left in Greece.
- Alexis Tsipras originated from the youth wing of the Communist Party, the KKE.
- Greek communism, like most of Western communism after the 1970s, was split into two hostile parties: the KKE of the "interior" and that of the "exterior" - the latter denoting a Moscow-oriented party - the former denoting a Euro-communist, more parliamentary and socially liberal agenda. (In other words... Russia vs the West)
- Initially Synaspismos was the electoral alliance between the two KKEs. But in the early 1990s the main Moscow-oriented KKE quit the alliance, purging about 45% of its members, who then stayed inside Synaspismos with the Eurocommunists. These included Tsipras.
- Synaspismos then evolved in an interesting direction. Reacting to the rise of the anti-globalisation movement, first of all the party itself became a highly diverse left umbrella group: of Eurocommunists, left-social Democrats, far leftists, and ecologists. It played a significant role in mobilisations against summits, beginning in Genoa 2001 and beyond. Meanwhile the main KKE remained a traditional Communist party, rooted in public sector and manual trade unions.
- Then, in the 2004 election, Synaspismos came together with other small parties to form Syriza. These included a split-off from the British SWP, a split off from the main Communist Party and another group of eco-leftists.
- Under Tsipras' leadership, and invigorated by now including the entire left, except the traditionalist KKE, Syriza grew the far left's vote from 3.3% to 5.6% in the 2007 election - giving it 14 MPs.
- The crisis which broke out in December 2008, after the police shooting of a 15-year-old schoolboy, led to two weeks of rioting by the youth and poor of Athens, and further strengthened Syriza as a left pole of attraction. Though the parties inside Syriza remained in the low thousands of members, many young people began to identify with them - above all in a country where Marxism has massive prestige due to its role in both the anti-fascist resistance and in the 1946-49 Civil War. In addition, those migrants with the right to vote, hearing a rising chorus of anti-migrant rhetoric from the center as well as the right, have flocked to vote Syriza.
- Once George Papandreou's PASOK party committed itself to supporting EU-designed austerity programs, after January 2010, a huge political gap opened up on the left of Greek politics - which arguably forms a natural majority. Only the KKE and Syriza were opposed to austerity and of the two, Syriza had a political leadership of youth, resilience and global vision.
- (It is worth noting here the character of PASOK. It emerged in the inter-war years as a split from republican liberalism, and while it became a traditional social democratic party after the fall of the Colonels regime in 1974, its forms of organisation, and mass base among civil servants and small business people, lead some to compare it to Argentine "Peronism" - that is left nationalism with a working class base. This affects the political dynamics the moment the Pasok leadership loses its claim to represent "the nation" in conflict with the EU.)
- As events pulled Syriza leftward and swelled its support, one final split took place that may prove highly significant. Veteran leaders of the old KKE-interior - that is, the Eurocommunists - split from Synaspismos and formed the Democratic Left, led by Fotis Kouvelis - in March 2010. They formed a separate parliamentary group of four until the recent election massively swelled their numbers to 19. At the first congress of the Democratic Left, in March 2011, in an extraordinary move, the then serving Pasok prime minister, George Papandreou, attended. He sat in the front row of the audience and applauded.
- Now, how to make sense of this, and why does it matter? The mainstream PASOK party split before the May 2012 election. Six sitting MPs joined DIMAR, while others tried to form an anti-austerity left social democratic party, led by charismatic female MP Louka Katseli. The latter disappeared without trace, but the PASOK left and its voters now co-existed with the former Eurocommunists in a fairly moderate, anti-austerity but essentially left social democratic, pro-Euro party - DIMAR - which then held 19 seats.
- Syriza massively scooped up the votes of leftist, progressive, socially liberal young people, as well as the trade union voters, not specifically aligned with the Communist Party, to gain 52 seats.
If we look at the demographics of the left, there are the following:
- Anarchist-minded youth, living alternative lifestyles among the poor, who will only vote for Syriza or not at all. (Anecdotally, even some members of the "black bloc" were reported to have joined Syriza, after accepting the futility of constant rioting/counterculture.)
- Middle-class and professional workers, including many public servants who've been hit by tax rises, wage cuts, arbitrary deductions, loss of entitlements and job losses
- Private sector trade unionists ranging from centre-left social democrats through to communists and Trotskyists
Migrants and the urban poor
- Small businesspeople who were formerly the base of PASOK but who have been radicalised by the tax rises, tax clampdowns and repeated heavy policing of demonstrations, and who are the most likely to be ruined by any long-term structural reform in Greece. (So by creating larger number of new urban poor, SYRIZA remains in power!)
Frappers, Tsipras is basically in the same position Antonis Samaras was as opposition leader before 2012 when he was denouncing the bailout memorandums and promising a sea change in economic policy. He may be offering a detailed diagnosis of the sweeping economic destruction caused by austerity, and a series of measures to correct it, but as the above information proves... it is just an Oscar performing act. Besides, Greece's creditors will ever allow him to implement any of that.
Signed
HellasFrappe Team
References:
http://www.parapolitika.gr/parapolitikablog/%CF%80%CE%
http://www.inewsgr.com/164/anoichto-to-endechomeno-synergasias-pasok--syriza-afinei-o-papandreou.htm.ertopen.com/news/ellada/politikh/item/21266-g-papandreoy-nai-se-kybernhtikh-synergasia-me-ton-syriza
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-18056677
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