A “Left government” is a “leaking lifeboat” for the people who are suffering

The head of Syriza, A. Tsipras, who received on the 8th of May the exploratory mandate from the President of the Republic to form a government and began contacts with the heads of the parties, is resorting to tactical shenanigans and headline grabbing stunts.

The head of Syriza contacted the GS of the CC of the KKE, Aleka Papariga, by telephone and asked for a meeting in the framework of his contacts with the party leaders regarding the formation of a government. Aleka Papariga answered that there is no subject for discussion for such a meeting.

In his statement, A. Tsipras repeated the proposal for a “left government” with the aim of “redistributing the tax burdens, dealing with the fiscal problems in terms of social justice, the productive reconstruction of the country and the ecological planning of development”.

The minimum conditions SYN/Syriza have set for cooperation are:

“The need for the immediate cancellation of the implementation of the measures of the memorandum and especially those shameful laws which cut wages and pensions even further.”

The cancellation of laws which abolish basic labour rights and in particular the law which determines that after the 15th of May the extension of existing collective bargaining agreements will be abolished and that collective agreements themselves will cease.

The promotion of immediate changes to the political system for the deepening of democracy and social justice, first of all by changing the electoral law, by introducing full proportional representation, as well as the abolition of the law regarding the responsibilities of ministers.

The public control of the banking system, which today, despite having received nearly 200 billion euros in liquidity and guarantees from state funds, remains in the hands of the executives who bankrupted it. We demand that Black Rock’s report be published immediately. The banks must be transformed into instruments for the development of the economy and the reinforcement of small and medium-sized businesses.

The creation of an Auditing Commission to explore the odious section of the state debt, a moratorium on its repayment and the quest for a just and viable European solution.”

In its statement, the Press Office of the CC of the KKE notes the following regarding the statements of Alexis Tsipras:

In his statement today A. Tsipras used the mandate which he received to assist his next election campaign, making partial proposals which have the character of a pre-election campaign statement aimed at the most desperate people in order to mislead them and steal votes.

Despite the basic fact that a government must deal with more than 4 or 5 issues- it must deal with all the issues- A Tsipras bypassed this reality as if it did not exist. The KKE highlights the following:

The memorandum and the loan agreement are not going to be abolished by the proposals of A. Tsipra. Despite this fact, he presented certain proposals, as pro-people way out, which conceal the generalised anti-people offensive of the monopolies and their parties, the commitments which all the EU member-states have undertaken, such as the “Europe 2020 Strategy”, policies which are incorporated in the memorandum and the loan agreement.

The proposals of A. Tsipras clearly state that the workers will be called on to pay again for a large section of the debt for which they are not responsible, while the people needs the cancellation of the debt. At the same time these proposals leave the way open for privatizations and for the implementation of new anti-worker measures by the capitalists (salaries of 400 euros, flexible labour relations etc.). They leave the reactionary changes in education, healthcare and welfare untouched.

The declarations regarding the public control of the banks for the benefit of the small and medium-sized businesses are a conscious effort at deception, as they condemn them to taking out new loans in the conditions of their suffocating encirclement by the monopolies.

The proclamations of A. Tsipras regarding “productive reconstruction with sensitivity to ecological matters” are related to the same development path which has already led to the deep crisis and the bankruptcy of the people, while it ignores the Common Agricultural Policy and its consequences for the poor farmers.

The silence regarding the permanent treaty obligations undertaken by the Greek governments within the framework of NATO and the imperialist plans to intervene in the Eastern Mediterranean, is extremely characteristic of the submission of SYN/Syriza to the ruling class and its international allies. Such a government will complicate and sharpen the people’s problems.

The people must divorce themselves from all those who call on them to continue along the nightmarish “EU one-way-street”, whether they have a pro or anti-memorandum façade.

The battle will be determined first of all within Greece and not only within the EU. In addition, the notorious “ European wind of change” which Hollande is allegedly bringing, is not related to the peoples but the struggle of the monopolies of every country for domination.

9/5/2012