Communist banner draped from the Acropolis

Today the Greek working class is on general strike against their government’s capitulation to the demands of the EU and IMF.

Ordinary people in Greece face massive unemployment, huge job losses, pension cuts, savage cuts in public spending, and rises in taxes on consumer spending. The Greek working class is fighting for survival in the face of the collapse of their income just as the cost of living rockets.

In the plans of the imperialist EU and the International Mugging Fund, Greek workers will bear the full cost of a crisis created by foreign and Greek banks. But those same workers have something to say about that, and are walking out of work across the country.

My intention today is to update the article throughout the day as more info comes in on the situation in Greece. In the meantime, here’s what we know since Leftfield last blogged about Greece.

On Monday, Greek teachers invaded the offices of the state TV channel, after they heard that they would be carrying an interview with the Education Minister after the news. They wanted to be part of the interview, and to put their own questions to the minister. During the news noise was heard in the background, and then programmes were disrupted for several hours. Riot cops were summoned to try and evict the teachers, who refused to leave. The cops beat them in the corridors, but they refused to budge. In the end, the channel was forced to allow the teachers a couple of minutes on air, which they used to make this statement:

“We are members of the Teachers’ with Limited Working Rights Coordination and the Pan-Hellenic Union of Unemployed Teachers. We decided to come hear today, in the studios of the government’s TV-station, for two reasons: The first one is that for six months now the Mass Media keep silent about the government’s economical measures. And the second one is that we want to break, in praxis the monologe of Education’s Ministry, the monologe of Mrs. Diamantopoulou who keeps silent about the multi-law agreement that wants to be voted and destroys the public and uncomercial education. We were “welcomed” inside and outside the studio by a team of MAT (Unions of Order Recovery) ready to beat us up. We condemn both the Education Ministry and the NET-channel Authorities for the certain event: You see that there is evidence of violence on us.

The government brings the “Stability Program” in reality by packing more than 30 students in each classroom and keeping out of schools some thousands of unemployed educators. The “New School” like the government wants to name it, in reality it is not new at all. It is really old and brings us back in time. It will be against the needs and the rights of the society in Greece. Against the workers, the parents, the students, the teachers. The government calls us to pay for the cost of Education. Calls you the parents, your children who study, us who teach. After the multi-law of Mrs. Diamantopoulou we get dismissed; she fires around 17.000 teachers who are paid by hour or are temporary employed! We thought that we were the minority, but as it seems we become the majority after they brought the IMF to us, which will result in increase of poverty and unemployment of thousands of workers. Everybody on the streets to block the economical measures, kick out IMF and all those who brought it here. Tomorow we demonstrate to block the economical measures that destroy the Education System. On Wednesday 5th of May everybody is striking, nobody works. We gather infront of the Archeological Museum at 11:00 to block the economical measures.

We take out to the streets, we rise up!”

A Greek pensioner protests the cuts to his income

Yesterday, many workers decided to start today’s general strike early. Schools, hospitals and airports were shut down as public sector workers staged impromptu walkouts. Flights in and out of Greece were grounded from midnight as air traffic controllers joined the strike. Thousands of teachers and students marched on the parliament to protest the austerity package and its impact on education. They marched past parliament, shouting “Let the rich pay for the crisis” in the direction of the MPs who were at that point debating the austerity plans.

Public sector unions have occupied the town halls in the Athens suburbs of Agios Dimitrios, Nea Ionia and Vyrona.

This morning, Greek Communists staged a dawn raid on the Acropolis, symbol of Greece and its ancient glory, draping the massive banner you can see at the top. Its message couldn’t be clearer: the Greek people are crying out for our solidarity.

Keep checking back -- updates as we get them.

Update: Check out this statement signed by anti-capitalist parties all over Europe, including the Scottish Socialist Party.

Update: As Liam reports in a comment below, participants in a mass demonstration have attempted to storm the Greek parliament in Athens to prevent MPs from being able to discuss and vote through the IMF/EU package. There’s footage on the BBC site here, but it’s hard to embed BBC stuff. As soon as there’s footage on youtube I’ll stick it up on here as well.

The BBC reporter says that more were expected to join the demonstration as the day wore on, so they may manage to break police lines and get through. The police are using stun grenades against the marchers.

Elsewhere in Athens, a bank was set on fire, and apparently 3 people have been killed. There’s also been reports of mass action and violence in the northern city of Thessaloniki.

There’s a livestream from the streets of Athens here.

Looks like they’ve taken that off now, will keep an eye on it in case they go back to Greece though.

Update: As promised, embedded footage of the attempt to storm the parliament. The bangs you can hear are stun grenades.

German soldiers raise the Nazi flag over the Acropolis. Today, the Greek government has again surrendered.

The Greek government has agreed to a programme of loans of billions of Euros from the EU and IMF. This money comes with an incredible list of demands, that will plunge the standard of living for the Greek people. Many people are drawing direct comparisons between the Greek government of 1941, which surrendered to the Nazi invasion and became German puppets, and the current government, which has surrendered and become a puppet of the international financial institutions and the EU bureaucrats.

Already, ordinary Greeks can see that if the EU and the IMF get their way, then their country will be ruined. There is a mass exodus of Greeks fleeing abroad in an attempt to escape from the economic catastrophe; applications to migrate to the USA and Canada have jumped by 30% since the beginning of the year.

Check out this list of humiliating conditions imposed on the surrender of the Greek government:

-15% reduction in salaries for both private and public sector workers.

-At the same time increasing VAT, making food and basic goods far more expensive.

-Increase the retirement age to 67.

-Decrease pensions.

-Hundreds of thousands of job cuts in the public sector.

-Where workers have won a collective agreement between unions and their bosses, these will be abolished.

-Abolition of any restrictions on bosses ability to cut jobs in the private sector.

-Massive cuts in public spending. Already announced include the expansion of school class sizes from 25 to over 30.

This is shocking. It’s like a neoliberal shopping list, as if the most right wing economists are getting the right to write their dream programme for remaking Greece as a capitalist’s paradise. Make no mistake: these are ideas that big business has fought for in Europe for years. The fact that many European countries have a welfare state is a major block on the ability of capitalists to make as much money as they like. The crisis in Greece is a great opportunity for them to push through policies they’ve wanted for a long time. What we’re facing, firstly in Greece, but later in the rest of Europe as well, is the possibility of an economic dictatorship by the super rich financial elite. They are trying to use the force of the state, with its riot cops and soldiers, to force the people’s acceptance of a total surrender to their interests.

Naomi Klein has called this process the Shock Doctrine: when the global ruling class uses crisis as an opportunity to push through policies they would never normally be able to impose on people, while they are still in shock from the disaster. See the short film below for a more detailed explanation of how the shock doctrine works, and other times it’s been imposed on people.

But the thing is, the people who are forcing through the destruction of Greece are the same ones who were responsible for creating the crisis in the first place. The huge debt of the Greek government comes from loans from French, German, British, Dutch and Swiss banks. The Greek people are being punished by the European ruling class . . . for the mistakes of the European ruling class.

In the face of this economic warfare, the Greeks only have one choice: to fight back.

Yesterday May Day rallies were attacked by riot cops as tens of thousands came on to the streets to demonstrate their resistance. As one shipyard worker put it:

“These latest measures have been cooked up by outsiders and are totally outrageous. They are aimed not at the rich but at the poor. What we are saying here today is that they will pass only over our dead bodies.”

Showing their rage at the capitulation of their government, protesters at one point spotted Apostolos Kaklamanis, an MP and member of the government, and jumped him. He had to be whisked away from the fury of ordinary Greeks by riot police.

The next big day in the streets is set to be Wednesday, when there will be the next Greek general strike.

Greeks vs Riot Cops

Many establishment political commentators recognise that the people are too angry, and too organised, for the government to be able to carry out this programme of attacks. They think it is possible that Greece will be unable to pay its debts to the bankers and capitalists, who will then bankrupt the country and force it to withdraw from the Euro, something that would be a crisis for the entire future of the single currency.

In the face of this, the ruling class are already talking about an “emergency government of national unity” or appointing an unelected administration of “experts”. In a country that suffered under a fascist military dictatorship from 1967-74, this kind of chat is obviously very scary.

But the other possibility that may seriously be on the cards is the overthrow of the government by the people. A revolution in Greece is far from a sure thing, but the scale of fury on the streets mean that this is an important point in Greek history. But to truly solve this crisis, and face down the massive attack of the ruling class and on the people in Greece, and across Europe and the world, we need to get in touch with our allies in other countries and prepare for an international fightback.

If they win their war with Greece, Spain, Portugal, and ultimately we, will be next. A crisis can also be an opportunity, for us as well as the capitalists. It’s time to join the fightback.

(Please take this as an open invitation to use the comments thread as a way of sharing ideas about how we can build solidarity with Greece, and more generally prepare for a continent wide fightback.)

"Yes, yes, yes, this is all well and good but where's your cash?"

Greece is known throughout the world as the birthplace of democracy, the cradle of western art, science, literature, drama and philosophy. It’s a beautiful country, with a healthy and delicious cuisine. What does capitalism think of Greece? “Junk”.

Yesterday Greece’s credit rating was downgraded to “junk” status, meaning that international markets think the government will be unable to pay its huge debts to banks and capitalists. Greece has been denounced across Europe, especially in Germany, which is the Europe’s largest economy, and where the right wing press has campaigned against any bailout for the Greeks. The German equivalent of The Sun, Bild, ran with the headline ‘You Greeks are getting nothing from us.’ And German Chancellor Angela Merkel, while campaigning for her party in regional elections, took the opportunity to lecture Greece on saving money and monetary responsibility, sounding just like someone who you need to borrow money off to keep afloat, but who just can’t help being a dick about it.

But throughout the day there’s been an absolute panic in international financial institutions like the IMF or the European Central Bank, and their top people have put the screws on the German government to cough up to try and keep the crisis in Greece under control. They fear that if the capitalists don’t get their cash from Greece then they’ll start to panic about other countries with big debts as well. The head of the OECD called what was happening in Greece a “contagion”, going as far as to compare it to the ebola virus (!):

“It’s not a question of the danger of contagion; contagion has already happened. This is like Ebola. When you realise you have it you have to cut your leg off in order to survive. The crisis is threatening the stability of the financial system.”

The result of all this lobbying is that the EU is going to lend Greece some money to cover its debts, but the action wasn’t fast enough to prevent the credit rating of Spain being downgraded as well, leading to yet more panic among capitalists that they weren’t going to get paid. The Portuguese government has also announced it’s going to bring forward its plan to cut spending and attack workers to try and stave off crisis.

Merkel: "I'm not lending you 20 quid, or you'll never learn, blah blah blah."

What Greece and Spain are finding out is the cost of being members of the Euro. In similar situations in the past they would have reduced how much their currency is worth, making it cheaper to buy what they’re exporting. But as members of the Euro they can’t do that, because the value of the Euro is set for the whole of Europe, meaning their needs are swamped by the needs of the much bigger German economy.

The reason the German government has decided to give some bailout money to Greece is because the future of the Euro as a currency is potentially in doubt. The Greek debt has already got much worse while Germany dithered about what to do, and whatever the pro-capitalist Greek government wants to do they may well end up having no choice but to not pay some of their debts. At that point, they may have to seriously consider withdrawing from the Euro.

The solution that the IMF and European Central Bank want is predictable: Greek (and Spanish, Portuguese, Irish etc.) workers will have to get sacked, have their pay cut and face massive cuts in their basic services. The long term implications are likely to be huge unemployment and misery for the people of Greece.

All the mainstream media present this like it’s inevitable, and that Europe has no alternative. But that’s far from true. If European countries worked together they could easily take control of the massive wealth in European banks, and instead of causing misery for the people that elected them, use that cash to transform the economy and give people meaningful work.

The reason that isn’t happening is simple: across Europe the working class are too weak, and we’re easy targets for bullying by the rich. The government in Greece is in a weaker position because the Greek people are among the most organised and militant in Europe, so they face a serious threat if they go ahead with their attacks.When the EU “rescue” plan was announced, thousands of workers and youth massed on the street to attack the headquarters of the EU in Athens. They have another general strike planned for May 5th.

But they need our support. Across the whole of the EU, it’s time for socialists, trade unionists and other working class forces to get our act together. There’s absolutely no reason we should be facing this assault from the rich, who are responsible for this whole mess in the first place.

Greek protesters show us how it's done

Unfortunately in Britain it doesn’t look like the election will change much. The same people who downgraded Greece to junk status say they’re not too worried about Britain. Simon Hayes of Barclays Capital told the Guardian:

“We expect the next government to tighten policy by a little more than is currently projected. Given the broad consensus across the political parties about the need to reduce the public deficit, and the closeness of the main parties’ stated consolidation plans, we do not believe that the election outcome will materially change the broad outlook for public borrowing and debt.”

In other words, big business doesn’t care about the election, because they know whoever gets in they’ll win. The SSP does care about the election, we’re standing in 10 seats across Scotland. But the reason for that is we hope to use it as a springboard for building up mass working class resistance to the cuts and austerity that the next government is trying to force on us, like we’ve seen with the mass protests and general strikes in Greece. The need for a fight back has never been greater.

As Leftfield reported a couple of days ago, Greece right now is the frontline of the European wide assault on the working class.

The bankers who fucked up the economy royally are now determined to make ordinary people pay through wage cuts, job losses and slashing public spending.

In Greece, the government is trying to impose an austerity package so harsh the country has risen up in a general strike and massive demonstrations. Greeks need our solidarity today, because if they lose it’ll be us tomorrow.

In the video above, strikers and demonstrators talk about why they’ve gone into the street. (via Monthly Review zine.)

But it’s not just the Greek people that are militant. Oh no, Greece also has some of the most militant, revolutionary canines in Europe! Writes a Greek anarchist of their four-legged friends: “They always hated police and authority, lived in Exarchia and the university and came with us in every demo. Some are still with us, some have died, always dreaming of a free world.”
One dog in particular, who we believe to go by the name of Kellanos, has become a minor celebrity round Athens, as a regular participant in every demonstration there over the past few years, never shying away from the front line of battle. Think I’m joking? Take a look at these…

24 February 2010

PAWS-ING FOR THOUGHT: 4 March 2009

9 May 2009

12 December 2008

24 February 2010

Leftfield salutes the efforts of Comrade Kellanos and the street dogs of Athens in their valiant struggle to bring about a fairer world for all creatures, two-legged and four-legged alike, and thinks the dogs of Scotland could learn much from their waggy-tailed comrades of Greece. Canines of the world unite! You have nothing to lose except your collars and leads!

No, not that Europe

When what is possibly the worst economic crisis since the 30’s got going in 2008, a lot of people looked back into history. They pointed out that when the Wall Street Crash happened in 1929, it took a couple of years before we really began to see political implications, like the rise of Hitler or the Spanish Civil War.

In recent weeks a wave of protests and strikes has engulfed Southern Europe, bringing people on to the streets of Greece, Spain and Portugal. It looks like for some countries at least, we won’t have to wait much longer to see consequences of financial meltdown.

The Euro as a currency is in crisis as a result of what’s happening. The fate of countries like Greece puts serious doubts on its long term viability.

Many people support the European Union, because they think it is a big club where everyone helps each other out and prevents wars. The EU’s own rhetoric has often talked about solidarity across Europe. But the response to the financial crisis in Greece has shown that the EU is no different than any other part of the capitalist world-the strong exploit the weak, and the powerful have no interest in solidarity with those who are relatively powerless.

Hyperinflation made money cheaper than jenga

The biggest power in the EU is Germany. The German elite have learned from history, and since the war they’ve wanted two things: sound money and European integration. In the 30’s hyperinflation made the German Mark worthless, causing misery for everyone and spurring the rise of the Nazis. And following the destruction of the war, the only way France and Germany could ever hope to match up to the global power of the US was by teaming up.

These two objectives came together with the establishment of the Euro, the aim of which was to give Europe a strong currency that could stand up to the dollar on world markets. But the idea was also that the Euro would help political integration, with the EU becoming more like a state of its own.

But closer integration has proved difficult, and in the meantime the EU has mushroomed outwards to take in a bunch of countries in Eastern Europe. Now 16 different states, many with very different economies, are tied together economically by using the Euro. Some of these countries, like Germany or the Netherlands, export a lot of products and as a result have surplus money. Others, like Greece or Spain, have huge debts. In the past, if a country had a surplus the currency would increase in value, making it more expensive to buy their products. If another had a deficit, then its currency would fall in value, having the opposite effect. This is the way, traditionally, that imbalances got sorted out.

But now, with so many countries locked into one currency, it’s nearly impossible for a national government to take action to try and deal with an economic crisis. Richer countries like France and Germany have been able to pump some of their own money into the financial system, but the banks and capitalists don’t trust the poorer countries like Greece, and won’t let them do the same.

EU members today

Germany has the second largest trade surplus in the world, after Saudi Arabia. It exports a lot more than it imports. Its relationship to the rest of Europe is a bit like China and the US-Germany provides goods and finances, and the rest of Europe buys those goods and takes the investment. The difference is that other European countries aren’t nearly as economically powerful as the US. Germany has invested and traded heavily with poorer countries like Greece, Spain and Portugal. These countries companies just can’t compete with German ones.

On top of this, it’s now clear that there was a lot of bullshitting going on by European governments in order to keep the Euro working, and get more countries as members. An investigation is being launched into how the former Greek government conspired with banks to hide the true extent of their debts. But more generally, many of the European governments have been breaking their own rules and covering it up.

PIIGS: shocked by hidden debt

This hasn’t been money that has been spent to the advantage of workers, but is the result of massive corruption and mismanagement, along with huge tax evasion by the wealthy. Without cooking the books like this, it would have been impossible for countries like Greece to join the Euro.

Before the crash, governments were able to cope with their debts by playing financial games and borrowing more money. But that option is closed off now for most of them after the collapse of the financial system, and several countries are left with huge debts that are causing a huge problem for the Euro. The worst problems are in the countries that have been rudely dubbed “PIIGS”-Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain.

In these countries the governments are now forced to desperately try and cut spending, meaning wage cuts, job losses and general misery, whilst at the same time raising taxes. In other words, they are trying to force the working class to pay the cost of the crisis that was created by financial speculators, banks and badly-managed governments.

In Greece, the government has a few months to raise £20 billion through cuts. If it doesn’t they could face the serious possibility of a Euro member going bankrupt. The German and French governments have been less than willing to come to the rescue, although they may yet be forced to. In the meantime the government is trying to force through an unprecedentedly harsh package of cuts.

Greek protesters: handy with a stick

The good news is that the Greek working class is one of the most militant in Europe, and is refusing to accept the government’s programme without a fight. From midnight tonight (Wednesday) Greek workers are walking out to start their second national strike. In previous strikes protestors have been fighting in the streets with riot police, and attempted to storm the parliament.

In other parts of Europe resistance is starting to heat up as well. In Portugal civil servants shut down courts, schools and hospitals in protest at government wage freezes. In Spain, where the government wants to raise the retirement age from 65 to 67 to keep people working longer, tens of thousands have been on the streets protesting. And in Ireland 4,500 porters, caterers, security guards and other low paid workers are set to go on strike against wage cuts in Dublin hospitals.

These Greek protesters bricked up a bank entrance to demand the government takes action against them!

In the UK, with the PCS already on strike and the prospect of more savage cuts after the election whoever wins, it couldn’t be more important to learn about what’s happening across Europe. We aren’t yet looking at a real revolutionary situation, but there’s no doubt that if we let European governments implement their plans it will mean poverty and misery for the European working class on a scale not seen since the 1930’s. The only way we can stop that happening is by defeating our governments across the continent, through mass action, strikes and people on the street. There’s an urgent need to link up the struggles across borders and understand the international nature of what’s going on, and Leftfield will do its best to keep you informed in a clear and understandable way in the months to come.

Footage of last month’s general strike in Greece.