On Nov. 7, the first round of local elections took place in Greece. It was the first major electoral battle since the introduction of harsh austerity measures by the government. The support for the candidates backed by the KKE (Communist Party of Greece) reached 10.9 percent nationwide, an increase of more than 3 percent from the parliamentary elections of fall 2009. In some regional gubernatorial races, including the region of Athens, votes for the KKE-backed ticket reached close to 15 percent. In many working-class neighborhoods and cities, the Communists got between 15 and 20 percent of the vote.
 KKE pre-election rally |
The ruling Social Democratic party (PASOK) and the conservative opposition party (ND) lost almost 1 million and 600 thousand votes, respectively, almost one out of three, compared to 2009. However, both parties claimed that their results were positive. Prime Minister George Papandreou falsely claimed that because his party finished first, the people voted in favor of austerity.
On Nov. 14, runoff elections were held. The Communists made it to the runoffs in two municipalities, capturing one of them, Petroupoli, a working-class suburb of Athens.
Greek debt crisis pretext for austerity
The Greek economy has been a focus of international attention since early 2010 due to a spiraling national debt crisis. The government passed two waves of austerity measures in the early months of the year, which failed to bring down the government’s borrowing costs, raising fears that Greece could default on its debt.
In May, the government signed an agreement with the International Monetary Fund and the European Union, dubbed the “Memorandum,” providing 110 million euros in loans in exchange for even more draconian austerity measures. The Memorandum called for deep wage and pension cuts, tax hikes, privatizations, an overhaul of the retirement system and more. Despite a surge of strikes and other actions by the labor movement in response, the government pushed through a third wave of measures in May.
In the months that followed, the Memorandum proved to be above all a political tool of the government and the class it represents—the capitalists. Virtually every sector of the economy, including health care and education, are being “reformed” to better serve the interests of the corporations. Whenever the working class resists, the government points to the Memorandum to deflect the people’s anger. More importantly, they raise the threat of national bankruptcy, claiming that, should a reform be blocked, the country could end up in ruins.
In reality, these measures are part and parcel of the real program of both the government and the other capitalist parties. Indeed, similar measures are being passed in every EU country, even in Germany, with its recovered economy and budget surplus.
The labor movement
PSLweb.org covered closely the resistance of the labor movement (here,
here, and here.) Between December 2009 and June 2010, almost a dozen nationwide and general strikes were held. Hundreds of thousands of workers participated in strikes and demonstrations. Almost every city and town of the country saw the largest protests in decades. The measures did pass, but the working class gained valuable experience in the labor battles that ensued. The lessons learned will be used in the future battles that are bound to come.
During these mobilizations, the differences between two lines in the labor movement became apparent. On the one hand, the reformist leadership of the general confederations of private and public workers, which are controlled by the governing PASOK party, tried to confuse the workers. They stalled the resistance, claiming that negotiations with the government could avert the measures. This left the working class unprepared.
On the other hand, the forces of the All-worker’s Militant Front (PAME), which represent the radical pole of the movement, played a crucial role in intensifying the struggle—both politically by demanding that bankers and corporations, not the people, pay for the crisis, and organizationally by doing the majority of the outreach and forming militant picket lines to shut down workplaces during the strikes.
The local elections
The local elections took place within this general political framework. Early in the campaigns, the capitalist politicians claimed that the elections were not political and that the local administrations had nothing to do with the Memorandum. People should just choose the most “competent” people to head the 325 municipalities and 13 regions of the country.
They also said that political parties don’t matter for local elections; it’s all about the individual candidates. These arguments were aided by the maneuvering of some smaller, left-leaning forces that supported candidates of the two major parties in a large number of municipalities.
Only the Communist Party was consistent and supported its own independent tickets, composed of members, supporters and allies of the party. It fielded tickets under the name “Popular Rally,” using a red carnation as its logo. The red carnation in Greece symbolizes the working-class struggle.
The Communist Party, from the beginning, made it clear that local elections, too, are an arena of political struggle. It called on the workers and poor people to punish the government and all the other capitalist parties. In the end, all parties admitted that the elections were political. Even the prime minister held a special press conference to blackmail voters. He threatened that, if his party were defeated, he would call snap elections that could ruin the economy. It seems the blackmail was successful in cementing some of his party’s forces. PASOK finished first and avoided the appearance of defeat.
Participation in the elections reached historic lows of 60 percent in the first round and less than 50 percent in the runoff. This showed that wide layers of the population are discontented with the policies of the government and the other capitalist parties, but are not yet ready to turn decisively to a more radical, proactive alternative.
New measures, new struggles
The crisis in Greece is deepening. The austerity measures have pushed the country into deep recession. The contraction of the economy means that, despite all the measures, the government may not be able to raise sufficient funds to pay back the IMF-EU loans. Restructuring of the debt may prove inevitable. In his recent statements, Prime Minister Papandreou has warned of new austerity measures. They must be met with a higher level of resistance by the working class.
On Nov. 15, the Communists took a step in that direction. They held a rally of tens of thousands in downtown Athens to “greet” the representatives of the IMF and EU who came to assess the implementation of the Memorandum. On Nov. 17, rallies were to be held to commemorate a student rebellion in 1973 against the CIA-backed dictatorship that ruled the country. It was expected to draw many thousands of people.
The class struggle in Greece, Europe, the United States and beyond will intensify. Recent protests and strikes in England, Germany, Spain, France and Bulgaria show that the working class has not spoken its final words. The profit-driven bankers and corporate bosses caused the crisis and were bailed out, while the workers are being forced to pay the bill. Ahead of us lies the re-emergence of mass workers’ struggles. Revolutionaries will steer them in a radical direction and show that the only way to get rid of capitalist crises is by getting rid of capitalism itself.
