Eurozone leaders demand new coalition in Greece

Submitted by Matthew on 8 April, 2015 - 10:43 Author: Rhodri Evans

On 8 April Greece’s prime minister, and leader of the left-wing Syriza party, Alexis Tsipras, visits Moscow.

Officially he is talking only about Greek fruit exports to Russia, but rumour is that he will explore whether Russia might lend the Greek government money if the eurozone and the IMF won’t.

For 9 April the Greek government has promised that it will in fact make a debt repayment due to the IMF. On 24 April eurozone finance ministers meet, and Greece hopes to get a deal for more credit.

The Syriza leaders are still trying to break the bonds of neo-liberalism, but... by clever negotiation which is supposed to promise mutual advantage to the neo-liberal leaders in the eurozone.

The eurozone leaders, their confidence now rebuilt after being shaken by Syriza’s vigorous approach immediately after its election victory on 25 January, are having none of it.

The Financial Times reports that finance ministers are telling Syriza’s leaders that they will get no relief until they break with Syriza’s left wing and instead form a coalition government with the pro-cuts Pasok and To Potami parties. Reuters editor Hugo Dixon has made that demand openly.

On 1 April Tsipras sent a new list of measures to the eurozone finance ministers. His government has agreed to raise VAT rates in the Greek islands, to continue the previous government’s hated property tax, and to continue privatisations in the pipeline, including the remainder of the port of Piraeus.

But Tsipras’s letter reaffirmed plans to restore collective bargaining, raise the minimum wage, widen health-care coverage, and restore the “13th month” payment on small pensions. Most of its promises to raise more cash were based on more efficient tax collection.

Even Syriza members not previously tagged as left, like Yannis Albanis (28 March), are writing that even though Greece being forced out of the eurozone “would mean GDP drop and limiting policies”, that would be preferable to “a third Memorandum”.

A deal under which Greece would become a diplomatic ally of Russia — over Ukraine, etc. — in return for credits would be unprincipled and anyway is probably not on offer.

The central task for the left — as Syriza left-winger Antonis Davanellos explains in the accompanying article — is to “maintain an active call for a Europe-wide uprising to overthrow austerity”.

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