Comments on: Greece: Syriza shines a light

By: Jimmy M

Jimmy M — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 15:11:47 +0000

The IMF and EU are pushing austerity on Greece, yet Syriza are supposedly anti-austeroty but also pro-EU, how does that work out? The leaders of Syriza recently went to the US embassy in Athens for a jolly-a strange thing to do if you are socialists wanting to remove the grip of the IMF on Greece?

Face it. The capitalists two party system is in crisis. Pasok are finished and capitalism needs another party to prop up their corrupt system. Syriza are idiots to fall into this trap so eagerly.

By: Aaron Aarons

Aaron Aarons — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 06:07:28 +0000

Syriza will need to be careful of opportunist refugees from the disappearing Pasok who will try to drag it in the direction that this ‘Michael Kenny’ fellow advocates. Unfortunately, the false idea that real social change can be accomplished through becoming the elected managers of the capitalist state does lead to the kind of accommodation that Mr. Kenny advocates with nationalism and other reactionary ideas that have a hold over large parts of the population.

By: Michael Kenny

Michael Kenny — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 13:06:10 +0000

Politics is changing all over Europe. The old 1789 left v right configuration is being replaced by a central consensus government with non-governmental “grumbler” parties to the left and right of it. If Syriza wants to enter the central consensus, it will first of all have to become a party. That probably involves a split between realists and fundamentalists. That will cost it some votes, as the “all or nothing” faction wrap themselves in their ideological virginity, so I don’t see it getting 27% at the next election no matter what happens. Equally, if it wants the working class vote, it will need to remember that the working class is the most conservative group in society and is highly racist. Defending Pakistani shopkeepers, for example, will ultimately alienate working class voters! Finally, Syriza will need to be careful of foreigners trying to hijack it and use it in pursuit of their own non-Greek agendas. During the election campaigns, for example, massive foreign attempts were made to push Syriza into an anti-EU and anti-euro stance, a road down which it very wisely refused to go.