"We have been ruled by banks for too long" - ETC Beta (Sweden)

Published on Friday, 02 May 2014 13:02

Alexis Tsipras leads a party that has almost a third of the voters' support. He is also vying to become the European Commission president. “Greece's fate is inseparable from that of the European Union’s,” said Tsipras. "Now the Left has finally started to resist. We need common solutions."

What one typically hears in the Swedish media about Greece is the Golden Dawn. The narrative of the lazy Greek has been replaced by one of a country where everything is unraveling and Nazism is on the rise. But the vast majority of citizens who do not have food for the day are not interested in Nazism.

What is on the rise in Greece, in earnest, since the crisis is the Left. The large demonstrations, which draw unions and diverse civil society groups, support the Left’s calls for austerity to end.

Greece's leftist party, SYRIZA, has grown into Europe's largest. What originally started as a loose coalition of socialists, ecologists, feminists, citizen groups, workers and Trotskyists, who rarely got more than four percent in the elections, now have 30 percent in the polls. Most people think that SYRIZA’s leader Alexis Tsipras, will become the Greek Prime Minister. Tsipras is also vying for the position of European Commission president.

"Humanitarian crisis "

Alexis Tsipras recently attended a rally in Palermo. I sit an hour in the Parliament, smoking cigarettes with his secretary and his bodyguard, who is also his personal trainer, although Tsipras no longer has time to train. He shows up and we have time for a coffee before meeting with a Greek protest singer to join the ballot.

What was it like in Palermo?

It was crazy, I felt like a football player! When I landed, many people were waiting for me, crying. SYRIZA has become a beacon for the Left in Europe. We speak for many citizens. For the Italians, we’ve given them a unifying party framework. Across Europe, so many people have had their wages slashed and owe large debts to the banks, and they are hoping we can do something about it.

Is the crisis not over now? That’s what is reported in the Swedish media.

Is that what they say? They would never be able to say something like that in Greece. With 30 percent unemployment and 60 percent youth unemployment? With three million people without Social Security? We have a humanitarian crisis in Greece. This year, the number of deaths from influenza increased exponentially and experts say it is due to the difficulty of access to vaccines and medical care.

But Greece has a surplus of EUR 1.5 billion for the first time since the crisis began and is now able to borrow on the markets again.

I am convinced that the statistics are biased. The government has manipulated the budget in order to prove that the Troika program has been a success. Had we been in government, they would have never recognized any budget surplus. You see, this policy is very, very dirty. The positive numbers were introduced, and next day the Troika delivered an agreement of 600 pages that required a vote in Parliament. The agreement calls for the state to provide 50 billion to our major banks, liberalising labor laws, more pay cuts and privatizations. However, the government is in a state of panic now because of the Nazi scandal with Baltakos, and the Troika sees an opening to push them further. The government wants to convince us that the Troika program has been a success story. But who are they trying to fool? When the first Memorandum was adopted, the national debt was 120 percent of GDP. We were not able to borrow on the markets then. What has changed now—other than the fact that the debt is now 175 percent of GDP.

Most people think that you will become Greece's next prime minister. What would be the first thing you would do as PM?

The first would be to regulate the interest payments. The second, to abolish laws that the Troika has foisted on Greece. There are over 400 laws—and it’s important to note that the Troika has essentially created a new institution in our country. The third thing would be to alleviate the humanitarian crisis =. And fourth, to restore Greece's productive base.  We will restore wages to the level they were prior to the crisis. We will raise the minimum wage in the private sector from 520 euros a month to 750. We’re concerned given the high unemployment that people will still accept lower wages, while their employers state in name only that they’re paying 750 euros. The only way to really raise wages is to reduce unemployment.

What happens then if you come to power and implement you agenda, only to be rebuffed by Europe. Without money, you will be in quite a difficult position for a Leftist party that wants to make reforms.

The question is: Will Europe accept that a full-blown humanitarian crisis occur? We already have a shortage of medicine. People are living without electricity. Things are poised to become much worse. So, yes, it is important and necessary that we renegotiate the loan. Paying interest must cease, and through a meeting of all indebted countries in Europe's periphery, a common solution must be proposed. We want a European “New Deal,” a solution similar to what was offered to Germany in 1953. Europe will agree to help us get back on our feet, and until we do, the interest payments must be halted.

Honestly - do you really think the IMF and the European leaders agree to this?

I'm a realist. It will be difficult for them to refuse. More and more people are acknowledging that the Troika program has been a disaster. It cannot continue. Even the IMF is talking about debt relief now. A Greek bankruptcy is the last thing Europe wants to see--partly because we are a systemic risk to the euro and the banks, partly because Germany has earned over 40 billion during the crisis, and that’s only in profits from bonds. If the alternative is bankruptcy or a government that would negotiate the terms, they will not have any alternative.

Within the radical left many say that you have been toned down your rhetoric since you’ve become President of the party, and that you now surround yourself with right-wing economists.

We must be realistic . Of course we will not say: Dear Mrs. Merkel, give us money so we can create a socialist island in Europe!

Why not?

If we want socialism, then we can aspire to that once we can stand on our own feet again. When we 're ready. First we have to put an end to the crisis, regain market confidence, and balance the budget—it’ll take four to five years.

What is your take on the revelations that the Conservative party arrested the members of Golden Dawn for political reasons?

We knew that Samaras’ (Antonis Samaras, Greece's prime minister) colleagues had relationships with the Golden Dawn. Everyone was aware of this, but it was difficult to prove. Now it has become obvious. The bad news is that this is bolstering support for the Golden Dawn. They say it was political horse-trading, and that they were wrongly convicted. Personally, I think the government's decision to revoke their amnesty and imprison them was an accurate decision—and it should have been done long ago. Dendias, the Minister of Justice, had evidence of the Golden Dawn’s Nazi violence over a year and half ago. This begs the question, why was it only when Fyssas (Pavlos Fyssas, anti-racist artist) was killed action was taken against the Golden Dawn? What the video of Baltakos negotiating with the Golden Dawn proved is that the Nazis are not anti-systemic. They are very much a part of the system, even if they want to get their voters to think otherwise.

You say you are going to create a productive base. The countries of southern Europe historically have not had the heavy industry that Northern Europe had, but rather light industry, services and agriculture. Is not that one of the causes of the trade imbalance? What do you think Grece should produce?

This is not a country where they make cars. But we have a lot of natural resources to be tapped: metals in the mountains, minerals and natural gas—which are now being privatized. We want to reshape the tourism sector and invest in green technology, solar energy. Our main asset is our educated youth. As things stand now, over 300,000 educated young people have left Greece in recent years.

Privateers are trying to take advantage of the crisis and acquire Greece's state assets. While this is obvious that it has to do with the crisis, they only see the chance for profit. Are you going to re-nationalize any of these assets, such as the railroad?

The railway is not a top priority. It was underdeveloped even when the state owned it. In contrast, water and electricity must remain with the State, and with all public goods that are serve the common good of the citizens. We wish to involve foreign capital, but in partnership with the state.

Tell me about yourself and your background. Were your parents involved in politics?

My father was an engineer, my mother a homemaker. They were not politically active. At an early age, around 7 years old, I took my father's newspapers, laid them out on the floor and tried to read them. I was politically active from my student years during university. I was out putting up posters at night, everything was very romantic, we thought we were going to bring about a revolution .

What did your parents think of this?

I wasn’t that forthcoming about my activities! I’ve always gone against the grain, joining the Young Communist League in 1989, just after the fall of the Berlin wall and during perestroika. Everyone was abandoning communism, and I was drawn to it.

Regarding your candidacy to become EU Commission President--was it your idea?

No, no! It was Gabi Zimmer’s, the president of the EU Left group, who asked me back in October. I wasn’t sure at first, but then I realized - this is a brilliant opportunity because it gives us a chance to play in their court. It is the first time that the European Left will have the opportunity to shape the policies of the EU. We will break the liberal and social democratic consensus that has prevailed for so long. People have the same problems everywhere in Europe. Borders are not what separate us—it is social classes.  Young unemployment, housing issues, climate change—these affect all of us across Europe. We have been ruled by banks for too long. There is a class war going on, masked by the rescue packages. Now the Left has finally started to resist. We need common solutions. Governing the EU will give us a chance to turn it into something completely different.

Interview originally in Swedish: http://www.etc.se/utrikes/grekiske-vansterledaren-vi-har-regerats-av-banker-alltfor-lange