Statement: Greece – a pretence of democracy

As economic crisis turns to sovereign debt, to euro crisis and now to democratic crisis,  countries like Greece, Italy and Ireland are either supervised by the direct representatives of the IMF and ECB or directly ruled by them as is the case in Greece. At the same time the Fiscal Austerity pact retains the illusion of parliamentary democracy while at the same time removing economic powers from governments. In Greece the government have called a snap election in order to re-establish a veneer of democratic legitimacy.  Below we carry the response of the Antarsya movement.

Antarsya (Anti-Capitalist Left Alliance) - Athens, 11 April 2012

On 6 May the voice of the anti-capitalist revolution must be heard!

While announcing the May 6th as the date for the parliamentary elections, prime minister Papademos, the trustee of the troika (EU - IMF - European Central Bank) and capital stressed that the attacks on the workers and the youth will not be dropped. It is essentially the governing coalition of New Democracy (ND) and PASOK, which is preparing the new medium term memorandum with new sacrifices, poll taxes, layoffs and privatizations.

Even at the last moment the bankrupt ruling political system despises the people's will. With our struggles, the strikes, demonstrations, square occupations, we have proudly and resolutely sent a message of subversion and a call to ALL, who have supported the policies that have led to the bankruptcy of society and to the speculation of capital, must get away. We call on the workers and young people not to lower their resistance and struggles for their upcoming first May, the day of the work, for even a minute but to continue and intensify them.

The failure and collapse of the coalition government of the black front of ND and PASOK is a confirmation that the resistance has borne fruit.

We must lead the struggle and the hope of winning, so that another way opens up, for the overthrow of all candidates, who want to continue to manage the policies of capital - EU - IMF, for the withdrawal from the euro and the EU, for the public and social control of banks and the redistribution of social wealth. We must not allow the parties of big capital to continue their government coalition again and to strengthen their attacks. But also the illusion that the left could govern and manage this wretched system must be rejected. 

We will neither allow being saddled with mass unemployment, poverty, job losses and the erosion of democratic freedoms nor the spreading of the lie that the migrants are to blame for the dire straits. ANTARSYA cannot be deterred from supporting unified action of the movement as a whole and proposes to form a fighting front for the rupture and upheaval that can lead the attack and represent the alternative to the rotten system with the anti-capitalist program. Today the resistance, which aims simply to survive, is more than ever insolubly associated with the revolution, the decent life, creativity and freedom.

ANTARSYA calls for a fight for a different social and political course, for the acquisition of wealth and power by the workers that means by the social majority, for a new communism, a new era of collective life, common ownership, creative work and cultural flowering. In the framework of these aims, ANTARSYA participates in the elections.

With the slogan at the time directed against the junta, BREAD - EDUCATION - FREEDOM, it is time to support ANTARSYA and to make the revolution a reality!