An interesting debate on Greece and the European Left took place in the context of the Lexit network, after the publication of a common statement by the Presidents of the groups of the Social Democrats (S&D) Gianni Pitella, the Greens Ska Keller and the Lewft (GUE/NGL) Gabi Zimmer.
The statement can be found here http://www.guengl.eu/news/ article/category//common- statement-on-the-22-may- eurogroup-and-the-greek-debt
We publish here some of the comments exchanged
Dimitris Konstantakopoulos
Thank you very much dear comrade for communicating this unbelievable and shameful document.
This is the equivalent of an “August 4th” for the European “Radical” Left.
The document sides with the German government, the EU institutions and international Finance in their war against the Greek people, Greek economy, democracy and sovereignty.
It asks the Greek government to pursue the so-called “reforms” which have provoked and continue to provoke the biggest economic and social catastrophe in post-WWII capitalist Europe, to the financial and political benefit of European and international Financial Capital.
It is thus implicitly accepting the main argument of the German Right and the SPD which is no else that they are defending the interests of German citizens by their Greek Policy, not of the Banks who pay them and their parties.
The statement is clearly supporting the continuation of the looting of all Greek public and even private property
It is asking for the early conlusion of one more agreement between Athens and the Troika. The agreements imposed by Creditors to subsequent Greek governments, against the will of the Greek people and against the most fundamental principles of the European Union itself, of International Law and of any spirit of solidarity among members of the same Union, are nothing else than the detailed description of the war of the ruling financial elites against the Greek people.
Succeeding in Greece, they will not stop in this country. They will expand, and they are already doing it, their program to all Europe.
The Greek sovereign debt is unsustainable and it has to be written off. Simply it cannot be paid, as all decent economists in the world are accepting, or it can be paid but at the price of completion of the total destruction of the Greek people and of their state.
The “medium term debt alleviation” plans are not but a new fraude and farce, as the previous restructuring, the PSI, the first restructuring in world history which was done against the interests of the debtor! They will not alleviate any debt, they will impose new neocolonial terms on Greece
As for the fine prospects for Greek economy and society, described in the statement, we should remind that three days ago the Greek Statistical Service had just announced that Greece was always in recession in the first three months. There is plenty of evidence published, for whom wants to read and think it, about the real situation in Greece and its prospects. Only Orwell or Goebbels could be optimistic about the prospects of Greece and its economy under the policy imposed to it.
Tsipras and SYRIZA cannot be justified in any way for what they did, for the betrayal of the verdict of the Greek people in July 2015, for the betrayal of all the principles of the Left and of Democracy and also for their cynical contempt (while they are regularly trying to use and exploit it) to the memory of hundreds of thousands of people who sacrificed their lives in Greece in the past for Democracy, National Independence and the ideals of the Left.
But, after all, Tsipras and SYRIZA could claim that they were and they are operating under the threat of some of the most powerful forces in the world. That is true, even if that is not alleviating their enormous responsibilities.
Der Linke politicians are operating under what threat? They are afraid they will never become Ministers?
I don’ t know the German political situation. But I doubt Germans will vote “leftists” to follow the European policy of the German Right. The original is always better.
I will prepare a more complete answer to this statement. I would like also to know if it represents the opinion of all the Eurodeputies belonging to this group and, if it is not representing it, if and how they will react to that.
Best Regards
Dimitris Konstantakopoulos
Herman Michiel
Dear comrades and friends,
Yesterday I sent the following mail to Gabi Zimmer
Dear Mrs. Zimmer,
Liebe Gabi,
I was very surprised and ever more disappointed when reading the “Common statement on the 22 May Eurogroup and the Greek debt”. I didn’t imagine the president of the left fraction in the European Parliament could ever sign such a thoroughly neoliberal declaration, urging the Greek government “to pursue reforms that further support investment, social justice and good democratic governance” and “stepping up competition policy to break up oligopolies in the interest of fair markets”.
I am pretty sure, and I certainly hope, this is only your personal point of view, possibly inspired by political purposes at home. In that case, you should make clear that it doesn’t involve the GUE as such, and I do not see how you could go on presiding that group.
I made public my disappointment on the Dutch-Flemish website Ander Europa (see here).
Your very desillusioned
Herman Michiel, Belgium
Cristina Asensi
Dear all,
Zimmer should step down for involving the GUE-NGL in that shameful statement.
Let us follow this in detail.
Best,
Cristina
