Greek Debt Crisis: Reasons and Consequences of the Plebiscite
Sunday, July 05, 2015
The Greek debt crisis and the fallout of the left-leaning Syriza government with the Troika of the imperialist IMF, European Union and the European Central Bank over the bailout package placed on the table by the latter, brought the long-forgotten issue back to the front pages worldwide after its initial appearance in mid-2011.
Let me try to explain the Greece debt crisis in layman's language to the readers without using economic jargons so that they may understand the complexity of the issue without scratching heads over the terms used in the articles written by the 'pundits' of the corporate media. The purpose of this article is to show you the reality of the Greek debt crisis and help you understand the problem from a political perspective of the working class and common people of Greece than that of the bankers and the corporate tycoons.
The Greek debt crisis was fuelled by events since the beginning of the new millennium when the government of Greece took excessive loans from international finance capital, big banks and corporations as per the demands of their indigenous big capitalists. The money that the Greek government borrowed, went on a higher side of the Greek GDP. The capitalist classes with their connivance with the political stalwarts made use of the big chunk of this money to invest in their own ventures. The big monopoly-finance capital organisations like the Goldman Sachs, etc. helped the Greek government to conceal these loans from public eyes by forging the account books of the government.
This huge pile of debts got exposed when the Greek government couldn't afford to repay the creditors as the debt to GDP ratio of Greece got immensely high and the unholy nexus between the ruling politicians, capitalists and big corporations became public. Since the Greek government failed to pay the installments, the creditors, i.e. the International Monetary Fund of the USA, the European Central Bank and the European Union led by the German - French monopoly capital provided Greece an option of bailout, which can happen only if the Greek government drastically cuts down its expenses, especially on any 'unproductive' accounts, as the Troika calls any account of expenditure that does not generates monetary profit, like the payment of salaries to government employees, payment of pensions, unemployment, health and other benefits.
In easy to understand terms, it means that the Greek people will face more unemployment, more economic hardships and their lifelong savings will be diverted to the payment of debts, which the capitalists and politicians took to quench their own greed.
It’s logical that the people of any country cannot allow its government, that too an elected government, to fiddle with their savings, throw them out of jobs, cut expenses on social-welfare schemes, etc. The people were discontented and their anger was manifested when the Syriza, which is a left-wing Trotskyist and social-democrat bloc and made anti-austerity promises, won a landslide victory in this year’s election in Greece and formed a government under Tsipras. The victory of the Syriza showed that the majority of the Greek people favour a complete disowning of the debts and wants the government to shut the door to the Troika and its nefarious policies.
However, the IMF, ECB and EU were reluctant as they are themselves in great crisis at home and abroad since the 2008 subprime crisis in the USA, which crippled the entire finance and monopoly capital enterprise all over the globe. The Troika, as expected, declined any liberalisation of terms and asked Athens to comply with its terms of a bailout, i.e. to follow the rigorous austerity measures and pay back each penny the Greek people could save, to the Troika’s coffer.
The denial of Athens to such terms led to the decision of the Greek government to announce a plebiscite on Sunday, 5 July 2015, in which the Greek people will choose what course the government should follow in the course of debt repayment to the creditors. The question that will be placed before the people during the polls will be, should Greece agree to the terms of the creditors for the bailout?
A yes means that Greece should comply with the terms of the Troika and Athens must adopt a strong austerity policy. A no means Greece will not comply with the crook demands of the creditors at any cost. The Syriza made it clear that in case the people choose yes, they will leave the office because they cannot implement any anti-people austerity policy.
While I'm writing this post, the Greek people are participating in this very plebiscite to decide the course of the future of Greece, whether to continue with the draconian clauses imposed by the Troika of international monopoly capital for a bailout to rescue its economy from the mire of more than €230 billion debt? Thereby gaining the right to stay in the Eurozone and use Euro as a currency.
In case the people of Greece say 'no' en masse to the proposals of the Troika, that will be the first largest bankruptcy of a country in the developed economic zone of Europe and a big jolt to the imperialist hawks of French-German monopoly capital led EU and ECB as well as to the US controlled IMF. The latter will mean that Greece will be ousted from the Eurozone, may be left with its valueless Drachma as a currency, but at least, with its independence and self-dignity, which matters more to the people.
International monopoly capital, especially the arch reactionary German and French capitalists, along with their partner the US monopoly capital, cannot afford to lose a country like Greece from their plate. The strategic location of Greece, its connectivity with Europe-Asia and Africa makes it an important base for the European and American hawks. The plans of the Syriza, if threatens the domination of the European and the US monopoly capital on Greece, then the Syriza will be shown the doors by an interim election or booted out through a coup.
However, the French monopoly capital agent, the so-called 'socialist' president Hollande is using all possible avenues through backdoor channels to chalk out a way out from the crisis that could cause a disaster for international monopoly capital. Through his continuous meetings with the so-called 'lefts' of Germany and Greece, he is trying to make a compromise deal to keep Greece within the domination of the imperialist EU. His recent attempts to draw the support of the German Social Democrats recently got exposed in the US spying leaks. But though he is exposed two years before the French election, Hollande has not given up his attempts to work out the secret deal, which includes bribing the Syriza into the imperialist plan.
The Greek Syriza, despite all of its 'left' rhetoric, is making a politically safe passage to retain its image as an alternative left party, on one hand, and on the other hand, accommodate the demands of the European and American monopoly capital. Their tactics of quitting office in case of a 'Yes' to Troika demands clearly manifests their opportunist position.
The Syriza, if it was as concerned for the people as it force us to believe, should not have gone with the gimmick of a plebiscite at the first place, rather as a strong government, it should have opposed the Troika demands and placed its own conditions to the creditors. But the so-called 'left' has played to the tunes of the foreign monopoly capital by accepting the bailout at the first place, without refusing to pay back the debt that was gulped by big corporations and corrupt politicians at the cost of public agony.
The Syriza, alike any parliamentary left will blame the limitation of power in a parliamentary government and several compulsions that force them to adopt anti-people policies and thereby, ask the people to absolve them of all the crimes in which they have been a partner of the foreign monopoly and finance capital.
Actually, these parliamentary 'left' forces have no capacity to formulate any independent and pro-people policies while in government, as they are tied with the international monopoly capital through millions of threads. The governments of all capitalist countries like that of Europe and North America, along with the governments of under-developed (read undeveloped) countries of Asia-Africa-Latin America are controlled by the international monopoly finance capital, as it has the final say in the matters of investment and through its enormous super profit, extracted from the neo-colonial countries of Asia-Africa-Latin America, they buy the politicians of all hues in the parliamentary domain and separates the bureaucracy and the judiciary from the political system to ensure that the monopoly capital's rule remains unchallenged even at the instance of a hostile takeover and its interests cannot be harmed by the change of governments.
Syriza will struggle only to ensure that a 'humane' policy is adopted by the creditors to extract debt payments from Athens, which can be used to magnify its political image as an uncompromising 'left' and an anti-imperialist force, while, in reality, it will be nothing more than hoodwinking the people of Greece to serve and protect the nasty interests of the monopoly - finance capital that is robbing their resources and their money.
The Greek people cannot escape the verdict pronounced by the Troika, their destiny and financial security lies in transforming themselves into the spoils of war to be divided as booty between German-French and American monopoly-finance capital. It is only by uniting together and organising a fierce nationwide struggle against the aggression and plunder of the Troika-led invasion, as well as by forming an iron strong solidarity with other people of European nations fighting austerity measures of their governments and the people of Asia-Africa and Latin America fighting against American-European neo-colonial plunders that the Greek people, the workers and common people of Greece, can save themselves and their nation from the peril that awaits them.
We shall live to see the future of Greece; an independent and socialist Greece will greet the world soon.
0 comments