BlackAgendaReport.com executive editor Glen Ford says a real leftist leadership would call for nationalizing the banks and not merely sloganeer.
Glen Ford: Syriza "Punked Out"
BlackAgendaReport.com executive editor Glen Ford says a real leftist leadership would call for nationalizing the banks and not merely sloganeer.
Hold on now. I love Glen Ford, but Syriza punked out like the Black Panther Party punked out in the ’70s. They both were/are under impossible pressure.
Please understand history part 1: the Greeks have in living memory a brutal civil war that saw family members out in the streets in opposite camps, ratting each other out, and dividing people in the worst, most visceral ways. The military fascist right was of course supported by the US, and they murdered, imprisoned and tortured leftists, exiled artists, etc. and were in power for many years. An excellent resource for this history: Dangerous Citizens: the Greek Left and the Terror of the State by Neni Panourgia. If Syriza treads softly it’s because they wish to avoid further polarizing an already uneasy situation. The US will surely support the right again, so no benefit can come from dividing the Greek people against themselves.
Please understand history part 2: you can appeal to nationalist interests only so long before they curdle into *fascist* nationalist interests. So if an automatic departure from Europe seems the low hanging fruit, please think again. The ultranationalist, xenophobic thug party–strongly associated with the police–is already vigorous enough in Greece–any knee jerk puffing up of nationalist interests would pretty much guarantee devolution into support for these well armed and organized neonazis. That would probably be just fine for the Troika but would not help ordinary people in Greece.
Finally, I like to think that it’s not over yet. Each time I think Syriza has sold out for good they come back with something that reveals a deeper strategy. There’s no consensus in the cabinet, and Greek people are no happier than they were before this last move. I’d like to think that I can trust one of the best organized and most motivated leftist governments on the planet to be something other than punks. And I trust one of the most assertive populations on the planet. After all, when in 2008 the cops killed without provocation one single 15 year old boy the *entire country* poured into the streets and squares and bravely challenged the police with firebombs and angry direct action.
Thank you for your consideration.