Most readers of this site take a keen interest in Greek politics. This article is for the next issue of Socialist Resistance. I’m posting it here for a couple of reasons. First because I’ve just spend an hour reworking some infelicities of phrasing. Second because some of the issues are remarkably similar to much of the recent furore in the comments section. What do you do when you’ve got a choice of a crummy social democrat party (you know which one I mean), a strong conservative party and a viable left alternative? OK maybe the third one isn’t such a pressing national dilemma in England.

By Giorgos Sapounas (a member of KOKKINO and of the political secretariat of SYRIZA) 

September’s general election in Greece saw the ruling conservative New Democracy (ND) party win. Its vote declined slightly from 45% to 42%. In common with their social democrat predecessors PASOK, ND’s rule had been a period of neo-liberal counter reforms. As well as sharing very similar programmes the two parties had the lion’s share of the vote, winning 85% last time around.

The situation going into this election was different. There had been big mobilisations against the changes in the constitution, in particular against the government’s flagship reform which attempted to remove the right to free and public university education. Also in people’s minds as they went to vote were the enormous fires that had just taken place and which vividly demonstrated the effects of neo-liberalism on basic infrastructure such as the fire service.

Although the new government is much weaker, only having 152 out of 300 MPs, it is certain that it will try to promote neoliberal reforms of the constitution, social security and working conditions. Its problem is that the small parliamentary majority makes it vulnerable to the resistance of the social movements.

PASOK came second taking, 38% of the vote, a 2% fall from 2004. This was their lowest percentage in recent decades. The main reason for this was the right turn that they took. It was clear to everyone that PASOK, instead of supporting the struggles, was subverting them. On election night a crisis broke out and today there is a battle for the party leadership. The base of the party contains not only a working class majority but also lots of the young people who participated in the student movement. It lacks a clearly anti-liberal left wing that is represented in the leadership, and so it is not expected that there will be a left turn against the main neoliberal policies of the party. The percentage of the two big parties has been reduced but is still solid.

The Left won a combined total of 15 % of the vote. The Communist Party of Greece’s (KKE) vote rose to 8 % from 5.9% in 2004. KKE is a Stalinist reformist party with a clearly anti capitalist rhetoric. At the same time it is extremely sectarian at all levels towards both the rest of the left and the social movements. It is a pole of attraction of protest but does not offer an alternative perspective apart from an abstract Stalinist vision. A recurrent problem is that the KKE is very destructive in the left fronts and the movement.

The Coalition of the Radical Left SYRIZA won just over 5% of the vote up from 3.2% in 2004. Under the Greek system of proportional representation this entitles it to fourteen MPs. SYRIZA is a broad Left coalition that first participated in the elections in 2004. There are 10 participating organisations including KOKKINO which is friendly to the Fourth International (FI). The largest of the participants is Synaspismos, a sister party of the French Communist party and Rifondazione Comunista. It is a member of the European Left party.

Over the last three years there has been a change in the leadership of Synaspismos. It has taken a real left turn, rejecting any centre-left scenarios. This was the main platform on which the coalition was made. Other participating groups are of a variety of Maoist, Trotskyist and Communist origins including former KKE and International Socialists. It also includes Manolis Glezos who is one of the most important personalities not only of the Greek Left but also of the anti-Nazi resistance during World War Two. That’s him on the Soviet stamp. His group Active Citizens (DIKKI) is the largest that ever split from PASOK. It is an anti-capitalist ecological organisation.

SYRIZA is the Greek example of building a broad anti-liberal, radical left structure. Its strong showing in the election and the fact that four of its fourteen MPs are not members of Synaspismos are positive signs for its future. This process also means greater responsibilities for KOKKINO as it tries not only to build SYRIZA but also to build a more radical, anti-capitalist tendency in it.

The electoral results of the revolutionary left outside SYRIZA remained at their customary low levels. KKE (m-l) a Maoist group got 0.25%. ENANTIA, a coalition between SEK (the Greek SWP) and OKDE-Spartakos (the Greek section of the FI) won 0.15%.

This election saw a small breakthrough for LAOS- a nationalist, racist, party. It entered the parliament (3.8%). This is an expression of a negative protest that the Left needs to focus on without underestimating it.

As a conclusion it can be said that there are new attacks in store for us. The social democrats are in crisis and the left is strong but divided. There are huge opportunities in the development of SYRIZA on three different levels:

· Deepening of the coalition and the unity of the participant organisations of SYRIZA by building local and national structures.

· Having an offensive set of political proposals that will provide the necessary conditions for a programmatical convergence of all the anti-liberal sections of the political and social left, including the base of PASOK.

· Building the movements while respecting their autonomy from the political left.