FOLLOWING the failure to form a government by the leader of the Greek Tories, Antonis Samaras, the leader of the Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRZIA) is now attempting this task.
The bourgeoisie of Europe cannot believe their eyes and ears at the revolutionary developments in Greece where the established ruling parties, the natural rulers, have been annihilated.
The Tory, New Democracy Party had helped to rule Greece for decades. Now it has been reduced to a shell along with Greece’s other co-rulers the Pasok Socialist Party. Together they got less than 32 per cent of the vote in Sunday’s general election compared to the 78 per cent of the vote in the last 2009 election.
After Sunday’s rout, Pasok had volunteered for a coaltion with New Democracy, but even together, the two parties did not have a majority of MPs. The bourgeoisie of Europe had been banking on this coalition emerging.
The coalition of the Radical Left won 4.5 per cent of the vote in the 2009 general election, but won 16.8 per cent on Sunday. It has been driven forward by the fury of the working class and the middle class to be the second biggest party.
It is now negotiating with Pasok, seeking to cobble together a ‘left’, Popular Front-type government that will will stay in the EU and seek to lessen the austerity measures, stopping well short of organising what is required, a socialist revolution.
The Democratic Left got 6 per cent of the vote, while the Communist Party, which refused to lead the struggle against the austerity measures, and repeatedly sought to sabotage it, stood still with 8.5 per cent of the vote.
The fascist Golden Dawn, however, won 7 per cent of the votes and 19 seats in the parliament, profiting out of the desperation of the petty bourgeoisie and the lack of leadership from the Greek TUC and the Stalinists.
Greek bourgeois democracy is dead and must now be buried with a socialist revolution. A failure to carry out this policy will see a series of crisis general elections, and the bourgeoisie seeking to impose military police rule in Greece, supported by racist and fascist gangs in the streets, as sections of the petty bourgeoisie become more desperate.
The sought-after Popular Front regime, if it emerges, of radical bourgeois, reformists and revisionists to try to lessen the crisis and the austerity measures will rapidly turn into a front to bar the road of the working class to the socialist revolution.
This will be in a situation where the economic collapse of the EU is proceeding in leaps, and the situation of the Greek workers and youth will be worsening daily.
A ‘left’ government that fiddles while Rome burns will only create the conditions for the growth of the right wing and the racists and fascists who will seek the support of the most desperate sections of a hungry population for a right wing coup.
What is required is not a left Popular Front, but a revolutionary leadership and a revolutionary government. What is required is the building of the Revolutionary Marxist League, the Greek section of the International Commitee of the Fourth International to lead it.
There must be the immediate organisation of workers councils (soviets) in all of the towns and cities to impose workers control over all industries to stop all sackings, and to establish fraternal relations with the rank and file of the armed forces.
These soviets must take over the control of all government food and fuel stocks and buildings so that no Greek workers or the elderly starve, or have to live on the streets.
The workers councils must organise the youth in a workers militia to drive the fascists and racists off the streets and to protect all workers meetings and workers areas.
Above all, the Greek trade unions must use their power to organise an indefinite general strike and an uprising where the working class seizes the power and expropriates the capitalists. This will be an example to Europe of how to resolve the crisis.
