#tsipra

[geolitico]

Die Verleumdung der Griechen

Die Verleumdung der Griechen

Syrizas angeblich geheimen Drachme-Pläne kündigte GEOLITICO schon im Dezember 2014 an. Sie waren öffentlich bekannt und Bestandteil rationaler Politik. Der Rest ist Verleumdung. [dropcap]D[/dropcap]ieser Tage machen Gerüchte über angebliche Geheimpläne der griechischen Regierung zur Wiedereinführung der Drachme die Runde. Dazu ist folgendes klarzustellen: Bereits im Dezember 2014 erläuterte der…

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[versobooks]

Yesterday Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras made his first policy speech in the Voulí ton Ellínon, standing firm in his position on debt and austerity. Following on from his excellent analysis of the Greek election results, Stathis Kouvelakis considers Tsipras's programme. 

 Tsipras’s inaugural policy speech before the Greek Parliament was followed particularly attentively within Greece as much as in the European chancelleries – and no doubt in the White House too. Within Greece, after the ECB’s blackmail and the continual attacks by the European leaders, there is a spreading mood of mobilization, of regained dignity, of a desire both to support the government in the face of the blackmail and to put pressure on it to halt any retreat. Externally, and more specifically within the governing European circles, every word and above all every measure announced were weighed up to seek to gauge the determination of the prime minister and his government. Most expected a significant shift, prefiguring a retreat, which would facilitate a “compromise” during the European summits this coming week, which would in reality signify Greece’s submission to their diktats. In this they were undoubtedly disappointed. For Alexis Tsipras, in truth, made no fundamental concessions. To be sure, he avoided using the term “cancellation of the debt”. But he strongly insisted on its unviable character and demanded its “reduction” and “restructuring”. True, he also failed to announce the immediate reinstatement of the minimum wage to its 2009 level (751 euros) but he did commit to doing so during 2015. As for the rest, he went through all the points of the Thessaloniki programme: emergency measures to deal with the humanitarian disaster (food, reconnecting electricity, transport and medical coverage for all), reinstatement of labour legislation, disbandment of unjust land taxes, fiscal reform to make the rich pay, a rise in the tax threshold to 12,000 euros, rehiring the sacked public sector workers, an end to privileges for the private media companies, reconstitution of ERT (the public radio and TV company), activating the powers that the state has as a shareholder in the banks, a stop to the auctioning off of public assets (ports, infrastructures, energy), a end to police repression of demonstrations.