Greek Premier Claims Victory in Local Elections Seen as a Referendum on Austerity

[alp227]

Source: The New York Times

ATHENS — Since he was elected a year ago, Prime Minister George Papandreou has struggled to satisfy two difficult and seemingly mutually exclusive constituencies: international financial markets and Greeks.

On Sunday, he claimed a victory on both counts, based on projections of a strong showing by his Socialist party in regional elections widely seen as a referendum on the government’s austerity measures.

With only 10 percent of the votes counted — and despite record-high abstentions, estimated at 40 percent — Mr. Papandreou gave a triumphant televised address.

“Tomorrow we will continue to work toward the crucial goal of safeguarding the future of our country, a future that will allow us to control our own fate, a future free of any kind of supervision or stewardship,” he said.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/08/world/europe/08greece.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss&pagewanted=all

[David__77]

1. The pro-austerity "Left" deservers to be smashed everywhere.

The NY Times editorializes: "Both the center-right New Democracy opposition party and some harder-left parties campaigned against the austerity measures, although neither has offered a credible alternative." This is a lie!

The Greek Communist Party, as the only consistently progressive party, has a very clear, credible program in opposition to austerity.

[xchrom]

2. +1 -- austerity commbined with progressive = neoliberal.

which is to say sell off the government piecemeal to corporations and leave the people to
the whims of not very humane institutions.

[David__77]

4. This is why the "left" loses the European working people to the right.

In Hungary, the "Socialist" Party is the best friend of big business and banks, not the nominally conservative parties. The same was true in Poland, but the "left" was utterly wiped out for this reason. PASOK in Greece does things New Democracy could not or would not. The "left" in Italy is wiped out, as Blair-like "Third Way" fever destroyed the remnants of a once-vibrant sector. Postmodernism and "post-ideological" Third Way madness has turned the so-called left into a battering ram of corporations and banks.

The ONLY thing that can turn things around is to return to the labor movement, clean house ideologically, and proceed from a clear labor perspective. That goes in the US too, of course, though we have less positive past experience to learn from.

[Unvanguard]

3. So the voters choose "bad" over "worse"

A ringing endorsement, indeed...