The Greek ruling class has failed to have its anointed candidate elected to the Greek presidency, and this has currently brought its ‘democratic’ process to an impasse that is threatening to derail the austerity it has imposed on the people of Greece. Its system is predicated on social and economic inequality, and at times of crisis, austerity (for the overwhelming majority of society) is the only option of the Greek ruling class while it continues to accumulate wealth through privatisations of public property, and through the further exploitation of human needs (cf., the de-regulation of labour, foreclosure on mortgages, and so on).
Naturally, this is not the sort of explanation that the Greek ruling class would encourage. It is in its interests to allow for odious narratives to gain appeal; narratives that pin the blame of this systemic crisis on members of our society who are different or somehow ‘undeserving’, be they religious or ethnic minorities, LGBTQ people, the aged, the unemployed, communists, anarchists and so on. At different periods in Greece’s history, it has been Greece’s partisans, ethnic, linguistic, and religious minorities, or its refugees that have been accused for all of Greece’s woes. The Greek ruling class and its state apparatus have a long history of resorting to such scape-goating. The recent tragedy at Charlie Hebdo has been cynically exploited by Samaras, the outgoing Greek Prime Minister, to somehow justify the Greek state’s criminal treatment of its refugees, and to call for more anti-immigration measures. A whole cast of conservative bigots in Greece have jumped on the anti-immigration bandwagon to denigrate refugees and migrants as threats to security and public health. Greeks know only too well how these high-level political declarations lead to more deaths (cf., the Farmakonissi disaster, and the many other migrant deaths) at the borders of ‘Fortress Europe’!
The current deadlock has forced the Greek ruling class’s political servants to call for a snap election on 25 January. In keeping with its reactionary nature, the ‘New Democracy’ party – the main component in the current coalition austerity government – continues with its anti-migrant rhetoric. At the present juncture, AAfG calls for the support of all progressive anti-austerity forces, and for the opposition to all pro-austerity efforts, given that, as the case of Greece illustrates, austerity and economic want breeds racism and fascism in society. After all, the bitter experience of Europe in the 20th and 21st centuries has made this abundantly clear. For these reasons, AAfG calls for:
AN END TO AUSTERITY!
THE SUPPORT OF PROGRESSIVE ANTI-AUSTERITY FORCES IN THE FORTHCOMING GREEK ELECTIONS!
NO VOTES TO NEO-NAZIS, RACISTS OF ANY SORT, AND TO THOSE WHO DEMONISE OUR MIGRANT FELLOW BEINGS!
SOLIDARITY BETWEEN THE PEOPLES OF THE WORLD!
DOWN WITH ALL KINDS OF DISCRIMINATION!
SOLIDARITY BETWEEN THE WORKERS AND THE YOUTH
THROUGHOUT THE WORLD!
The AAfG Coordinating Committee
Anti-Fascist Action For Greece 