The new “dark” government of New Democracy appears to have no opponent. It must have only one: Struggles and the Extreme Left

1. The elections of 25th June complete a heavy, negative result for the working people, the poor strata and the youth. Taking 40.55% and 2.1 million votes New Democracy and Mistotakis finally elicited self-reliance, though not as easily as they wanted. This means that the criminal policies of privatization, neoliberalism, state repression and racism which have been implemented for the past 4 years and which society has literally been paying with its blood (35,000 coronavirus deaths, 37 dead people from the crime at Tempi, over 80 dead refuges and hundreds presumed missing from the crime at Pylos, dozens of dead workers in work accidents) were not punished. Neither was punished the counter-labour policy of poverty and high prices (Hatzidakis’ laws etc) or that of the Emergency State of “Cadres” which lets rich child molesters go free and allows, at the same time, police forces to kill and hit demonstrators and poor people, unpunished. The electoral results constitute a monstrosity with a lot of flamboyant elements. It is true that N.D. did not become almighty, did not regenerate bourgeois politics and did not integrate wide masses in its program, but this monstrosity, with all the persons that staff the government (Adonis, Chrysochoidis, etc) is extremely dangerous and about to immediately launch new brutal attacks against the labour and the youth.

Exclusively responsible for this monstrosity is SYRIZA and Tsipras. After turning the NO of the referendum into YES, signing and implementing the 3rd memorandum they stroke a heavy blow against the Left and the hope for an alternative policy, they brought N.D. and memorandum policies back from the dead.

2. SYRIZA’s wreck continues: from 31.5% in 2019 to 20,7% in May  and 17.84% in June 2023. This result seems to be just the beginning of its punishment for the political crimes it committed since 2015. Unfortunately its collapse sweeps broad masses  of working people and popular strata along into a sense of dead-end.

Despite the efforts of the Media and the bourgeois forces the reinforcement of PASOK is weak (from 11.46 to 11.85). Although it benefits from SYRIZA’s collapse it seems that, for the time being, it cannot claim the central role it wants in the bourgeois political scene.

3. One of the monsters that came out of the ballot box is the reinforcement of far right forces like the Spartans, who were supported by Kasidiaris, and other similar reactionary formations that enter the Parliament (Velopoulos, VICTORY). All together they gather a loud 12.77% (along with the formations that did not make it to the Parliament they reach about 15%). They serve bourgeoisie as a useful reserve and supplement of N.D. This is why N.D. gave the green light for the Spartans to participate in the elections. The danger posed by the ascent of the far-right exists and it will pressure for the shift of the agenda of the other parliamentary parties to more racist policies and to a conservative, reactionary turn of the governmental policy.

4. Abstention rose significantly –especially at younger ages– almost at 48% (39% in May), which is the highest percentage since regime change. This causes a problem to the labour movement force since those abstaining mostly belong to labour and poor strata.

5. The Communist Party rose from 7.23 (in May) to 7.69. We should be careful as its presence more and more reminds of bourgeois policy: participation of pro-memorandum candidates in its ballots (e.g. Xirotiri who consented to the first two memorandums), appearance of Koutsoumbas in “trendy” T.V. programs for vote-catching purposes. The self-righteous exultations of the Communist Party that its increase of deputies means more forceful struggles are the highlight of a “promotional” and purely parliamentary/ reformist policy which is negated by actions like the voting in favour of the 600 euro subsidy to the repression forces, as well as by the overall crisis in the labour movementfor which a huge part of responsibility falls on the Communist Party’s anti-democratic and divisive policy. In addition, its policy on the Greek-Turkish conflict is in alignment with that of the Greek bourgeoisie. Unfortunately, the crisis and the weaknesses of the labour movement, as well as the retrogression of parts of the extreme left (which have reached the point of voting the Communist Party or are even on the verge of joining it) have allowed the emergence of its electoral reinforcement which is bound to act as a hindrance rather than a leverage for struggles.

6. The entry of the flamboyant formation of “Plefsi Eleftherias” (Course of Freedom) in the Parliament is indicative of the comedown of individuals that SYRIZA washed up. With no program, no direction, just “love”, this party manages to ridicule the bourgeois system that it serves in the bottom line.

7. The failure of MeRA 25 is evident. It is the failure of the “broad policy” without principles, the bourgeois policy that relies on glamorous personalities, who are actually responsible for the painful acceptance of the 3rd memorandum (Varoufakis signed the Intermediate Agreement, in February 2015, which extended the memorandums for another 6 months). After the neoliberal mutation of SYRIZA, some political forces and militants, desperate and subject to parliamentary cretinism, saw in MeRA 25 the “parliamentary representation of movements” and the “creation of a real left”!

8. The extreme left ballots presented a significant decline compared to the May elections, in votes (31,079 from 50,358) as well as in percentages. Despite the objectively existing weakness (lack of program and tactics, entry of organizations in MeRA 25, voting for the Communist Party, pressure of abstention, etc), this overall bad outcome and poor percentage that extreme left received is meagre in relation to its contribution and its presence in struggles and movements. ANTARSYA has the biggest decline (0.31% from 0.54%).

9. The result of OKDE, in this general context, is not good: the same percentage as in May (0.03), which remains very low and does not manage to express the demands and the pressures of the period. Although this result is low, we are going to continue striving for the reinforcement of struggles along with the working people, the youth, the poor and the militants who chose to support a labour-communist ballot -such as OKDE’s ballot- with clear reference to the struggle for Socialism. As OKDE, we pledge that, beginning the day after the elections, we will be standing by every poor or young person, every worker whose house is being taken, whose power is cut, who is fired or kicked out of their school. We will be at their side organizing a militant resistance and counterattack to the whirlwind of memorandums.

10. Given the outcome of the elections and the victory of N.D., we need to be serious and responsible. There is no need for defeatism or skepticism. Mitsotakis’ N.D. appears to have no opponent and it is bound to promptly attack the working people, the youth and the poor strata. The fronts it is about to open are many: health care, education, high prices, unionism, war, privatizations, constitutional revision. It is also certain that it will soon go ahead with some blows against labour class.

11. The elections do not illustrate the whole of class relations, especially as they were expressed during the last 4 years with significant struggles like in Nea Smyrni against the pandemic prohibitions, the even more important uprising regarding the assassinations in Tempi or with partial labour struggles (e-food, Cosco, teachers, etc). Greek capitalism and Greek political scene are walking the line on a major breach of economic crisis, social instability and polarization. What is more Greek capitalism is in front of an imminent war conflict; it is heading -informally for the time being, but soon in a formal way- towards a generalized Third World War. The labour and popular masses are “obliged” to organize promptly their defense and counterattack to the blows of the new government of Mistotakis. For OKDE, the new government of N.D., as any bourgeois government, has one and only opponent, that is, struggles –which need reconstruction– and the extreme left –which needs re-composition–, two targets to the realization of which OKDE intends to devote all its forces in the coming period.