Introduction
Introduction Statistics Contact Development Disclaimer Help
# taz.de -- Crisis in Greece: Europe’s helpless leftists
> Syriza’s politics was a proposal for the system to show good will. This
> was both naïve and impassioned.
Bild: Alexis Tsipras‘ Syriza government risks a showdown.
German unemployment at its lowest since 1991, binge drinking among teens on
the decline — and to top it all, the real summer kicks off.
The agencies only had tip-top news from Germany. So who cares about some
Greek guy who can’t live off his pension, let alone pay for his medication?
Prevailing logic claims that a state should only pay its people as much
money as it can afford. And if that’s not enough to live off, then that’s
just tough.
Traditional and new leftists in Europe are opposed to this lethal logic,
while glitzy groups like the Italian Five-Star movement, but also extreme
right-wing populists, continually raise new arguments in its favour that
elicit incredulous headshakes from politicians in Berlin, Brussels and
ultimately Paris, Rome and Warsaw too.
He who pays the piper calls the tune — and he who has debts should be
grateful if he’s allowed to wash dishes for slave’s wages. The rest of the
tongue-wagging that goes on is either priggish, dangerous, but mostly
laughably feeble — the kind of talk that extreme left- and right-wing
crackpots have always liked to indulge in during their lavish free time.
The constraints of the past are the lack of alternative of today.
## The principle is at stake
The Greek Syriza government has not only gone against this logic; it has
risked a showdown. The results of its domestic policies are not relevant in
its evaluation: true, Tsipras has barely touched the military budget, but
he has launched a policy to grant Greek citizenship to foreign immigrants.
As far as Berlin is concerned, however, it’s six of one, half a dozen of
the other: principles and politics are at stake.
The wobbles over the future of the EU and the euro have already lost more
money on the stock exchanges than Greek sloppiness could ever fritter away:
287 billion euros alone this Monday according to figures. But those are
costs that real-life liberalism writes off, so that the Greek government’s
„irrational” behaviour and its kind remains a one-off episode.
And it will probably succeed too: the left-wing populist movement is still
under construction in Spain, almost non-existent in Portugal, and not one
significant left-wing party exists in Italy anymore. Over there, as in
France, criticism of the neo-liberal system is articulated mostly by the
right, whether it’s the Front National or Lega Nord, who have largely
modelled themselves on their French counterparts over the past few years.
Syriza’s politics was a proposal to the system to show good will. It was
both naïve and impassioned, as is always the case when human dignity is at
stake.
The next attempt for alternative politics, at least in the EU, will be a
few illusions poorer.
Translation: Lucy Renner Jones
2 Jul 2015
## AUTOREN
Ambros Waibel
## TAGS
taz-Texte zur Euro-Krise auf Englisch
taz-Texte zur Euro-Krise auf Englisch
taz-Texte zur Euro-Krise auf Englisch
taz-Texte zur Euro-Krise auf Englisch
taz-Texte zur Euro-Krise auf Englisch
taz-Texte zur Euro-Krise auf Englisch
## ARTIKEL ZUM THEMA
Democracy and the Greek crisis: Breaking Europe’s Stunned Silence
No longer does anybody in Brussels dare to resist orders from Berlin. Do we
want a Europe run by decree? It’s time for debate.
After the Euro Summit in Brussels: Thus fails Europe
Thanks to a loathsome alliance, Merkel and Schäuble have been able to
impose all of Germany’s demands on Greece. The result is a regime of
sanctions and coercion.
After the Greek referendum: History in the Making
The outcome of the referendum is clear. Now more than ever it’s up to the
ECB, alongside the Greek government, to come up with solutions.
Grexit and the Eurozone: Destroyed confidence
The monetary system is based on confidence, and that confidence has been
shattered. The end of the monetary union is dawning – even if Greece
remains in the euro.
Angela Merkel and the Greek crisis: Is the Chancellor invulnerable?
Angela Merkel is prepared to push through a third aid package for Athens.
The opposition accuses her of wanting to help the Greek banks, not its
citizens.
You are viewing proxied material from taz.de. The copyright of proxied material belongs to its original authors. Any comments or complaints in relation to proxied material should be directed to the original authors of the content concerned. Please see the disclaimer for more details.