Greeks Plan to Protest Merkel's Visit, Will Propose the Impossible as an Alternative to Austerity
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is scheduled to visit Greece next Tuesday to meet with Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras. It doesn't look like she is going to receive the best of welcomes.
Many Greeks are unhappy with the German government, which is insisting on the Greek government making privatizations and reforms before receiving the next installment of their bailout (even though Merkel herself seems to be open to relaxing these conditions). German taxpayers are expected to contribute a huge amount to the European bailout fund and it is understandable that the German government would want to attach strict conditions to any assistance. Some Greeks think that recovery and membership of the euro is compatible without a drastic change is fiscal culture and will be protesting Merkel's arrival:
But Greece's main labor unions were swift to call a protest rally outside Parliament on Tuesday against "the neoliberal policies of Mrs. Merkel and the European Union's core leadership," and a three-hour work stoppage in Athens to facilitate participation.
The unions said in a statement that "workers, pensioners and unemployed people can take no more of the European Union's punitive policies."
These policies continue to be strongly resisted by many Greeks, despite the fact that self-described socialist politicians such as Alexis Tsipras from SYRIZA (Greece's left-wing coalition) have stopped strongly resisting the measures being imposed. From the World Socialist Website published by the International Committee of the Fourth International:
Since the election in June, Tsipras has sought to appease popular opposition to the cuts by raising a number of social demands, such as an end to austerity measures. However, a closer look reveals that his promises are empty.
Since the election campaign, he has abandoned demands such as the reversal of privatizations and previous austerity measures—demands that he cynically advanced while pledging to repay Greece's debts to the financial markets and the European Union.
Unfortunately for those who plan to protest Merkel's visit there is no way for Greece to say in the euro without a drastic change in behavior. It is just not politically possible for Germans and other more prosperous countries to bail Greece out without conditions.
According to Samaras, Greece has a little over a month before it defaults on its debt, after which euro membership is hard to imagine. If membership of the single currency is something that the protesters on Tuesday want they should learn to live with the fact that eurozone membership will be conditional on austerity measures. There is no way that the rest of Europe will continue to support Greece without changes.