Statement from KKE on greek elections

6 May 2012

The election results definitely show a reversal of the political scene we were familiar with, the interruption of the rotation of the two parties, PASOK and ND. We are moving into a transitional phase where there will be an attempt to create a new political scene with new formations, new figures with a centre-right orientation or based on a new social democracy that will have Syriza at its core, aimed at preventing the rising radicalism of the people that would lead things towards a true overthrow in favour of the people. There will be an attempt to form a government either from these elections or from the elections to follow, a government made up of all parties or a government of national unity, or a coalition government aimed precisely at preventing the creation of a majority current that will struggle for change.

We address the members of the party, the members of KNE [Communist Youth of Greece], the friends, the supporters, the voters, the people who co-operate with the party, to everyone who has been with us at the front line of the movement and the electoral battle, and call on you to be at the front line of the struggles in the next days, because we have pressing, serious issues that are in progress, such as the collective-bargaining agreements, the protection of the unemployed, the bankruptcy of the social security funds, the new measures that amount to €11½–14½ billion that will be paid for out of the pockets of the people. We cannot waste any time. The people must not waste time.
We urge the voters of PASOK and ND in particular, those who belong to the working class and the other popular strata to be at the front line too, together with us and other militants, in the struggles, in the work-places, in schools and universities, in the people’s neighbourhoods. They are the ones who have to provide a new momentum and a mass character to the struggle. We call on the people not to be deceived by the attempt to disguise the political system that will take place in the days and months to follow. The election results, despite the fact that the votes were scattered in both directions, right and left, objectively demonstrate a positive tendency: that radical changes are maturing or will mature in the people’s consciousness, that the movement of the real overthrow will mature, and this movement will not be far from, or even more so will not be in opposition to the political proposal of the KKE [Communist Party of Greece] on the immediate problems, for workers’ and people’s power.
We consider significant, positive and at the same time a great legacy for the next period the fact that we confronted on our own the pro-European, pro-EU forces in their entirety, irrespective of the positions they took concerning the memorandum, the fact that we fought in order to promote our own alternative proposal, which responds to and satisfies the people’s interests. We consider that this proposal constitutes a significant legacy for the people and of course will add a new momentum to the people’s struggles. We feel that our responsibilities and our role in relation to the people and their problems must be strengthened, and we believe, in fact we are certain, that we will continue to be the irreplaceable force that defends the people’s interests.
Regarding the election result of the KKE: of course the Central Committee will issue a comprehensive assessment after studying the results as a whole and the tendencies of the electorate in each region so as to draw more complete conclusions. But we can say that the KKE literally went through obstacles on both sides. On the one side there was the anger, the protest, the indignation that was absolutely justified, but it was mainly without focus, and on the other side there were the illusions. As the results show up to this point, the KKE had a small increase. Of course we would have liked a bigger one. Nevertheless, I have to say that the Central Committee and the party as a whole had no illusions that the votes of the KKE could increase exponentially, because the performance of the KKE in the elections is above all related to the formation not only of a militant people’s movement but to the formation of a powerful majority current that will be emancipated from the well-known dilemmas but also from the regenerated illusions.
The KKE had made public in good time, before the elections and without any hesitation, what kind of stance it will take towards any government that will emerge from the elections, centre-right, centre-left or “left,” as it was served up, or in the instance of a government of national unity or an all-party government, as is being discussed right now.
We clarify our position: of course we are sure that neither PASOK nor ND will make us a proposal for co-operation. They are very well aware of the deep differences between us. But we would like to answer once again the proposal that Syriza repeated after the elections concerning a government of the left. We will answer clearly without invoking what we can all see, namely that the votes and the seats are not sufficient. Maybe Syriza thinks they are enough, as it will try to gain support and votes from MPs of all the other parties. We clarify our position: we continue to say No to co-operation, because in the final analysis we have not come to this No position according to our high or low expectations regarding the results of the elections.
We heard that the president of Syriza will ask for a meeting and that they want to hold private discussions about the programme of the coalition government. Logically, whoever has made a proposal for a coalition government should have said in detail before the elections what they will do, in June, in July, in relation to concrete issues etc., instead of general slogans and general denunciations of the memorandum. Or at least they should have been ready now. What do they want exactly? We have only heard about some allowances that can be ensured or other such things.
Nevertheless a government, irrespective of its composition, must deal with the whole spectrum of the problems. It should not merely denounce the memorandum but return to the people the gains that were abolished before the memorandum—because most of the gains were lost before the memorandum—as well as many others abolished after the memorandum. A government has to manage everything and not merely the unemployment benefit, as was mentioned. It has to manage issues of the economy, the stance of the business groups towards the working people, the list of the privatisations adopted in the previous years. It has to handle issues of foreign policy, such as the general commitments that arise from the EU, NATO, from the strategic alliance with the USA. There is no government that tears the agreements into pieces, abstracts politics and only promotes the packet of measures of the next day.
In order to agree with such a government the KKE needs to make a U-turn, a somersault, and not merely a small retreat, a small turn. It must make a root-and-branch change. And above all it would have to make unacceptable compromises that have nothing to do with the people’s interests. Maybe the people are not interested in the ideological purity of the various parties; but in a party that all these years, from the very first moment of its foundation, has been in the front line of the struggle does not want to abandon this position in order to gain some ministries. The people do not need this kind of KKE.