Why the whole world is watching Greece

Lee Sustar answers Why the whole world is watching Greece.

More recently, the Greek economy has seen a small recovery from its catastrophic collapse, achieving what's known as a "primary surplus"--economists' jargon for a government budget surplus prior to the repayment of debt. European banks and their regulators at the European Central Bank now claim that they're far healthier and thus no longer at risk of a possible "Grexit" from the euro.

But the bankers can't be trusted. This is the same bunch who told the world that everything was sound just before the financial crash of 2008. Given the interconnectedness of international finance, there's no way to know just how banks would be affected by SYRIZA's demand to renegotiate Greek debt.

There's another big worry for EU bureaucrats and European corporate bosses: The possibility that Greece could set a precedent for other countries by encouraging further left-wing protest against austerity policies that have seen governments across the EU slash budgets and push the costs of the economic crisis onto working people.

More than six years into the economic crisis, most European economies are stagnating. The political fallout has hit establishment parties of the centre left and centre right--for example, with the National Front making huge electoral gains amid dissatisfaction with the Socialist Party government of François Hollande. Far-right and nationalist groups in other countries have also gained in recent elections by scapegoating immigrants in general, and Muslims in particular.

In Spain, by contrast, the left-wing Podemos party, barely one year old, emerged as the most popular party in that country as the result of popular anger against the conservative government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. A SYRIZA victory would boost Podemos' prospects and revive the left across the continent.

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So, SYRIZA is seen a threat by being a good example to working people throughout Europe.

But Golden Dawn is likely to get seats in the next parliament and will remain an ominous force, thanks to its well-documented connections to establishment right-wingers and military figures. Right-wing authoritarianism and fascism have deep roots in Greece, and these neo-Nazis will continue to present themselves as an alternative to people driven to desperation in the crisis.

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Capitalists are never to loathe to turn to the military or fascists in order to keep their power. I think this is the primary danger facing a SYRIZA government.

The key question was what such left-wing parties will do in office to mobilise workers struggles against a hostile state bureaucracy and capitalist class, with strikes, factory occupations, sit-ins at government ministries and the like. Such struggles are essential to fortify revolutionary and working-class organisation in what is certain to be a series of high-stakes confrontations with capital.

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As always, the primary objective of all working class political organisations is to overthrow Capitalism. The path to revolution has to be negotiated daily.