These days mark 15 years since the social-democratic PASOK government announced the activation of the “support mechanism” for the Greek economy by the EU and the IMF.

This was followed by three agreements (memoranda) with the EU for the “salvation” of the Greek economy, accompanied by thousands of anti-people laws at the expense of the working class and the popular strata. We are talking about savage cuts in wages and pensions, heavy taxation, the dismantling of social security and collective agreements, a fierce attack on trade union action, the mass bankruptcy of the self-employed, small tradesmen and poor farmers, the privatization of critical sectors, the underfunding and shutdowns in health and education.

These measures gave capital a breath of fresh air to overcome the crisis, restore its profitability, and shield its competitiveness. The goal of reviving the capitalist economy by intensifying the exploitation of the working class and strangling small businesses united all political representatives.

The first memorandum (2010) was voted by the PASOK government and a total of 172 MPs. The second memorandum (2012) was voted by the coalition government of ND, PASOK and the far-right LAOS and a total of 199 MPs. The third memorandum (2015) was voted by the coalition government of the “left-wing” SYRIZA and the far-right ANEL (a group that split from New Democracy) and a total of 222 MPs from all the bourgeois parties.

The experience of the people confirmed what the KKE had revealed about the statements of the “left-wing” SYRIZA about a “different economic mix” when it was vying for power.

Only the KKE took up a fighting position against illusions, the stance of an idle observer, fatalism, and resignation, against the current of the so-called “anti-memorandum front” that led to the change of government and the “left-wing government” led by SYRIZA that fed false hopes to broad sections of the population.

The KKE’s stance helped to keep the seedbeds of resistance alive and prevent resignation from taking hold. It helped prevent the people from being paralyzed when they felt betrayed by the stance of the social-democratic SYRIZA in September 2015. It helped the working class and the popular forces to set a militant pace as quickly as possible, to organize the struggle in the workplaces and sectors, and to develop their just demands from a better position in the coming years.

Today, the people are called upon to believe in their strength and to counterattack, following the path laid out by the KKE, to overthrow the power of capital, to take hold of power and the economy, to fight for socialism, which will consign crises, wars, and exploitation to the dustbin of history.

28.04.2025