The KKE, having
received 4.5% in the last elections and having lost around half its electoral
base to Syriza, is on the verge of meltdown with a split looming between the
ruling cliques who run one of the last ‘hardline’ Stalinist parties in Europe . The main reason is that if the KKE falls
below 3% of the national vote they will lose the state subsidy which became
vital for the organisation’s survival after the Soviet
Union collapsed, as well as the fact that its current subsidy has halved due to the fall in votes.
The main factions
are centred around the journalist Bogiopoulos (author of ‘It’s Capitalism, Stupid’ Livanis Publications) and the
rest of the ruling clique around Mailis. Bogiopoulos made a critique in
Rizospastis that their policy no longer holds sway, that they convince nobody
but themselves. When protests emerged around the Can’t Pay Movement or the
Indignants in the squares, the KKE either didn’t go or left when other people
arrived. He criticises the essentially sectarian nature of their policy without
stating whether they should agree to a government of the Left. A main point of
conflict is of course the way the KKE presided over the sackings at its TV
station 902 and why PAME refused to support the fired workers. They therefore ended
up demonstrating against the Party of the Proletariat!
No to the Unjust and Revengeful Sackings
No to the Climate of the Ghetto in 902
Sacked Workers of 902
Video Report of the Sacking at the KKE's headquarters tv station and newspaper Rizospastis
The reality is that
the KKE abandoned the labour movement more than two decades ago. They assume
their electoral fallout arose solely because they have wrong policies, when in
reality they have suffered a catastrophic collapse equal to the drop in
percentage terms with the other main parties (ND and PASOK) as they are seen in
many people’s eyes as being part of the system, having governed with both ND
and PASOK when the Soviet Union collapsed. Bogiopoulos assumes a different
political line will bring them some new members (they need a Tsipras) to stave
off what Synaspismos was facing in the mid 2000 when it was contemplating its electoral
wipeout. But that’s the irony: Greeks didn’t vote for Syriza because they
believed it had anything to offer nor did they flock to join its organisation even
though it received 27% of the
vote. They voted according to pollsters for the ‘extremes’, those under 50
years of age, (Golden Dawn, Syriza) and the overwhelming majority didn’t vote at
all (40%) against the mainstream parties of the Troika (ND, PASOK)
Bogiopoulos, like
the rest of the KKE leadership believes the economic measures will bring about
a new boom and all they need to do is talk a bit left gather a few supporters,
bump up the percentages to around 10% and all will be fine again. They can then
re-employ some people, sell a few more copies of Rizospastis and all can be the
same again. The nature of the era was never truly understood or it was only understood
to the extent that they needed to adapt to it and cover for it.
The mass influx of
illegal immigrants who were used by the bosses to crush the labour movement
(building workers in the 90’s, sailors in the 70’s) destroyed the Greek labour
movement. Globalisation, deindustrialisation, off-shoring and in-shoring of
corporations, the massive Olympics corporate games (where hardly any Greeks got
a look in for jobs and the KKE declared an Olympics strike truce) as well as
membership of the EU and the EZ destroyed what was left of Greek industry.
When some of the
largest factories of the 70’s (Piraiki Patraiki in Patras) became illegal
immigrant squatter camps or squares in Central
Athens (Ag Panteleomonas), the KKE looked the other way.
They did the same when Greeks were the victims of crime, antisocial violence
and deaths by the hordes of illegal immigrants who had nowhere to sleep, eat or
survive. Like the rest of the globalist left they allowed a bunch of unknown clowns
going by the name of Golden Dawn to enter the vacuum of leadership created by
the Left. No longer interested in the bread and butter issues of jobs and
rights they turned their back on the decaying and demoralised Greek working
class. It repaid them in kind turning their backs on the KKE and going over to
GD, Syriza or refusing to vote.
When the IMF arrived
and hundreds of thousands were on demos in central Athens ,
the KKE ranks tried to storm Parliament. The KKE went mad in defending this
holy brothel. How dare they? They were labelled as ‘fascists’ ‘infiltrators’
‘provocateurs’ like in the good old days of the Polytechnic uprising when their
student newspaper declared the students agents of the Junta.
KKE members defending IMF occupied Parliament in a 2nd line of Defence as they do with the American Embassy annually.
Over 25 ‘General
Strikes’ (essentially the public sector) have occurred in which the KKE has
consistently and persistently marched on its own and left in time, never receiving
sustained gas attacks from the riot police. Whilst condemning the ‘yellow
unions’ around the Greek TUC, it hasn’t resigned from any position in the Trade
Councils or the Executive positions of the Greek TUC. Why should it? They get
paid. That is what politics has been reduced to. Let Greece burn, thousands
commit suicide, kids faint of hunger in the schools, hospital patients are
turfed out to drop dead for lack of medicines and the KKE remains committed to
the IMF occupied Parliament till the end.
Bogiopoulos makes
reference to a quote from Marx ‘people
need to be able to live in order to make history’, hinting
at the catastrophic crisis wiping out the chance of survival of large swathes
of the population. Where are the demands of ‘Less Work but Work for All’, right
to work marches, organising the unemployed (Greek unions can’t even have them
as members), shutting down subcontracted job sites and enforcing unionisation
with baton in hand (like the building workers used to?)
Whatever happened to
the United Front on the streets: ‘march separately but strike together’? Why
did they control and contain the Steelworkers strike and ensure they were
defeated without a real fight? They didn’t allow workers to fight to close down
the other plants in Volos so as to not be labelled ‘racists’ as they employed
illegal immigrants?
Bogiopoulos hasn’t
been an MP and needs a career and if he senses more cuts are coming into
Rizospastis he will seek pastures anew. The only show on the road for careerists
with something to offer the system is Syriza and its dalliances with the Greek
version of UKIP (Ind Greeks-Kammenos). A new split will be good for Greece . The sooner the KKE goes into the dustbin
of history the better. It serves no purpose in the current period. New
political forces need to be created, hopefully some good comrades who want to
remain in Greece and fight
to end the Fourth Reich of banksters, spivs and political chameleons will
emerge. If it doesn’t a new barbarism will dawn upon us. That
is what is at stake.
VN Gelis
*11th-14th April 2013
Update 7th April
Bogiopoulos has recanted on paper with a new statement criticising those who want to go against the Party from outside, but the fact remains many rank and file KKE members are pissed off with what happened in Cyprus (under their political associate Christofias) and are looking for a different policy. If Bogiopoulos doesn't want to lead a conflict at the Conference that is understandable, but conflict will be unnavoidable as the Party is bankrupt (they have taken the state subisdy till 2016) their papers dont sell and they cant justify the fulltimers anymore. Bogiopoulos earned his spurs against in the movement against the NATO led anti-Yugoslav wars in the 1980's and is definitely the most able KKE member.
Whether a split occurs at Conference or immediately thereafter we will have to wait and see...
Update 7th April
Bogiopoulos has recanted on paper with a new statement criticising those who want to go against the Party from outside, but the fact remains many rank and file KKE members are pissed off with what happened in Cyprus (under their political associate Christofias) and are looking for a different policy. If Bogiopoulos doesn't want to lead a conflict at the Conference that is understandable, but conflict will be unnavoidable as the Party is bankrupt (they have taken the state subisdy till 2016) their papers dont sell and they cant justify the fulltimers anymore. Bogiopoulos earned his spurs against in the movement against the NATO led anti-Yugoslav wars in the 1980's and is definitely the most able KKE member.
Whether a split occurs at Conference or immediately thereafter we will have to wait and see...