Polls suggest that Syriza will emerge as the strongest party in the Jan. 25 election, although its lead has narrowed. The party wants to cancel austerity and a big chunk of national debt but says it will keep Greece in the euro zone.
Euro zone politicians are not obliged to rescue Greece as the country is no longer of systemic importance to the single currency bloc, a senior member of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party was quoted as saying.
On Monday, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble warned Greece against straying from a path of economic reform, saying any new government in Athens would be held to the pledges made by the current government of premier Antonis Samaras.
Angela Merkel, nevertheless, seems to think she can get her way simply by threatening to ignore Greece. It worked before, so it can work again, she thinks. She’s wrong. If the rest of the Eurozone thinks it is sufficiently prepared to withstand a Greek default without significant mishap, then her bluff will be called. Angela Merkel must then do this or be exposed as a paper dragon.
What do Syriza stand for?
Together with the European Left Party, of which it is a very active member, SYRIZA is fighting for the re-foundation of Europe away from artificial divisions and cold-war alliance such as NATO. As for the E.U., SYRIZA denounces the dominant extreme neoliberal and euro-atlantic policies and believes that they must and can be transformed radically in the direction of a democratic, social, peaceful, ecological and feminist Europe, open to a socialist and democratic future. This is why SYRIZA is in favour of cooperation and coordinated action of left forces and social movements on a pan-European scale. However, it does not hold euro-centric views and rejects the idea of an insulate “fortress Europe”.
At the same time, SYRIZA is in favour of regional cooperation, especially in the Balkans and the Mediterranean. It attaches particular significance to confronting the crucial problems of peace within our broader region (Balkans, Mediterranean, Middle East). It is in favour of a diplomatic process of dialogue based on international law and of resolving the problems in Greek-Turkish relations to the benefit of both peoples and towards establishing peace in our region; it is in favour of the Cyprus issue being resolved on the basis of relevant UN Resolutions, so that the island be reunified within the framework of a bi-zonal, bi-community federation with a single citizenship, sovereignty, and international personality.
