MPA25: Two-front fight against Southwest and SYRIZA

Through the Political Decision of the Central Committee, MPA25 has made it official that from now on it will be firmly oriented to the two-front struggle against the Southwest and SYRIZA. For the government it points out that «it is a tragedy for our country that New Democracy has become a government again and that it still feels strong, despite the management-fiasco of the pandemic and police democracy...». As for the opposition party, he further specifies his positions by rejecting the possibility of cooperation, but reiterating the conditions he has already set in order to make cooperation between them at the governmental level possible.

The Political Decision was adopted at the Central Committee meeting on Sunday 21 February. It presents MERA25's positions on the most important issues on the political scene, the pandemic, education, Greek-Turkish relations and alliance issues.

The decision underlines that «MPA25 was not created to ministerialize those who founded it, but to be a front of resistance to the Troika. Nor was it founded to re-minister the pioneers of capitulation». It stresses its complete opposition to the government and adds that «the last thing that will excite progressive citizens enough to go to the polls to support a progressive government is the prospect of a new coalition government implementing the forthcoming 5th Memorandum with a «progressive bias».

MPA 25 reiterates the positions it has expressed in order to participate in an alliance government, noting that SYRIZA has never responded, «confirming the determination of its leadership to refrain from conflict with the external and internal troika without which progressive governance is illusory».

However, to the hypothetical question «what will we do as a government», MPA25 sets the framework:

- Abolition of all prepaid taxes,

- Reduction of the VAT cap rate and the small business rate to 15%,

- Replacement of Hercules with a public company for the management of red loans (which is the only way to really protect the first home and small and medium sized enterprises),

- Abolition of the Super Fund,

- Creating a Public Digital Fiscal Transaction System to create liquidity, which will be thrown into the fight against poverty,

- Immediate public control of failing banks (e.g. Piraeus),

- More generally, immediate and non-negotiable legislation of the series of laws we have presented in full in the form of a Draft Law.

Greek-Turkish Relations

MPA25 is in favour of exploratory talks, as long as they temporarily reduce tensions, but, it adds, «as MPA25 we have been warning for more than a year now that Mr Mitsotakis will enter into bilateral talks with Berlin as an arbitrator, resulting in a new deadlock which, in turn, will bring new tensions».MPA25 reiterates its proposal for a Regional Conference on the delimitation of the EEZ.

MPA 25«s attack on the government's management of the pandemic is harsh. The Political Decision stresses that the Parliament is under-functioning, as well as Education, undermining our present and future, speaks of the creation of a police state, claims that there will be struggles for free public health care. It also accuses the government that ‘the lockdown is not a measure of protection, but a measure of the government's failure to fulfill its obligations, a measure of its insistence on authoritarianism as the only ’solution» to every problem.".

Estimation of the course of the Greek economy for 2021

MPA25 is pessimistic about the course of the economy. The Policy Decision states that the party had warned as early as March 2020 that the recession would range between 10% and 15% of GDP, with the government budget deficit soaring to 15% of GDP. As for the impact in 2021, «again contrary to the wishful thinking about an automatic recovery in 2021, the MPA25 had warned about the negative multiplier accelerator: The negative impact that the 2020 recession would have on net investment in 2021, which the multiplier would then turn the economy into yet another recessionary superpower.».

On the debt, MERA 25 expresses the certainty that in 2021, even if GDP increases compared to 2020, the debt will be absolutely derailed, resulting in new austerity imposed on the country by the Troika and the government of New Democracy will be happy to implement.».

In other words, he adds, «permanent austerity will be intensified - with cuts in pensions, public spending, etc. At the same time, the «Recovery Fund» will finance contractors, neo-colonial companies like Fraport and in general the domestic oligarchy which, in an environment of desperation and further impoverishment of the majority, will invest - through New Democracy and Mr Chrysochoidis - in ever more brutal authoritarianism, which will be exercised by the digital and police parastate.’ At the same time, MPA25 criticises the government's policy on Education as a whole.

Finally, he criticizes the government for its handling of the Lignadis case and underlines:

«The fact that the government of New Democracy is acting as we saw in the case of Lignadi is not surprising, precisely because it is a party that has never hesitated to do everything in its power to strengthen patriarchy. Indeed, the rigidly hierarchical model of a power that tends to operate in secret and outside democratic control is fertile ground for cases of extreme sexual, and not only sexual, exploitation, as it creates a framework of generalised impunity for those in the elite.

The struggle ahead of us obviously requires accountability and justice, but it must not be limited to changes in political personnel. The movement that is being born cannot be defused by one or two arrests of members of what appears to be a huge, multi-faceted ring, which apparently even extends to the exploitation of unaccompanied refugee children.

It requires radical and profound changes, not only in the field of culture, but in all social and political spheres. There is an immediate need to uproot networks of exploitation, broader political goals of democratic accountability of all those in power and the fight against all manifestations of patriarchy and power exploitation at all levels.‘.