Greece: Phase One (interview with SYRIZA CC member)

[Q]

31 pages of interview of everything you ever wanted to know about SYRIZA and much more over at Jacobin (https://www.jacobinmag.com/2015/01/phase-one/).

[Q]

A comrade who, in the latest Weekly Worker (http://weeklyworker.co.uk/worker/1045/letters/), writes some critical notes on his experience with comrade Kouvelakis:

Step by step

A Syriza central committee member, Stathis Kouvelakis, addressed a meeting in Cambridge earlier this week, which was jointly organised with Left Unity. He said the Syriza government was committed to a “renegotiation of the debt” and, when asked what would happen if Greece defaults, he said they’re not aiming to default, but, if it comes down to it, “difficult choices will have to be made”. He didn’t elaborate, but I think we can take a guess at what he meant.

Incredibly, he also said that the army is not the main issue and, although Syriza is against Nato membership, it’s not a priority right now. Anti-austerity was the main issue - hence the reason for the concessions to Anel. I wanted to ask, when would it be a priority? But unfortunately I wasn’t called to speak. Comrade Kouvelakis said they would need to take things step by step towards a workers’ state and hopefully this would lead to European solidarity and change across Europe.

However, at the end of the meeting, while stressing the importance of giving solidarity to Greece in opposing the troika, I asked him how a Syriza government would prosper, if it either defaulted or ended up compromising and caving in - especially given the fact that it had to rely on a 50-seat top-up. He told me this was a false choice, and avoided me after that.

I must say, it all smacks of Trotsky’s Transitional programme. First it’s anti-austerity, then we’ll get to opposing Nato membership and imperialist wars and later form a workers’ state. And apparently there will be radical inspiration across Europe - I cannot see it somehow.

He got enthusiastic applause at the end from the audience of around 80. Illusions in a Syriza government delivering its promises have got people very excited - although one naysayer (I was told he was the son of a Pasok member) said the reason for the Greek Communist Party’s behaviour, which comrade Kouvelakis described as “sectarian”, was its difference over the EU and euro membership.

Justin Constantinou

[Kill all the fetuses!]

It's interesting that in the former interview (Greece: Phase One) Kouvelakis himself was seemingly critical of such vague notions as "renegotiation of the debt" and to not having a clear plan as to what happens if the one party doesn't play ball. He said that the Left Platform has more precise answers on this question. I wonder why he didn't share these at this particular instance.

[RedKobra]

Thanks Q. I think, hand on heart, we all know how this is going to play out. I just feel resentment that swathes of Europeans are going to be disillusioned with the "far left" at the end of this. Whatever your feelings about the KKE as a party they were absolutely right to have nothing to do with Syriza. Why haven't the left learned? If you can't enact your socialist program, don't take power or you'll just end up as servants of Capital.

[Q]

Thanks Q. I think, hand on heart, we all know how this is going to play out. I just feel resentment that swathes of Europeans are going to be disillusioned with the "far left" at the end of this. Whatever your feelings about the KKE as a party they were absolutely right to have nothing to do with Syriza. Why haven't the left learned? If you can't enact your socialist program, don't take power or you'll just end up as servants of Capital.
While I agree in general that you should avoid taking power until you can implement your minimum programme (proletarian power), it isn't always as clear cut. Should SYRIZA avoid taking government responsibility while having 149 out of 300 seats? I think that we should ask the question of how to deal with minoritarian-yet-not-obviously-out-of-power situations like these ones, as we'll undoubtedly face them in more countries in coming years.

[ckaihatsu]

Abstentionism vs. entryism.

[RedKobra]

While I agree in general that you should avoid taking power until you can implement your minimum programme (proletarian power), it isn't always as clear cut. Should SYRIZA avoid taking government responsibility while having 149 out of 300 seats? I think that we should ask the question of how to deal with minoritarian-yet-not-obviously-out-of-power situations like these ones, as we'll undoubtedly face them in more countries in coming years.

I think its a moot point for Sryiza to some extent because I'm not sure they ever had a Minimum Programme worthy of the name. They've been purely reformist for quite some time.

I can understand having a pre-minimum programme, so if you simply had to take power but couldn't implement the minimum programme you could prioritise certain key democratic issues but the cost is that you can easily defuse the crisis that brought you to power and disillusion those that put you into power because you failed to deliver on the very things you were elected on, i.e the Minimum Programme. The government becomes in actual fact a consolidation of Capital.

The problem with Sryiza is that they haven't got any plans to prepare the ground for a minumun programme. They have no democratic demands. Nothing they are doing or are planning on doing will prepare the ground for socialism.

[RedKobra]

Abstentionism vs. entryism.

If you're speaking to me, then I don't see what I'm advocating as Abstentionism. What I'm saying is that a reluctance to implement a minumum programme turns even the most radical government into instruments of Capital consolidation and invariably demotivates and demobilises the working class. Taking the levers of power without the ability or courage to begin the work of smashing the state only bolsters the state because what actions are left? Economism. And we all have ample experience with that to know that (a) it doesn't lead to Socialism and (b) doesn't revolutionise the working class. The Labour Party in Britain is proof enough of that.

[ckaihatsu]

If you're speaking to me,


Just putting it out there, objectively.





then I don't see what I'm advocating as Abstentionism.


I'd call it 'a critique of populist political celebrity':





What I'm saying is that a reluctance to implement a minumum programme turns even the most radical government into instruments of Capital consolidation and invariably demotivates and demobilises the working class. Taking the levers of power without the ability or courage to begin the work of smashing the state only bolsters the state because what actions are left? Economism.


At *best* -- agreed.





And we all have ample experience with that to know that (a) it doesn't lead to Socialism and (b) doesn't revolutionise the working class. The Labour Party in Britain is proof enough of that.


Yup.

[FSL]

Thanks Q. I think, hand on heart, we all know how this is going to play out. I just feel resentment that swathes of Europeans are going to be disillusioned with the "far left" at the end of this. Whatever your feelings about the KKE as a party they were absolutely right to have nothing to do with Syriza. Why haven't the left learned? If you can't enact your socialist program, don't take power or you'll just end up as servants of Capital.

Syriza could enact a socialist program if it meant to. But it wanted to enact a humane capitalism program which is impossible not only for Syriza but for everyone.

That's what I think the left should take from this.

[blake 3:17]

Who Varoufakis is, of course, is a dynamite question that those in high places may well be forgiven for asking. As the politician tasked with saving Greece in this, its most difficult hour, what the radical, shaven-haired economist thinks, how he comports himself and what he says are not without consequence. Linked as it is to that of the eurozone, his country’s fate is intrinsically connected to the global economy. Is he fearful? “A bit,” he says. “If I weren’t scared, I’d be awfully dangerous.”

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/13/greece-finance-minister-yanis-varoufakis-interview-syriza-eurozone

[blake 3:17]

The people of Greece show so real audacity -- rejecting austerity and fascism --- and the petty sectarians show their true colours.

[Kill all the fetuses!]

Oh, just fuck off with this sectarian bullshit. Is it sectarian to point out that Syriza is a left-reformism party, which wants to save capitalism? Is it sectarian to show how far to the right they have drifted in a short space of time? Is it sectarian to recognise the limitations placed on their agenda (stopping austerity etc.) by the sort of political situation they find themselves and by the narrow confines they created for themselves (capitalism, euro zone, no default etc)? It's not us "petty sectarians" that show the true colours by recognising Syriza for what it is, it's people like you, pretty "revolutionaries", who jump in any bandwagon which has a "some-sort of left" written on it who show their true colours. What's the point of proclaiming yourself a revolutionary if the position of yours is that you will end up supporting any leftish movement saving "revolutionary praxis" for some future time, when "conditions are right"? Conditions are never right, you can't have a "just little bit more, little little bit more and we can go" situation.

It's wonderful that Greek people are standing up to austerity and reaction, great for them, maybe they will get more breathing space. The point of critique of Syriza and what it entails is not to say that everything they are doing is useless and shit and has no benefit for the working-class - obviously less severe austerity is better than more severe austerity, in a vacuum, that is. Syriza ought to be critiqued for not taking a revolutionary stance, for not implementing the socialist programme and mobilising people for a revolutionary movement. If Bolsheviks were to take power and merely end the war and increase growth or whatnot, that would have been a good thing for the working-class. But under such circumstances wouldn't it makes sense to critique them for not going far enough when they actual could, when they had a chance? Should we simply commend them for "rejecting imperialist war"? Would it be sectarian to point out how fucking ridiculous that position would have been?

In the very same vein revolutionaries critique Syriza - sure they can have some progressive role and whatnot, but that's besides the point as revolutionaries are not interested in petty reforms. The point is that Syriza is in a position to carry out a socialist programme with everything it entails - but it chooses not to. It's absolutely despicable how Syriza can be defended regardless of whatever it does - if they invite right-wing establishment politicians to the party and add them to election lists, well, fuck it, we can't critique that, because, you know, sectarianism. It seems that whatever they do, however far to the right they go, one can't critique Syriza. Ironically enough, there were intense debates within the party itself about all sort of decisions and big revolts over the leadership decisions to drag the party to the right. However, nobody dare to criticise Syriza as long as it is to the right of New Democracy!

All of this is despicable.

[Q]

Syriza could enact a socialist program if it meant to. But it wanted to enact a humane capitalism program which is impossible not only for Syriza but for everyone.

That's what I think the left should take from this.
And how, comrade, would SYRIZA be able to enact a socialist programme within Greece? Do tell us of your socialism-in-one-country fantasies.

I fully agree that SYRIZA took power way too soon and on a programme that could best be typified as opportunist. I'm indeed very pessimist about a way forward that avoids bloodshed or crisis.

However, we need to understand that SYRIZA's downfall is not a strengthening of other forces on the left. It would mean a direct attack on the workers movement and the likely rise of elements such as Golden Dawn.

Therefore we do need to be critical of every step SYRIZA makes, but at the same time defend it against any and all attacks from our class enemies. To do otherwise is simply betrayal.

[Gepetto]

Oh, just fuck off with this sectarian bullshit. Is it sectarian to point out that Syriza is a left-reformism party, which wants to save capitalism? Is it sectarian to show how far to the right they have drifted in a short space of time? Is it sectarian to recognise the limitations placed on their agenda (stopping austerity etc.) by the sort of political situation they find themselves and by the narrow confines they created for themselves (capitalism, euro zone, no default etc)?
Not only it is not sectarian, but also it is people that cry the loudest about "unity" and "sectarianism" who turn out to be the worst sectarians themselves, because they hold principles and doctrines external to the real struggle of the working class, on which they turn their backs as soon as the movement breaches them (like, every time they preach collaboration with the bourgeoisie, be it in the name of "anti-imperialist" support of the national interest, of democracy or whatever).

Marx and Engels were pretty clear that communists should strive relentlessly against "bourgeois socialists" who seek to preserve capitalism. Indeed, Engels even claimed that most of his and Marx's political activity consisted of arguments with socialists and saw nothing wrong with it.

[FSL]

And how, comrade, would SYRIZA be able to enact a socialist programme within Greece? Do tell us of your socialism-in-one-country fantasies.

I fully agree that SYRIZA took power way too soon and on a programme that could best be typified as opportunist. I'm indeed very pessimist about a way forward that avoids bloodshed or crisis.

However, we need to understand that SYRIZA's downfall is not a strengthening of other forces on the left. It would mean a direct attack on the workers movement and the likely rise of elements such as Golden Dawn.

Therefore we do need to be critical of every step SYRIZA makes, but at the same time defend it against any and all attacks from our class enemies. To do otherwise is simply betrayal.
Syriza as a party that wants capitalism is a class enemy. This is as simple as it gets.
Fantasy is thinking a "revolutionary" party will not only manage capitalism in a way that makes it nice for everyone, capitalists and workers alike, but also inspire other countries to join in. I guess you're a crazy fan of China, right?
It's not a fantasy to think that if factories and supermarkets and hotels and banks in Greece or in any other country belonged to the workers, their lives would be better. It's math.


What an obscene blackmail that is! Not only soc-dems want to govern in favour of capitalists, but they must also be given our support because it's them or the nazis. Why would syriza's failure strengthen golden dawn? Maybe because according to syriza, there isn't class struggle taking place in Greece? Maybe because according to them, Greece is the victim of strong outsiders aided by "treasonous and lying politicians"?
Maybe, to put it in simpler terms, because Syriza's line about the crisis is earily similar to what the nazis are saying?

One more reason to do away with capitalism and all its parties then. What's the point of supporting one against the other when they all look alike and when they most certainly act and legislate alike?

[blake 3:17]

If Bolsheviks were to take power and merely end the war and increase growth or whatnot, that would have been a good thing for the working-class. But under such circumstances wouldn't it makes sense to critique them for not going far enough when they actual could, when they had a chance? Should we simply commend them for "rejecting imperialist war"? Would it be sectarian to point out how fucking ridiculous that position would have been?

So you're a proponent of War Communism? A thing that didn't happen a hundred years ago?

I read newspapers dated 2015.

[Ocean Seal]

While I agree in general that you should avoid taking power until you can implement your minimum programme (proletarian power), it isn't always as clear cut. Should SYRIZA avoid taking government responsibility while having 149 out of 300 seats? I think that we should ask the question of how to deal with minoritarian-yet-not-obviously-out-of-power situations like these ones, as we'll undoubtedly face them in more countries in coming years.
This is altogether an absurdity. It reeks of the pretentiousness of a vanguard party. What you are in effect telling people is that they have to keep struggling for socialism, but when their struggle comes to fruition we are going to kneel before capital so that capital can take the blame? That sounds like self-preservation. Socialism is the culmination of the struggles of the working class. Those in leadership positions must take the greatest part of the reins that they can. Otherwise they have fallen short of the aspirations of the working class.

[bricolage]

The people of Greece show so real audacity -- rejecting austerity and fascism --- and the petty sectarians show their true colours.
Who are 'the people'? Of the electorate 36% didn't vote, about 28% voted for a fascist or a pro-austerity party (ND, Golden Dawn, Potami, PASOK) and about 22% voted for Syriza; you boost that number if you include KKE and ANEL but the less said about that the better.

So let's not get carried away here.

[ckaihatsu]

Solidarity with Greece - support the international trade union appeal

An extraordinary appeal initiated by German trade unionists deserves our support.

View this email in your browser (http://us2.campaign-archive2.com/?u=f3995b46c18cb039818f29a32&id=2a3b05eb73&e=4e93ef2fad)


Leading figures in the German trade union movement have issued an appeal for solidarity with Greece following the resounding election victory of the leftist Syriza party.

It's an extraordinary statement and trade unionists around the world are being asked to add their names to those of the German trade union leaders. Thousands have already done so.

Please read the appeal and add your name here:

http://www.labourstart.org/go/greece

Please share this message with your friends, family and fellow union members.

Thank you!



Eric Lee
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[HampshireGirl]

Very weak statements on gender equality and defence of the LGBT community :(

[FSL]

Phase one continues. Yesterday in the eurogroup many "drafts" of an agreement were made and Varoufakis said he was ready to sign one of them. It included the promise for "sizable primary surpluses", the denial of unilateral actions that harm the creditors or that negatively affect the budget without counter-measures of equal weight and the start of discussions for a new long term agreement.

This draft wasn't the one actually discussed in the eurogroup in the end though. That draft was much more specific in asking for the conclusion of the current programme, for deficits in line with the agreements etc. This draft was rejected as you may have heard.

All in all, I don't really think syriza will even get a marginally better deal at this point than the former government did.


Also Syriza proposed Pavlopoulos for the -largely ceremonial and symbolic- position of "president of the republic".
You might not know his name but he was the minister for public safety in December 08, with people commending him on the police's passive role during the riots.

[Anglo-Saxon Philistine]

You're not being very dialectical comrade! Don't you remember when the Bolsheviks proposed that the minister Maklakov become the chairman of the CEC?

[Kill all the fetuses!]

Phase one continues. Yesterday in the eurogroup many "drafts" of an agreement were made and Varoufakis said he was ready to sign one of them. It included the promise for "sizable primary surpluses", the denial of unilateral actions that harm the creditors or that negatively affect the budget without counter-measures of equal weight and the start of discussions for a new long term agreement.

This draft wasn't the one actually discussed in the eurogroup in the end though. That draft was much more specific in asking for the conclusion of the current programme, for deficits in line with the agreements etc. This draft was rejected as you may have heard.

All in all, I don't really think syriza will even get a marginally better deal at this point than the former government did.


Also Syriza proposed Pavlopoulos for the -largely ceremonial and symbolic- position of "president of the republic".
You might not know his name but he was the minister for public safety in December 08, with people commending him on the police's passive role during the riots.

You can correct me if I am wrong, but wasn't it the case that troika actually offered a "bridge agreement" of 6 monhts to New Democracy back when it was in the government? And the party accepted a 2-month extension?

While at the same time, Syriza's equivalent demand is viciously rejected?

I know I've read this in the Guardian live coverage of the talks the previous week, but couldn't find any reference or source. However, if it's true, it just shows the sheer determination of the troika not to grant anything to Syriza.

[FSL]

You can correct me if I am wrong, but wasn't it the case that troika actually offered a "bridge agreement" of 6 monhts to New Democracy back when it was in the government? And the party accepted a 2-month extension?

While at the same time, Syriza's equivalent demand is viciously rejected?

I know I've read this in the Guardian live coverage of the talks the previous week, but couldn't find any reference or source. However, if it's true, it just shows the sheer determination of the troika not to grant anything to Syriza.

The situation was quite different a few months back. I think it was last spring when Greece borrowed a few billion euros in the market paying a somewhat reasonable interest rate, around 5%. The original plan was for Greece to be borrowing from the markets this year and there was talk of placing a mechanism "just in case Greece needed more money".

As the political situation deteriorated these plans were abandoned and the previous government asked for an extension of the programme and the loan agreement as we were heading to elections.
The eurogroup told this government they can also ask for an extension of the programme and the loan agreement but they refuse, even though they accept a bridge agreement in which they'll promise not to spend outside the budget. The differences are mostly symbolic if you want my opinion. For both sides.

Now reuters and the greek press reports that syriza will ask for an extension of the loan agreement tomorrow but not of the programme, when these things are attouched.
We'll see.


Edit: It has been suggested that the previous government asked for a 2 month extension instead of a 6month one, precisely to bring syriza in this situation and Tsipras attacked Samaras a few days ago in the parliament for not asking a 6 month extension when they themselves are opposed to any extension. It's pretty ridiculous if you follow the news.

[blake 3:17]

Who are 'the people'? Of the electorate 36% didn't vote, about 28% voted for a fascist or a pro-austerity party (ND, Golden Dawn, Potami, PASOK) and about 22% voted for Syriza; you boost that number if you include KKE and ANEL but the less said about that the better.

So let's not get carried away here.

First fascism -- the Golden Dawn got trounced. Good.

Second -- which other parties were running on pro-austerity platforms?

Third -- the fact that a fair number of people didn't vote, should be taken into account but also shouldn't be a be all and end all. Do you only count a democratic decision when everyone votes? Good god there'd never be a decision made about anything.

I suppose just guessing your objection is to my use of the term the people -- would you prefer I say the proletariat to pamper over some Marxist bullshit fantasy?

[FSL]

Phase one near its end it would seem:




Greece requests euro zone loan extension, offers big concessions

Greece formally requested a six-month extension to its euro zone loan agreement on Thursday, offering major concessions as it raced to avoid running out of cash within weeks and overcome resistance from skeptical partners led by Germany.

With its EU/IMF bailout program due to expire in little more than a week, the government of leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras urgently needs to secure a financial lifeline to keep the country afloat beyond late March.

Euro zone finance ministers will meet on Friday afternoon in Brussels to consider the request, the chairman of their Eurogroup, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, said in a tweet.

That raised hopes of a deal to avert possible bankruptcy and a Greek exit from the 19-nation currency area.

A government official told Reuters that Athens had asked for an extension to its "Master Financial Assistance Facility Agreement" with the euro zone. However, he insisted the government was proposing different terms from its current bailout obligations.

Greece had committed to maintain fiscal balance during the interim period, take immediate reforms to fight tax evasion and corruption, and measures to deal with what Athens calls its "humanitarian crisis" and kick-start economic growth, he said.

In the document seen by Reuters, Greece pledged to meet its financial obligations to all creditors, recognize the existing EU/IMF program as the legally binding framework and refrain from unilateral action that would undermine the fiscal targets.

Crucially, it accepted that the extension would be monitored by the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund, a climbdown by Tsipras who had vowed to end cooperation with "troika" inspectors accused of inflicting deep economic and social damage on Greece.

The six month interim period would be used to negotiate a long-term deal for recovery and growth incorporating further debt relief measures promised by the Eurogroup in 2012.

Euro zone partners have so far said Athens must comply with the terms of the current bailout, which require it to run a 3 percent primary budget surplus this year, before debt service payments.

Senior euro zone officials were due to hold a teleconference later on Thursday to discuss the Greek application.

The wording chosen could help to satisfy at least some of the concerns that have held up agreement over the past two weeks, allowing Athens to avoid saying it is extending the current program that it opposes while creditors can avoid accepting a "loan agreement" without strings attached.

Crucial details remain to be clarified on the fiscal targets, labor market reforms, privatization and other measures due to be implemented under the existing program.

Government spokesman Gabriel Sakellaridis dismissed a German newspaper report that Athens was under pressure to impose capital controls on Greeks pulling their money out of local banks, telling Reuters that such a scenario "had no bearing on reality".

An ECB spokeswoman also denied the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung report, saying there had been no discussion of capital controls at a meeting of the central bank's Governing Council on Wednesday, which slightly raised the limit on emergency lending to Greek banks.

Greek stocks rose on Thursday's developments, with the benchmark Athens stock index up 2 percent while banks gained 9 percent.

"We are doing everything to reach a mutually beneficial agreement. Our aim is to conclude this agreement soon," Sakellaridis told Skai TV earlier on Thursday. "We are trying to find common points."

GERMAN COMPROMISE?

EU paymaster Germany and fellow euro zone governments have so far insisted no loan deal without the full bailout conditions is on the table. Tsipras promised to ditch austerity measures imposed by the lenders when he was elected last month.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has poured scorn on suggestions that Athens could negotiate an extension of euro zone funding without making any promises to push on with budget cuts and economic reforms.

But on Wednesday he indicated there may be some possibility of a compromise. "Our room for maneuver is limited," he said during a debate in Berlin, adding, "We must keep in mind that we have a huge responsibility to keep Europe stable."

Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis expressed confidence on Wednesday that euro zone finance ministers would approve the Athens government's proposal on Friday. "The application will be written in such a way so that it will satisfy both the Greek side and the president of the Eurogroup," he said.

Greece's finances are in peril. It is burning through its cash reserves and could run out of money by the end of March without fresh funds, a person familiar with the figures said.

Likewise its banks are dependent on the emergency funding controlled by the ECB in order to pay out depositors who have been withdrawing their cash. The ECB agreed on Wednesday to raise a cap on funding available under its Emergency Liquidity Assistance scheme to 68.3 billion euros (US$78 billion), a person familiar with the ECB talks said.

That was a rise of just 3.3 billion euros, less than Greece had requested. The modest increase raises the pressure for a compromise at the Eurogroup. One senior banker said it would be enough to keep Greek banks afloat only for another week if present outflow trends persist.

Euro zone finance ministers rejected Greek proposals to avoid the bailout conditions at a meeting on Monday.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel made clear on Wednesday that Athens would have to give as well as take in negotiations.

"If countries are in trouble, we show solidarity," she said in a speech to conservative supporters, naming Greece and other euro zone countries that had to take bailout during the debt crisis. But she added, "Solidarity is not a one-way street. Solidarity and efforts by the countries themselves are two sides of the same coin. And this won’t change."

(Additional reporting by Renee Maltezou and Deepa Babington in Athens, Jan Strupczewski in Brussels, Gernot Heller, Michael Nienaber and Caroline Copley in Berlin, Jason Lange in Washington and Paul Carrel in Frankfurt; Writing by David Stamp and Deepa Babington; Editing by Peter Graff and Paul Taylor) http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/19/us-eurozone-greece-idUSKBN0LM0PO20150219


We'll know the exact details tomorrow.

[bricolage]

First fascism -- the Golden Dawn got trounced. Good.
They didn't do great but they came first which tbh is quite impressive for an outright fascist party. Also their share of the vote did not decrease much from the last election.


Second -- which other parties were running on pro-austerity platforms?
Pasok and new democracy have already managed austerity, I was under the impression that to potami were much the same, hence syrizas refusal to form a government with them.


Third -- the fact that a fair number of people didn't vote, should be taken into account but also shouldn't be a be all and end all. Do you only count a democratic decision when everyone votes? Good god there'd never be a decision made about anything.

I suppose just guessing your objection is to my use of the term the people -- would you prefer I say the proletariat to pamper over some Marxist bullshit fantasy?
The Greek electotal system is designed to benefit the largest party, in previous occasions the left has pointed this out to discredit the legitimacy of governments. It's important to point out the numbers.

My objection isn't anything to do with not saying proletariat, it's that the majority of Greek people did not vote for syriza. To then say congratulations to 'the people' for rejecting austerity and fascism is just incorrect, twenty odd percent of Greeks is impressive but it does not represent 'The People'.