The anatomy of a coup
Feed Hayek to the masses, stem the spectacular rise of the left, trample the institutions. Anatomy of the Papademos-led coup.
ATHENS, Nov 13 (TPP) What transpired in Greece during the past week is most accurately described as a coup. Rather than tanks, raw economic power and crude blackmail were used to impose an unelected prime minister with a radical neoliberal agenda. The main goal of the Papademos-led “unity” government is to guarantee the interests of our creditors, who were instrumental in the formation of this government. Some features of this coup are:
a) An attempt to stem the rise of the left. In Greece and elsewhere, coups have historically been a means to stem the rise of the left. After a year and a half of crushing austerity, one third of the Greek electorate would now vote for the left. Thus, elections would better be postponed.
This is how pollster Yannis Mavris describes the political sea change at conservative Kathimerini daily on Sunday, nov 13 th
b) A collapse of institutions. Every institution of a functioning democracy has been ridiculed. The prime minister who is supposed to be elected was appointed. The parliament that is supposed to express the will of the people is grossly unrepresentative of the Greek electorate but stays on. The president who is supposed to guarantee the constitution accepted and even encouraged an anomalous solution. The credibility of the two main parties, pillars of the political system for the past 30 years, has received fatal blows. The will of the German chancellor and the markets was clearly above any institutional constraints, in appointing a Greek premier whose only constituency was in Frankfurt, at the ECB.
“They burned down the br.. themselves” writes Thanassis Carteros at left wing Avgi daily, in reference to a well known slogan calling for people to burn down the parliament
c) An attempt to extract support. Every regime, no matter how it was put in place, needs to manufacture consent. The majority of Greeks still favor elections (54% according to the Public Issue poll for Kathimerini). In a strange contradiction, more than 70% appear to welcome the new"unity" government, according to various opinion polls, splashed all over the Sunday press. The question of course is how long will these numbers last, since new waves of austerity are preparing to wash upon an already outraged population.
“A dangerous leap is undertaken, from an idea to mass ideology” points out economist and writer Hlias Ioakeimoglou at his blog
Now it may seem that everything has been sorted out. Nothing has been sorted out. Raw economic power has trampled on the democratic rights of a people in revolt. This is both instructive, as to the meaning of “democracy” in modern day EU, and highly dangerous.
a) An attempt to stem the rise of the left. In Greece and elsewhere, coups have historically been a means to stem the rise of the left. After a year and a half of crushing austerity, one third of the Greek electorate would now vote for the left. Thus, elections would better be postponed.
This is how pollster Yannis Mavris describes the political sea change at conservative Kathimerini daily on Sunday, nov 13 th
“Spectacular rise of the left. At this stage, unprecedented numbers of voters have severed their ideological and political links with PASOK (the Papandreou socialists) leading to a spectacular strengthening of the left in all its present manifestations. The total reach of the left exceeds today the 1/3rd of potential voters. These numbers, unseen since the days Greece was occupied in the 40’s are even larger than the EDA (Democratic Left) percentage in 1958, before the formation of the Center Union. If the PASOK freefall continues, increasing social polarization will be coupled with pronounced political polarization, in a “purer” form than the polarization that preceded the Colonels’ dictatorship in 1967-1973, because back then, the Center performed a mitigating role."
b) A collapse of institutions. Every institution of a functioning democracy has been ridiculed. The prime minister who is supposed to be elected was appointed. The parliament that is supposed to express the will of the people is grossly unrepresentative of the Greek electorate but stays on. The president who is supposed to guarantee the constitution accepted and even encouraged an anomalous solution. The credibility of the two main parties, pillars of the political system for the past 30 years, has received fatal blows. The will of the German chancellor and the markets was clearly above any institutional constraints, in appointing a Greek premier whose only constituency was in Frankfurt, at the ECB.
“They burned down the br.. themselves” writes Thanassis Carteros at left wing Avgi daily, in reference to a well known slogan calling for people to burn down the parliament
"The propaganda machine, presents Papademos as a negation of the political system as we know it, an end of the parties as we know them, a farewell to typical politicians as we know them. He is supposedly the answer to the political system’s total loss of standing. His coronation appears as a decent and well mannered vindication of the calls to burn down the parliament br..l. Which luckily wasn’t burnt down, but its tenants’ political careers have been, and now they are reduced to looking for a leader among bank clerks. The question is what will rise from the ashes, a temple of money or a new order, placing people above profits."
c) An attempt to extract support. Every regime, no matter how it was put in place, needs to manufacture consent. The majority of Greeks still favor elections (54% according to the Public Issue poll for Kathimerini). In a strange contradiction, more than 70% appear to welcome the new"unity" government, according to various opinion polls, splashed all over the Sunday press. The question of course is how long will these numbers last, since new waves of austerity are preparing to wash upon an already outraged population.
“A dangerous leap is undertaken, from an idea to mass ideology” points out economist and writer Hlias Ioakeimoglou at his blog
“Hayek was very clear in his work that real government should be run by “technocrats” and that the economy should not be placed under democratic control. This idea was put into political practice through its incorporation into the rules of the Economic and Monetary Union. The appointment of Papademos in Greece and Monti in Italy heralds a new phase, where this idea is being disseminated into the public at large. The idea that government should be led by the chosen, unelected managers of capitalist’s economic power, directly, without politicians as democratic intermediaries and without the ignorant masses’ involvement in public affairs is now attempting the dangerous leap to mass ideology.”
One thing that should not be forgotten, as we enter this new phase, is the chain of events leading to Papandreou’s resignation and Papademos΄ appointment. All over Greece, people rose up against the political class in October 28th, creating an atmosphere of political chaos that became obvious to the rest of the world three days later, when Papandreou panicked and asked for a referendum. Now it may seem that everything has been sorted out. Nothing has been sorted out. Raw economic power has trampled on the democratic rights of a people in revolt. This is both instructive, as to the meaning of “democracy” in modern day EU, and highly dangerous.