What a difference a day makes
The impression of a rift between Greece and its partners and creditors which prevailed on Wednesday was suddenly erased Wednesday following an announcement regarding the contents of a phone conversation between Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and a joint statement by the three institutions, the European Union, European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The dramatization is an inextricable element of political activity and concerns all the parties involved.
While a complete solution is not expected to materialize on the day, the Eurogroup meeting scheduled for May 11 will most likely secure a controlled lifeline for the Greek economy. The country will remain in intensive care until a new all-encompassing deal is achieved, but the possibility of a sudden death or an accident will be excluded. As a matter of fact this is what the Tsipras administration had been aiming for at this particular point.
The most thorny issues in the discussions between Athens and Brussels were social security and labor relations. Former Premier Antonis Samaras sought for these two issues to be part of the next phase of a broader negotiation with the EU. The same goes for the current government. It is no coincidence that the statement regarding the Tsipras-Juncker conversation refers to these particular subjects and was edited in a most careful way allowing for a kind of decent interpretation on both sides.
Prior to this there had been bloody conflict within the framework of the Eurogroup, but as a rule these EU institutions operate in a highly acrimonious climate until common ground is found.
What is noteworthy is that the government was represented at this level not by inarticulate Marxists but by “apostates” of Greece’s upper middle class, people who studied at the same universities as today’s global elite. A race of intellectual supremacy took place within the Eurogroup, whose members are not economists, but politicians who put theories, developed by those who received the same education as Yanis Varoufakis and Euclid Tsakalotos and other “apostates” of the higher classes.
Naturally there was chaos and incomprehension and finally, the Red Orchestra’s maestro, Alexis Tsipras, with the assistance of Chancellor Angela Merkel –- a particularly interesting politician – seems to be leading the situation to an “honest compromise.”
If things turn out to be finally heading in a positive direction, the question will be the reaction of SYRIZA deputies. This matter, however, has everything to do with Tsipras and nothing with the EU. In this effort he will have the support of the hard core of the so-called “Stalinists.”
Retreats on the tactical level will be considered a necessary step on the road to a broader upset. The revolution will be continuous, just like when PASOK was in power.
