Great! Here’s hoping they don’t fuck it up. I have to admit, I have to love a movement whose unofficial anthem is Patti Smith’s “People Have The Power”:
ATHENS — Greece rejected the punishing economics of austerity on Sunday and sent a warning signal to the rest of Europe as the left-wing Syriza party won a decisive victory in national elections, positioning its tough-talking leader, Alexis Tsipras, to become the next prime minister.
With 60 percent of the vote counted, Syriza had 36 percent, almost eight points ahead of the governing center-right New Democracy Party of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, who had conceded defeat. The only uncertainty was whether Syriza would muster an outright parliamentary majority or if it would have to form a coalition.
Appearing before a throng of supporters outside Athens University late Sunday night, Mr. Tsipras, 40, declared that the era of austerity was over and promised to revive the Greek economy. He also said his government would not allow Greece’s creditors to strangle the country.
“Greece will now move ahead with hope, and reach out to Europe, and Europe is going to change,” he said. “The verdict is clear: We will bring an end to the vicious circle of austerity.”
Bernie Sanders said:
BURLINGTON, Vt., Jan. 25 – U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) issued the following statement today after Greece rejected austerity economics and gave a decisive victory to the Syriza party of Alexis Tsipras, the next prime minister:
“The Syriza victory in the Greek elections tell us that people around the world will no longer accept austerity for working families while the rich continue to get much richer. The top 1 percent of the world’s population will soon own more wealth than the bottom 99 percent. This is wrong and unsustainable from a moral, economic and political perspective.”
There are 300 seats in the Greek parliament. The Leftist Syriza Party won 149, or just under half of them. So they joined forces with the fascist Independent Greek Party which won 13 seats. That gives the Syriza Party control of the parliament with 162 seats.
If that doesn’t work out then two other parties could be tapped to restore Syraiz’s majority. The centrist To Potami Party and the communist KKE Party which each have enough seats to replace the Independent Greeks Party.
The Greek vote is already rocking Europe. In Germany Merkel has announced an easing of austerity policies. She’s advised the ECB to begin to print more money. She has also announced a suspension of arms shipments to Saudi Arabia.
Hollende of France, already in big trouble in the polls, is ready to announce the easing of austerity measures.
In Italy there is a change of government and monetary policy already underway.
In Spain and Portugal the Left is poised to bring down those governments.
Cameron of England has seen his polls plummet in recent months.
“Power to the people.”
This is too big a challenge. We will shortly find out what powers international finance has to retaliate. They will not fold so easily as Imho suggests.
You know the World Bank and IMF are already strategizing how to undermine this new government. Along with their paid stooges in governments around the world. Billionaires are shipping boatloads of money to reactionary political parties as we speak (money that never ever could be spent on feeding people can always be found to undermine democracy it seems). The CIA, MI5 (or is it 6, I can never get that straight), and other black Ops agencies are dusting off old assassination plots and counter intelligence operations planning. Undermining a democratically elected government? The 1% eat this stuff with a spoon.
The object of this exercise by the Left is to put the entire world into crisis mode.
It’s beginning to bare fruit.
The IMF and the World Bank aren’t capable of putting out all of these simultaneous fires for the 1%.
Africa’s in turmoil. So much so that for the first time in history the Chinese have sent combat troops to the continent.
Europe is hanging on by a thread both economically and politically.
The Chinese are having serious economic problems which is why they want the TPP agreement so badly.
ISIS has put Japan into a political crisis.
South America is on the brink of recession.
Russia, the United States and Ukraine are fighting a proxy war.
The entire Middle East is on fire.
“All power to the people!”