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Marv Gandall writes: > The left critics of the Tsipras leadership ... argued from the > beginning that the government should be mobilizing and educating the > people and preparing the state administration for a Grexit, rather > than doggedly reinforcing illusions ... Syriza had the mandate of ending austerity while staying in the Eurozone. Instead of saying "this is impossible" they made efforts to implement the mandate. They thought there was a chance of success because (a) they counted on the solidarity of other marginal countries in the EU. This solidarity existed and exists, but it was not strong enough to make a difference in the negotiations. (b) they knew, and injected into the discussion, the fact the Germany itself had been repeated beneficiary of debt relief. This fact has been noted, as much as Germany wants the world public to forget it again. (c) the Greeks are not the only ones arguing that the architecture of the Eurozone is faulty. Syriza hoped that Greece would the impetus to revise this architecture. What architectural fault? On the one hand, there is the basic fault that the Eurozone is a monetary union without a fiscal union. This was not on the table because it will take many years to remedy this. Varoufakis was referring to the following fault in the monetary sphere alone, which was also shared by the Bretton Woods system of fixed exchange rates and which arguably brought it down: If there are countries in the Eurozone which have a balance of payments deficit (Greece) then there are other countries which have a balance of payments surplus (Germany). Right now, the Euro system puts all the pressure of adjustment only on the deficit countries. What is needed is a mechanism that also forces the surplus countries to adjust. This is not only a matter of fairness, but also of pragmatism: it is much easier for the surplus countries to adjust because they have extra money, while the deficit countries have far fewer options because they are running out of money. In January, the Guardian published an article about this: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jan/30/syriza-finance-minister-big-idea-will-germany-accept-it This is the only time I read about it in connection with the Eurozone, although this was discussed widely in connection with the breakdown of Bretton Woods. Subsequent News articles only said that Syriza thinks Greece will be the salvation or similar for Europe, which can easily be dismissed as self-serving propaganda. No, it was not; the Eurozone has to be reformed, and Greece was justified to expect that the critical situation of Greece would be considered in the framework of broader reforms. Therefore I do not think that Syriza was irresponsible. They had viable ideas how to fulfill their mandate. They could not assume that their reasonable proposals would not even be considered in the negotiations. So far, Syriza has not made big mistakes. The big question is what they will do from now on, at a time of open polarization in Europe around the Greek question. I am confident that both Tsipras and the Left Wing of Syriza know how important it is that Syriza does not splinter right now, at a moment when clear leadership is needed in Greece. Hans G Ehrbar _________________________________________________________ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
