Debt

The architecture of the European Union institutions is flawed.

In order to evade another economic earthquake similar to or even bigger than the Greek crisis and to reinstate the trust in the Euro, the European Central Bank (ECB) took extraordinary measures to boost growth, raise inflation and indirectly lower the indebtedness of the Eurozone Member States: they started the Quantitative Easing (QE) program.

For decades, a wave of privatisation has been rolling across Europe, making many investors, banks and consultancies rich but making few citizens happy. The great neoliberal promise of privatised utility companies providing water, power and transport more cheaply to their customers has regularly been shown to be deception and even, in many cases, a lie.

It was just the four of us: all women, Mediterranean, and “differently green.” The purpose of our trip was to better understand the inner workings of the newly elected Greek government, and to see how the Greek Greens were faring as junior partner in the Syriza government.

Even if SYRIZA is defeated at the end, forced to comply with Europe’s inflexible neoliberal doxa, it has already achieved a first small victory: political disagreement, that is at the very heart of democratic dialogue.

As European ecologists, we have duty to support the Greek left after their success, and to promote our alternative model throughout Europe. We will do this today with Syriza now, and tomorrow with Podemos based on how it progresses in the future, etc. We have the responsibility and the historic chance to take part in giving Europe a new direction. However, we should not take the Greek results as a way to resolve our national electoral challenges…

“Marx is often judged on what he did not know, but we need to look at what he has to offer. He was an economist, sociologist, political scientist, historian, philosopher and philosopher of science. He was truly an omnipotent genius and remains relevant to a huge number of issues,” according to political economist Angela Wigger.

After the Greek elections, Syriza’s Alexis Tsipras won’t get everything he wants – but he will probably get enough to paint it as a victory for beleaguered Greeks.

What is at stake in the upcoming national elections in Greece? Can Syriza surge to power? And what role do the Greens play in this constantly shifting political environment? However many questions there are, one thing is certain: these elections are different to any other held in recent decades. The results could change Europe permanently…

While seeming solid, democracy in Sweden faces serious challenges, such as the rise of populism and voter disengagement. In this context, green foundations are well-placed to propose new initiatives that may help re-engage citizens in the political process, notably through structural changes.