Greece, impressions from Athens‏

Even if you might consider them largely symbolic, it is the small things 
that matter, and that make the difference. The police, who had for many 
years been stationed at the main streets leading into the Athenian 
neighbourhood of Exarchia, has withdrawn today. The fences around the 
parliament, which were both the symbolical as well as material limits of 
the movements against austerity and memorandum politics of the last five 
years, have been taken away today as the press was taking pictures of 
the new government. That many people who had been fired over the last 
years have been re-instated, is however not symbolic anymore, but an 
important vindication of the resistance that has been put up, despite 
waning hope that the memorandum politics could be reversed.

One cannot but be impressed by the swiftness, agility and chuzpe with 
which the new government has been formed, has taken power and has 
started to take the first decisive decisions. Less than 24 hours after 
the preliminary election results were out, Tsipras was already sworn in 
as prime minister on Monday afternoon, and another 24 hours later the 
list of ministers was published, and soon after, they were sworn in. The 
speed is amazing, and it sends the important message that this new 
government is willing to act and to work on fulfilling its promises. It 
creates a general positive feeling that indeed strong and deep 
transformations are a-coming. There is no doubt that Syriza has well 
prepared for and anticipated the formation of government.

This definitely holds for the coalition with the "Independent Greeks" 
(ANEL), which as it was indicated was agreed upon way before the 
elections. It is the decision which has created the strongest 
controversy, less in Greece than in the other European countries and 
their left movements. Even if the choice may seem contradictory, it is 
difficult to imagine any other constellation for Syriza to form a 
government. The communist party KKE, as many observers have pointed out, 
has refused to come out of its isolationism and forfeited the chance to 
be part of a left government, while the centre-left party To Potami was 
never a choice. With its pro-memorandum and pro-austerity stance, it 
would have created dissention and conflict within the government from 
the onset.

As difficult as a coalition with right wing populists (as they are 
labelled in the North of Europe) may be to swallow, it has created a 
government that is unanimous in its radical rejection of the neoliberal 
politics of austerity that have wrecked havoc in the Greek society. The 
socio-economic indicators have been well reported and don't need to be 
reproduced here. Suffice it to say that the formation of this peculiar 
government coalition is indicative of the state of Greek society. As it 
has been pointed out, the origins of ANEL can also be traced to the 
movement of the squares of 2011, the aganaktismenoi, which at least in 
the Syntagma square in Athens consisted of a portion of nationalists 
that joined in the revolt against the memorandum coalition, and that 
favoured anti-memorandum politics that were strongly inflected by 
nationalistic and racist viewpoints. They remained well separated (even 
spatially) from the square, but were nevertheless present. One can only 
but hope that ANEL will remain an isolated presence in the new government.

And indeed the probability seems given. With the ministry of Defence and 
the ministry of Tourism, ANEL does not occupy positions that are pivotal 
for the transformations that are to come. The obvious lack of women in 
the new government is a point much more critical. But while ANEL 
occupies two ministries, five ministries are held by independents that 
are not members of Syriza. The distinctly academic background of many of 
the government's members bides well for the hope that they are not part 
of the government in order to enrich themselves, but that they accept 
the intellectual challenge that the membership in this unprecedented 
government poses.

A point much commented on is the creation of the new department of 
migration within the ministry of home affairs, headed by Tasia 
Christodoulopoulou as a vice minister. She has close ties to the Greek 
anti-racist movement, and as a friend commented, it is already soothing 
to hear a member of government speak about migration in non-derogatory 
terms. However, there is more to hope for. In a radio interview on 
Tuesday, she has already announced her policy goals. Citizenship for 
migrants born in Greece is a must and of the highest priority, while she 
is also aiming for the closure of Amygdaleza detention centre, the 
introduction of humanitarian protection pursuant to the Geneva 
Convention on Refugees, the acceleration of asylum procedures and 
improved reception conditions for asylum seekers. She certainly is not 
intimidated by ANEL's harsh anti-immigrant rhetoric and seems more than 
willing to pick this fight.

However, for those with their ears tuned to the politics of migration 
and borders, the most interesting gambit is that it is rumoured that the 
presidency of the Greek state might be offered to the conservative 
politician Dimitris Avramopoulos, who the ND-government nominated for 
the European Commission and who presently occupies the post of 
Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship. This would 
allow the new government to nominate a new commissioner, and given there 
is no re-shuffle of posts, would mean a commissioner for migration and 
home affairs that would mark a decided break with the securitarian line 
pursued by Frattini, Malmström and Avramopoulous (and all the others 
before them).

Of course it is imperative for the new government to have eyes, ears and 
not the least a mouth within the European Commission. Concretely, it 
might mean for the Commission to take a more critical stance, or at 
least be internally stalled on issues such as Dublin or the borders of 
Europe. However, this is only one of the examples in how the outcome of 
the Greek elections of the 25th of January 2015 might affect European 
politics. Needless to say, but always worth re-iterating is how the 
formation of this new government represents a radical rupture with 
neoliberalism and the politics of austerity in Europe. There is no 
guarantee that the new government will succeed. But is mere formation 
has already opened up a vast political space, and the social movements 
of Europe and beyond are required to seize this historical moment, 
occupy this space and push, with re-newed vigour, for true alternatives 
to the triste state of affairs -- socially, economically and politically 
-- that is still predominant in Europe. The position taken by the new 
government towards the Euro and the EU, i.e. the obstinate refusal to 
relinquish its membership, and its intention to use this membership for 
transformation points towards a left project for Europe that rejects 
both neoliberalism and re-nationalisation, but that aims at nothing less 
than reclaiming Europe. However, that task cannot be delegated to any 
government. It is up to the left and social movements of Europe to 
realise it.

Athens, 28th of Januar 2015