Demonstrators in Germany for solidarity with Greece. Uwe Hiksch/Flickr. Some rights reserved.Has the British left suddenly discovered that the EU supports neoliberalism? You would think so given the reaction of many to recent Greek events. Owen Jones is only the most high profile of several leftist commentators to have jumped to the conclusion that the Troika’s treatment of Greece necessitates the formation of a ‘left campaign’ for a British exit in the forthcoming referendum. True enough, the Troika’s shameful imposition of the latest austerity programme on the Greek people marks a new situation in Europe in several important respects. Unlike the governments that oversaw the previous bailouts in 2010 and 2012, Syriza genuinely did not want to accept the proposal, even recognising its own agreement as a ‘bad day for Europe’.
That’s why, if it is pushed through, the latest bailout represents an especially steep defeat for the radical left in Europe. As much as it is a victory for the EU elite, it is only an extreme version of a neoliberal policy that has been long adhered to by the EU and other global institutions. Austerity was written into the very architecture of the Eurozone via its Growth and Stability Pact. This, coupled with a refusal to put in place mechanisms to redistribute tax receipts from more to less competitive states, has created a scenario of permanent, debt-induced austerity for the peripheral economies.
The Eurozone is witnessing the playing out of the contradictions inherent in this flawed structure and this poses strategic questions for the left. With even the most ardent supporters of the ‘European project’ now fearing for the EU’s future, should the left argue that it is, perhaps, time to walk away?
