Germany can’t be allowed to strangle Syriza at birth. The fate of millions of Europeans depends on itAngela Merkel is the most monstrous western European leader of this generation. Politicians who inflict economic cruelty on a mass scale, trashing the lives of millions as they do so, do not end up in courts to face justice. But Merkel undoubtedly stands tried and convicted in the dock of history already. The EU’s high priests of austerity conjure up the words of Charlie Chaplin’s rousing speech at the end of The Great Dictator: “machine men, with machine minds and machine hearts”. The Greeks have rebelled against machine men – and women – and they are crying out for others to follow.However, Merkel, the EU bureaucrats and international financiers are cruel but not stupid: they know hope is a contagion, and they will do all they can to stop Syriza inspiring others. Merkel has already demanded that the new Greek prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, ignore his democratic mandate and stick by foreign-imposed austerity measures. In the runup to the election, leaks from the German government suggested a Greek exit from the eurozone: a clear message to the Greek people not to vote the wrong way. For those who want Europe to have a future that isn’t one of falling living standards, rising insecurity and stripped-away social provision, it is the policies of Merkel and the rotten elites she represents that must face their reckoning. Continue reading...
 |
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.theguardian.com |