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| Hellenic Republic Ελληνική Δημοκρατία | |
|---|---|
 Flag
 Coat of arms
| |
 | |
| Capital and largest city | Athens |
| Official languages | Greek |
| Dominant mode of production | Capitalism |
| Government | Unitary corporatocratic republic |
• President | Katerina Sakellaropoulou |
• Prime Minister | Kyriakos Mitsotakis |
• Parliament Speaker | Konstantinos Tasoulas |
| Area | |
• Total | 131,957 km² |
| Population | |
• 2021 census | 10,432,481 |
| Currency | Euro |
The Hellenic Republic, also known as Greece, is a country located in southeastern Europe. Its ancient civilization saw a huge revival during the Renaissance, where ancient Greek society began to be considered the origin of Western civilization. Greece is home to many philosophers that inspired both Hegel and Marx. Greece is a member of the EU, the Council of Europe, NATO, the OECD, the WTO, the OSCE, and the OIF.
Communist parties in Greece include the Communist Party of Greece, the Communist Organization of Greece, the Movement for the Reorganization of the Communist Party of Greece 1918–55, the Marxist-Leninist Communist Party of Greece and the Communist Party of Greece (Marxist-Leninist)
History
Bronze Age
The Minoan civilization rose to power from 1950 to 1450 BCE on the island of Crete. It became a major power in the Mediterranean by using powerful sailboats, and its rulers lived in large stone palaces.[1]
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece was divided into at least thousand city-states that frequently fought each other for land and resources.
In the 6th century BCE, the Athens overthrew a 30-year-old dictatorship and installed an aristocratic government, which was then overthrown by a popular democratic revolution. Sparta attempted a counterrevolutionary invasion but was defeated, and Athenian democracy spread to many other Greek city-states, lasting almost 200 years. Philosophers such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle opposed democratic rule. In the early 5th century BCE, Greece defeated invasions from the Persian Empire, but a conservative alliance led by Sparta defeated Athens in the Peloponnesian War in 404 BCE.
The city-states remained divided, with Thebes conquering Sparta in 371 BCE before Macedon conquered all of Greece starting in 338 BCE.[2]
Between 200 and 150 BCE, Rome conquered Greece and crushed any leaders who tried to forgive debts.[3]
Athens
Athens did not allow slaves, women, or foreigners to vote but did enfranchise poor farmers and artisans. Out of a total population of 200,000 people, only 30,000 could vote. The government consisted of ten leading officials (strategoi) who were elected every year, an elected council of 400 people (boule), and a popular assembly (ekklesia) of all free citizens. Courts of up to 2,500 people administered justice, and people who received 6,000 negative votes could be exiled from the city for ten years.[2]
Solon cancelled debts in the early fifth century BCE, and Pisistratus and his descendants democratized the economy.[3]
Sparta
Sparta banned money in an attempt to avoid the existence of debt. Later, Rome attacked Sparta when kings Agis and Cleomenes tried to cancel their citizens' debt and create their own army instead of using mercenaries.[3]
Second World War
Nazi Germany invaded and occupied Greece during the Second World War. In 1941, the Communist Party of Greece formed the Greek People's Liberation Army (ELAS) and the National Liberation Front (EAM) to fight against the fascist occupiers. The EAM grew to over a million members and ranged from communists to the center-left. In November 1944, the British army entered Greece and began fighting against ELAS with the help of former Nazi collaborators. In January 1945, ELAS surrendered and the British took over Greece.[4]
Civil War
See main article: Greek Civil War
Greek leftists began a rebellion in the fall of 1946 and the British left Greece in February 1947 to be replaced by the USA. Albania, Bulgaria, and Yugoslavia assisted the Greek communists. By the end of 1947, the Greek government received all of its military supplies from the United States. The Greek revolutionary forces surrendered in October 1949.
By the 1950s, Greece was an anti-communist US-backed police state and a member of NATO. Greece sent troops to fight against the Korean People's Army during the Fatherland Liberation War.[4]
Military junta (1967-1974)
Liberal Georgios Papandreou won the February 1964 election, but King Constantine removed him from power in July 1965.[5]
In April 1967, the CIA overthrew the Greek government and installed the Nazi-aligned CIA agent Georgios Papadopoulos as the military dictator of Greece. Papadopoulos banned all political parties and killed 8,000 people in the first month of his rule.[6] He sent over 6,000 suspected communists to prisons or remote islands.[7] The CIA gave the junta 74,000 tons of military equipment to defend U.S. interests. After a failed coup in Cyprus which pursued to annex the island into Greece, the Junta collapsed.
Third Hellenic Republic (1974-present)
First and second government (1974-1981)
During this time, the first Greek Prime Minister, Konstantinos Karamanlis, leading the New Democracy legalized the Communist Party of Greece, but left-wingers were still very marginalized. Aside from this and the establishment of a republican system, nothing else changed significantly.
Greece entered the EU in early 1981.
First PASOK governments (1981-1989)
As Greeks became increasingly disappointed with the government, they voted for the social-democratic PASOK, led by Andreas Papandreou. During Papandreou's first two terms, many significant changes happened, even though Greece remained a bourgeois republic. Some enterprises were nationalized during this time and as such, the public sector was expanded. Communists that fought with KKE's side in the Greek Civil War were allowed to return in Greece and received special pensions.[6] A free and universal healthcare system was established during the 80s, whereas living conditions improved, as the purchase power of Greeks increased by 26% during the course of the decade.[7] Trade unions and work counclis also received rights,[8][9] shops had fixed opening and closing times,[10] and social security was established.[11][12] Safety and education were also improved during this time.[13][14] A more progressive taxation was introduced.[15] Finally, parental leave was introduced, albeit in a limited scale.[16]
During this time, Papandreou tried to pull Greece out of NATO and the EU but failed, as the majority of the party supported to remain in both. However, he did challenge the US imperialist narrative and somewhat de-puppetize Greece.[17] He also condemned Israel's policies in the occupied Palestinian territories. However, he supported a two-state solution and not an entirely free Palestine.[18]
1989-2004
In 1989, a scandal got revealed in Greece and Papandreou was accused of involvement. This led to an electoral decline of PASOK and after three subsequent elections, New Democracy (led by Konstantinos Mitsotakis) formed a cabinet. As the counterrevolutions of 1989 and the overthrow of the Soviet Union took place during this time, Mitsotakis privatized many enterprises. He also cut government spending, formally recognized Israel as a country and aligned Greece more with the US once again, as he negotiated about re-opening NATO bases. He also attempted to pass a reactionary bill concerning education, which caused widespread student protests.[19] The police assassinated a teacher during the protests.
Andreas Papandreou got re-elected in 1993, but passed away in 1996 and got succeeded by the new president of PASOK, Costas Simitis. During Simitis, while infrastructure was upgraded (the so-called "Modernization"), Greece adopted the Euro as official currency and abolished the Drachma in 2001-02, causing a big rise in prices and crippling the purchase power of Greek citizens.
In 1997, the International Olympic Committee selected Athens to organize the 2004 Summer Olympics.
2004-2009
Kostas Karamanlis (the nephew of Konstantinos Karamanlis) won the 2004 elections. During his term, the 2004 Summer Olympics took place in Athens.
In December 2008, a 15-year old student, Alexandros Grigoropoulos was killed by a policeman. Violent protests occurred in Athens which lasted until January 2009.
Acute Financial Crisis (2009-2015)
2009
Karamanlis resigned in 2009, as the CIA plotted to assassinate him. In order to lose the elections, he told people the actual economic state of Greece and proclaimed austerity measures, whereas PASOK leader George Papandreou (the son of Andreas Papandreou), proclaimed social expenditures that Greece could not actually afford. This led to a financial crisis.
The social expenditures that Papandreou proclaimed caused a deficit in the Greek economy, which made Greece turn to the IMF to get a loan. IMF required Greece to take harsh austerity measures.
2010
The first austerity package got approved on 9 February 2010. It froze all wages of government employees, cut 10% of bonuses and overtime workers' and public employees wages and work-related travel subsidies.
Another austerity package was approved just a month later, in March 2010. In 3 May 2010, the first IMF/EU loan known as the First Economic Adjustment Programme for Greece and commonly referred to as the "first memorandum" got signed. The European Commission, European Central Bank and the IMF formed the so-called Troika. These measures led to massive protests in Greece and the rise of the so-called anti-austerity movement. 2 days after the memorandum got signed, massive protests happened where 3 people died during the arson of a bank.
Another austerity package was approved by the Parliament in 6 May 2010, privatizing 4,000 companies, cutting wages and pensions and increasing taxes.
2011
In February 2011, massive protests occurred again in all major Greek cities. Protests re-began in May and happened continuously until December 2011. Many private TV channels did not cover the protests during their early days. During May-August 2011, an "Indignant Citizens Movement" emerged, inspired by the 15-M Spanish movement. In late May, a "Real Democracy Now!" movement emerged inspired by the Spanish one. The first vote of the People's Assembly in Greece got signed in 27 May 2011. The proceedings were:
- Any corrupt politician should either be sent home or to jail.
- When we, the people, start discussions without fear, fear grips them, inside the parliament building.
- This is not just the politician's fault. It's all our faults, with our selfish attitudes.
- Demonstrations should take place every evening at 6 pm and an assembly at 9 pm.
- Their democracy guarantees neither Justice nor Equality.
- The taxation system is not the same for the rich and the poor. Equal rights for everyone.
A fourth austerity package got signed in June 2011, further cutting wages and pensions and doing more privatizations. Another one got signed in October 2011, reducing the tax-free threshold from 12,000€ to only 5,000€, as well as closing schools and cutting pensions, as well as other measures. In the protests during the same month, there were violent demonstrations and strikes, inspired by the Statesian Occupy Wall Street movement. Communist Party of Greece members and hard-line protesters tried to invade the parliament, resulting in the death of one KKE member.
In 28 October, a national holiday about Greece's refusal to be used as a base for Italy, the military parade officially got cancelled due to protests. The then-President of the Hellenic Republic, Karolos Papoulias, was forced to leave.
Papandreou resigned on 11 November 2011, due to the protests that happened. A provisional government was formed, led by Lucas Papademos.
2012
In February 2012, another wave of protests started against the provisional government, since in the 13th day of the same month the parliament approved the sixth package of austerity measures. In fact, the passing of the austerity measures was a precondition for the next €130 billion lending package from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund to the Greek government, without which the country would have faced sovereign default by 20 March. The Second Economic Adjustment Programme for Greece, usually referred to as the "second memorandum" was signed in 1 March. In 20 March, the government finally announced they had defaulted and had rejected another package from Brussels Bailout and were starting to reform the system. On 5 April, people once again demonstrated against the government after a pensioner named Dimitris Christoulas committed suicide by shooting himself, refusing to share the fate of those people who have had to search for food in garbage.
The two major labor unions of Greece warned that the harsh austerity measures would "drive Greece to despair".
In May 2012, elections happened, but no government was formed, so new elections happened in June. New Democracy (the first party, acquiring almost 30% of the votes), PASOK (having fallen at less than 12.3%) and Democratic Left (a democratic socialist party, which took 6.25% of the votes), formed the government. Syriza came second with almost 26.9% of the votes and was the main opposition party. However, the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party received more than 6.97% of the votes (from 0.29% in 2009) entering the Parliament for the first time. KKE was crippled at 4.5% and became the seventh (and last) party to enter the parliament, even though it received almost 4% more in the May 2012 elections.
As such, Antonis Samaras became the new Prime Minister.
A new austerity package was approved in October-November 2012.
2013
On 28 April, a new austerity package was signed. The law created a new tax for immovable property that would be defined later. The teachers reacted to the bill by declaring strikes. However, the government prohibited the strikes, proceeding to implement Civil mobilization. The package was finalized on 17 July. The package laid off another 15,000 public employees, among them high school teachers, school guards and municipal policemen.
On 11 June 2013, Simos Kedikoglou, the government's spokesman, at approximately 17:45 EEST announced the shutdown of the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT), which would make almost 3,000 employees reduntant. This closure was undemocratic.
ERT was dissolved by a Common Ministerial Decision that was enacted by virtue of Article 14B of Law 3429/2005 (regarding the dissolution, merger and restructuring of public companies) as amended by an urgent government Legislative Ordinace (FEK 139/11.06.2013, Issue A').
NET (the main channel) and ET1, which were based in Athens, interrupted programming. So did ET3, which is based in Thessaloniki. Thousands of people gathered in the Radio Hall, the building where ET1 and NET were based and practically ERT's main headquarters, and protested against the decision. This happened in Thessaloniki as well. Analog signal ceased at 22:54 EEST. The last (digital terrestrial television) ERT transmitters were closed at 23:17 EEST. However, 20 seconds later, 902TV, controlled by the KKE, retransmitted the signal and as such got shut down as well. Radio signals stopped at 23:22 EEST. Later on, the ERT World feed got shut down as well. On 12 June, all internet assets of ERT got erased from the Greek internet registry. Massive strikes happened the same day.
However, with the help of EBU initially, ERT's employees, now integrated into the ERT Open initiative, continued to broadcast two of the three channels (NET and ET3) via Internet and satellite signals, and even reopened some analog transmitters. On 24 October, EBU ceased its aid to ERT and as such most signals ceased. ERT continued to broadcast via Internet only. On 7 November, police invaded the Radio Hall (prosecuting 4 people) and later that day, NET ceased broadcasting. Until its reopening on 11 June 2015, ET3 and some radio stations were the only services that never stopped broadcasting.
Democratic Left exited the coalition because of this decision.
In place of ERT, a new organization, NERIT, was expected to start broadcasting on 29 August. However, a transitional and terribly designed one, called Public Television was launched on 10 July instead and got replaced by NERIT on 4 May 2014.
It should be noted that Public Television changed its name within just the first day (as it was called Hellenic Public Television) and changed logos 4 times during its first 2 months of operation. It started normal programming only on 21 August. Before then, the programming did not cover all 24 hours (akin to pre-1996 ERT).
In fact, up until 7 November, Public Television broadcasted from a private studio and it also did not legally exist, as it did not have a VAT.
2014
In 2014, a new austerity package was approved. The bill froze wages and pensions until 2018. It cut public sector expenses, such as the Ministry of Health. It provided that the primary surplus in 2014 would be 2.3% of GDP (€4.19 billion) 5.3% (€11.585 billion) in 2018.
On 4 May, NERIT was launched.
On 31 December, the Parliament was dissolved.
Syriza Government and recovery (2015-2019)
Mitsotakis regime (2019-present)
Economic Policies
The New Democracy political party, in government since July 2019, has applied neoliberal and quasi-fascist policies. It has made massive privatizations in tourism and natural resources[17]. Workers' rights have also been severely limited, with strikes being mostly prohibited and with employers having the right to fire employees without giving any notice prior or to give any reason. Collective agreements have been abolished as well.
Censorship in media has been increased, with even pro-capitalist western organizations ranking Greece very low in press freedom and with also pro-capitalist western organizations claiming Greece has a "democratic backsliding" and is becoming increasingly authoritarian.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the current Greek Prime Minister, has also put the National Information Service as well as the official Greek news agency under his complete control.[18] New Democracy, with the support of the PASOK political party, amended a law (specifically 826/145 of the law 2472/1997), regarding wiretappings by the NIS, which practically removed citizens' right to be informed of their surveillance after it had been concluded.[19] Ιn 2021 alone, 15,000 surveillance orders were issued.
This led to a spying scandal ignited in July 2022, when opposition leader Nikos Androulakis, leader of PASOK, revealed he was being wiretapped by Greek authorities by the illegal Predator software.[20] The case reached media spotlight, however there have been active efforts from the government to not come to a conclusion. The revelations were followed by the -almost simultaneous- resignations of the head of the National Information Service, Panagiotis Kontoleon, and the General Secretary of the Prime Minister and his nephew, Grigoris Dimitriadis.
Protests also need government approval.
2023 Tempi Train Crash
In the night of 28 February 2023, two trains collided with each other. The root cause of this tragic disaster was the lack of station masters (there was only one of them, near the crucial station of Larissa) and the lack of monitoring equipment for the trains. There has not been released any official document about the deaths, but the current information are 57 deaths and 53 missing, along with a lot more injuries.[8]
2023 Natural Disasters
In July, Greece was struck by a 15-day heatwave which was the longest in their recorded history,[10] with some areas reaching highs of 46C.[11] The country was, in the summer, the victim of severe wildfires, particularly in the Dadia national park, in which over 70,000 hectares were incinerated, one of the worst in Europe up to this point.[12] Rhodes was particularly badly affected, with wildfires on Rhodes destroying towns and villages, resulting in the evacuation of nearly 20,000 people.[9] Throughout Europe, the wildfires burned nearly 470,000 hectares of European land.[13] In early September, Thessaly was then flooded after 18 months of rainfall fell in 24 hours due to Storm Daniel,[14] and in late September, central Greece was once again struck by flooding due to Storm Elias.[15] A quarter of Greece's agricultural yields were wiped out and will be degraded for several years due to silt and mud.[16]
Reaction to Operation Flood of Al-Aqsa
Mitsotakis has supported "Israel" during the Operation Flood of Al-Aqsa, implicitly calling Palestinians "uncivilized people".
Politics
New Democracy
New Democracy (not to be confused with Mao's theory with the same name) is a neoliberal party in Greece currently led by Mitsotakis and is the currently governing one since the elections in July 2019.
Syriza
The Coalition of the Radical Left – Progressive Alliance, abbreviated as SYRIZA, is a de jure social-democratic but de facto neoliberal party (since September 2023).
In September 2023, the party elected Stefanos Kasselakis as the leader of the party, to replace Alexis Tsipras. Kasselakis is a former shipping executive and Goldman Sachs trader, has worked for the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, and volunteered for Joe Biden's 2008 presidential primary campaign.[21]
PASOK
Panhellenic Socialist Movement is a social-democratic party, currently led by Nikos Androulakis.
KKE
The Communist Party of Greece is a Marxist-Leninist (but also dogmatic) communist party in Greece. It is led by Dimitris Koutsoumpas.
References
- ↑ Neil Faulkner (2013). A Marxist History of the World: From Neanderthals to Neoliberals: 'The First Class Societies' (p. 20). [PDF] Pluto Press. ISBN 9781849648639 [LG]
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Neil Faulkner (2013). A Marxist History of the World: From Neanderthals to Neoliberals: 'Ancient Empires' (pp. 36–40). [PDF] Pluto Press. ISBN 9781849648639 [LG]
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Ben Norton, Michael Hudson (2023-05-05). "Origins of debt: Michael Hudson reveals how financial oligarchies in Greece & Rome shaped our world" Geopolitical Economy Report. Archived from the original on 2023-05-28.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 William Blum (2003). Killing Hope: 'Greece 1947 to early 1950s: From cradle of democracy to client state' (pp. 33–37). [PDF] London: Zed Books. ISBN 1842773682
- ↑ William Blum (2003). Killing Hope: 'Greece 1964-1974: "Fuck your Parliament and your Constitution," said the President of the United States' (p. 215). [PDF] London: Zed Books. ISBN 1842773682
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 William Blum (1995). Killing Hope (p. 219). Monroe. ISBN 1567510523
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Answering to History (1975-09-01). Time. Archived from the original.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Teddy Grant, Will Gretsky, Morgan Winsor, and Meredith Deliso (2023-03-02). "At least 57 dead, dozens more injured in Greek train derailment" ABC News. Archived from the original on 2023-03-01. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Anna Conkling (2023-09-19). "Welcome to my burnt paradise’: Summer fires in Greece leave devastation in their wake" Real News Network. Archived from the original on 2023-09-19. Retrieved 2023-10-01.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Tasos Kokkinidis (2023-07-24). "Greece Heatwave: Record-breaking 46.4°C Recorded" Greek Reporter. Archived from the original on 2023-09-25. Retrieved 2023-10-01.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Helena Smith (2023-07-26). "‘Everyone is indoors’: life on pause on hottest day of Greek heatwave" The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2023-07-26. Retrieved 2023-10-01.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Greece wildfire 'worst on European soil in years', Copernicus says" (2023-08-25). Reuters. Archived from the original on 2023-08-25. Retrieved 2023-10-01.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Wildfires in 2023: 41 % of the burnt area in the EU within Natura 2000 protected sites" (2023-09-08). European Commission. Archived from the original on 2023-10-01. Retrieved 2023-10-01.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Storm Daniel leads to extreme rain and floods in Mediterranean, heavy loss of life in Libya" (2023-09-12). World Metereological Organization. Archived from the original on 2023-09-20. Retrieved 2023-10-01.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 "Central Greece Battered by Storm Elias" (2023-09-28). TeleSUR. Archived from the original on 2023-09-28. Retrieved 2023-10-01.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Roberta Harrington (2023-09-25). "Greek agriculture devastated for five or more years" Business News Europe. Archived from the original on 2023-09-28. Retrieved 2023-10-01.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 John C. Loulis (1984-12-01). "Papandreou's Foreign Policy" Foreign Affairs Magazine. Archived from the original on 2008-10-29. Retrieved 2014-02-23.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 Spyros Kaminaris (1999-06). "Greece and the Middle East" Middle East Review of International Affairs. Archived from the original on 2012-02-01.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 ΦΕΚ A 156/1990.
- ↑ "Senior European Parliament Member Targeted as Spyware Abuse Spreads" (2022-07-27). The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-04-27.
- ↑ Thomas Scripps (2023-09-27). "Syriza elects Goldman Sachs banker Stefanos Kasselakis as party leader" World Socialist Web Site. Archived from the original on 2023-09-28. Retrieved 2023-10-01.