Greek PM Calls Snap Elections

by Stephen Lendman

On Thursday, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras resigned and announced snap elections, likely in late September - a ploy hoping for enough voter support to remain in power before ordinary Greeks feel the pain of greater austerity he agreed to after pledging no more in January.

His SYRIZA-led coalition holds a slim majority. Polls astonishingly show he remains popular - at least compared to alternative choices.

Greece is like most other nations. Monied interests rule. Ordinary people have no say. Whatever party or coalition rules, their welfare gets short shrift at best, entirely ignored at worst.

Tsipras and most SYRIZA officials proved they’re as supportive of monied interests as right-wing parties PASOK and New Democracy.

However snap elections turn out, business as usual will triumph. Long-suffering Greeks are assured of greater pain and sacrifice ahead - leaving them increasingly out-of-luck on their own.

Greece’s dominant political establishment doesn’t give a damn about their welfare - just its own and the monied interests it serves.

Announcing his decision to step down on national television, Tsipras said “(t)he political mandate of the January 25 elections has exhausted its limits, and now the Greek people have to have their say.”

It bears repeating. They have none whatever. Elections in most countries are meaningless - worthless exercises achieving nothing for ordinary people. A previous article quoted famed political and social activist Emma Goldman (1869 - 1940) once saying if they “changed anything,” they’d be banned.

Tsipras, like Obama, promised hope and change. They delivered worse than ever business as usual. Nothing in prospect suggests relief for millions of ordinary Greeks deserving better than crushing austerity gravely harming their welfare, security and futures.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.

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