Alexis Tsipras, leader of the Greek left-wing movement Syriza, has revealed that he met with senior officials from the Labour Party during a recent visit to London. In a wide-ranging interview with the New Statesman, Tsipras described Labour as “one of the few parties so close to power in Europe with whom we share a lot of positions”.
Q: Would you say you have political allies in Britain?
A: I had the opportunity to meet with two teams from the Labour Party: an official one headed by [Jon] Cruddas, the party’s head of policy-making, and another one with four to five Labour MPs. I got the impression that the Labour party today is in soul-searching mode, and the debate around austerity is on, so Greece is for them an interesting case study. Bearing in mind that in previous years they followed neoliberal policies, today Labour are deeply troubled about everything that has happened in Greece and especially by the collapse of PASOK [Labour’s social-democratic Greek sister party]. They’re following the situation closely and I dare say they are one of the few parties so close to power in Europe with whom we share a lot of positions and with whom we can be in constant communication.
Q: So SYRIZA can find common ground with Labour?
A: It will depend upon how daring [Ed] Miliband intends to be and especially when it matters most: during the next elections when pressure from the mainstream media and oligarchs in Britain start speaking of the “red dragon” that has come to drive away the City and submerge us in inflation and poverty. Of course this will depend not only on Miliband’s endurance but also on the circumstances under which this duel will take place. Because if elections are held in 2015, the two years in between will be apocalyptic as to the effects of neoliberalism in Europe. Britain is already in depression. Nothing is getting better. More and more people in Europe realise that austerity is not a viable prospect. I hope people realise that there is no other way but to radicalise even further.
Tsipras also gave his verdict on this weekend’s surprise bank levy in Cyprus, and called on the country to reject the bailout deal:
I think it’s unbelievable and self-destructive.
I believe that in the next few days panic will spread to the rest of southern Europe. It is a very risky choice they [the troika] have made, and it proves they have no understanding of the objective dangers facing the eurozone. They’ve chosen to have a Eurozone operating under their rule, with the people subjugated, threatened with blackmail like this. I think the only chance Cyprus has, like other countries, is if the political system rejects this blackmail. If they accept it, then there is no way back. Cyprus’s economy will be ruined, its banking system will bleed capital as depositors will fear a second haircut, and this will spread throughout Europe.
On the contrary, if Cyprus resists, and rejects this deal by protecting its banking system, it would send a strong message of trust and credibility to the rest of the southern European countries as well.
You can read the full interview here.
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