Regime change… EU style? Not at all, it’s the market, while the EU stands by and looks on. November 8, 2011
Posted by WorldbyStorm in Economy, European Politics, Irish Politics.trackback
God knows I’m no fan of Berlusconi, indeed one could ask reasonably enough who is? But there’s just something about the processes in play this week and last which are profoundly disturbing where market forces are the battering ram, and more, being used to remove first Papendreou and now – perhaps Berlusconi.
Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi last night defiantly spurned calls for his resignation as he faced record borrowing costs and reports of the defection of more than 30 deputies in his People of Freedom party.
The current health of Mr Berlusconi’s embattled centre-right coalition will be tested today when parliament is expected to ratify the 2010 public accounts.
The problem here as reported this morning is the tangled web woven between the political and the economic, but it seems that the latter predominates and is pushing events faster than if these were driven by purely political forces. Or to put it a different way instead of being a proxy for political dynamics the market becomes itself a player. The line is fine, but it seems to have been crossed.
Or consider the following:
“It’s up to the government majority to make the move that will bring about a change. Today’s problem is that Berlusconi totally lacks credibility,” said senior opposition figure Francesco Rutelli, a former mayor of Rome.
“Every day he stays in power costs us 50 points on the spread.” Mr Rutelli’s comments came after another tumultuous day on markets in which the interest rate on 10-year Italian bonds touched another high of 6.6 per cent.
Where the Italian people are in all of this is a bit of a mystery, just as it was with the Greek people last week. And note the following:
Analysts argue such rates are unsustainable as Italy needs to raise some €300 billion in the next year to refinance existing debt. The turmoil has led to anxiety about the fate of Italy, as officials speak privately of the need to prevent the debt crisis turning to “disaster”.
But Berlusconi is himself wedded to pushing the ‘austerity’ measures through.
Fintan O’Toole puts it pretty well this morning:
What happened was that two of the big shaping forces of western Europe, forces that have been working broadly in tandem for 300 years, clearly fell apart. One force is capitalism; the other democracy. From the Enlightenment onwards, it has been an accepted truth that democracy and capitalism were at the very least compatible with each other. The things that were needed in order for capitalism to develop – the breaking of aristocratic power, the free movement of labour, an open market in ideas, functioning parliaments, independent legal systems, states that could command popular consent and thus underpin stability, taxation to fund mass education and infrastructure – were also conditions for political democracy. They may not have been sufficient conditions, but they were necessary ones.
And continues:
What became so dramatically clear last week was that this compatibility has ended. The leading form of capitalism – the finance capitalism that has expanded so monstrously over the last 30 years – is no longer compatible with democracy in Europe.
And by democracy in this context I mean just the limited, basic form: universal suffrage and sovereign governments. This is a pretty big deal.
And he points to the following:
Consider the three things that happened in Greece and Ireland last week.
Firstly, it was made explicit that the most reckless, irresponsible and ultimately impermissible thing a government could do was to seek the consent of its own people to decisions that would shape their lives. And, indeed, even if it had gone ahead, the Greek referendum would have been largely meaningless. As one Greek MP put it, the question would have been: do you want to take your own life or to be killed? Secondly, there was open and shameless intervention by European leaders (Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy) in the internal affairs of another state. Sarkozy hailed the “courageous and responsible” stance of the main Greek opposition party – in effect a call for the replacement of the elected Greek government.
He also argues, correctly, that the payment to unsecured Anglo-Irish bondholders exemplified a hollowing out of the democratic by the market.
The point, as with Berlusconi, is that it isn’t up to markets to decide the composition of democratically elected governments, however noxious one might find those governments, but for the sovereign peoples involved to do so.
That is being bypassed here.
Berlusconi originally came to power as the leader of a far-right alliance with substantial popular support: his own party, the post-Fascists and the Lega Nord (actually two separate far-right alliances, but that’s by the way). The next time he came to power it was as the leader of a centre-right alliance: his own party, the post-Fascists, the Lega *and* the ex-Christian Democrats. Then he lost the CDs, then lost power but managed to scrape back in after merging his party with the post-Fascists. Then the post-Fascists split anyway. Then there were scandals and he alienated the Catholic vote (not a wise move in Italy). Then (this year) there was a vote of confidence which he won by the narrowest of margins, after quite openly buying people off. Then there were even more scandals. Then the Lega started to get rebellious. Then members of Berlusconi’s own party started to get rebellious. Then there were yet more scandals.
…and then the Eurozone crisis hit and Sarkozy and Merkel laughed at him.
I know what you’re saying, but politically Berlusconi’s been a dead man walking for most of this year: faced with anything at all that Must Be Done, no government led by him would be capable of doing it. The fact that the people saying what Must Be Done are Eurocrats rather than the Italian people does leave a bad taste, but on the specific matter of Berlusconi going I don’t think many of the Italian people disagree.
The Greek MEP that O’Toole refers to is Liana Kanelli of the Greek Communist Party (KKE). Here she is, responding powerfully to the questions of Channel 4 News presenter Jon Snow.
When I saw her on the TV she was going on about ancient Greek civilisation (Acropolis behingd her, natch, but that’s down to the TV), proud Greeks and how Churchill called them brave warriors (or some such) in WWII (I presume). All a bit strange from a communist I thought. Quoting Churchill! I wonder what position he took on the Greek civil war?
Someone psoted extracts from the KKE’s statement on the crisis recently. It mentioned a “National democratic programme”. What is that? I think we should be very wary of these calls to assert “National sovereignty”. What is the “nation”?
Did anyone watch this programme last night: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/go-greek-for-a-week
No, it’s not “have Greek-style austerity inflicted upon you”; it’s more “prudent, hardworking Brits get a chance to be lazy, overpaid, parasitic leeches off the Greek state/EU” for a week (at least that’s how it seems from the blurb). It’s an interesting thing to be broadcasting as Greece is forced to give up even the pretense of democracy…
I shouldn’t be amazed, but I am with channel 4. It’s liberal credentials over the years have been impeccable but it’s elision into neo-liberal capitalist groupthink regarding society and economics has been equally impeccable.
I don’t even need to watch the program. It’s blurb says it all: people are here to serve the interests of capital. That is our raison d’etre and nothing more. You either raise to the so-called top of the capitalist pyramid and feed on other’s labour or you are the food. Capital is the weapon and armory of capitalism whether it is in its pure financial rentier form or in its productive tranformative form.
There will be no deviation from this narrative; no alternative; no human imagination will be allowed to consider other possibilities.
The MSM the world over kind of reminds me of Paisley in this glory days. NO – to everthing.
I’ve said it before here, I think, but the myth of lazy Greeks is completely given the lie by any actual experience of the place. Middle-class Greeks will routinely take a second, often menial, job to save for their kids education (Greece has woefully inadequate 3rd level provision, so many, perhaps the majority(?) of college educated Greeks get their education abroad). Athens, like Dublin, sprawls over the surrounding countryside rather than going up, like proper cities, but Greeks like to build their own houses rather than buy off estates – and they save for it rather than take out mortgages: and those houses tend to have large gardens, not to make room for decking and barbecues, but so they can keep hens, goats and pigs.
Plus, all those pampered public servants that the C4 blurb talks about earn less than half the European average: teachers, cops, civil servants often survive on not much more than the Irish minimum wage.
The game being played here ought to be familiar: this is the Greek version of ‘we all partied’: it’s apparently the sins of the Greek people that got them to this pass, not of their incompetent and corrupt leaders.
Though there is a bloated darmy. 400,000. So even if badly paid seems to be a drain on the economy
RTE have added their tuppence worth with an absolutely disgraceful segment by Philip Boucher Hayes on Mary Wilson’s ‘Drivetime’ this afternoon. The bould Philip was incredulous and livid that a Greek public sector worker should have expectations of having money left, after paying bills and necessities, to fund a decent social life. Not only that but Philip had to put the boot in by reporting that other the Greek surrounding the PS worker he was interviewing were also incredulous. He’s apparently in Greece doing a series of reports, expect more of the same. Don’t expect any forensic examination of the role of Greek oligarchs, for instance, those who dominate the global shipping industry. To much like hard work for Philip and his soul mates in Channel 4. Those oligarchs have lawyers….
@Jim,
Most of that 400k is made up of conscripts – they still have military service. Greeks, rightly or wrongly, are convinced that if they weaken their defence forces, Turkey will take advantage by grabbing all of Cyprus or Rhodes. The historical issues with the Turks, particularly to do with the removal of the Hellenic population of Asia Minor by Ataturk, are live and present grievances to most Greeks – our relations with our larger neighbour and former imperial power are pretty amicable by comparison.
One peculiar feature of Greek public life BTW, which their new overlords might be minded to take a look at, it the fact that the Church is supported through taxes – if you’re going to be shedding civil servants, a few monasteries worth of eremites might be one place you think of starting: you would,
however, regret it ……
There’s an article (‘The Crises of Democratic Capitalism’) by political economist Wolfgang Streek in the latest edition of New Left Review which covers the same ground that O’Toole but is more detailed and better argued. The New Left Review has declined in quality recently but Streek’s article is top notch and on the money and very pertinent to current developments here and in Europe generally. I’d strongly recommend reading it if you have access to NLR.
CMK, that’s on-line here: http://www.newleftreview.org/?page=article&view=2914
Cheers, I wasn’t sure if was freely available – a bit lazy of me not to post the link.
I’m glad to see the NLR respecting the old leftist tradtion of believing that the best way to present your piece is as huge blocks of text in a reasonably small font.
Slightly more readable is this from Le Monde Diplomatique
ejh, yes, that’s a fair criticism of the NLR. However, if you print out the .pdf it’s quite readable, as is the .pdf version online where you can adjust the text size. The hardcopy version is also reasonably readable from the point of view of taxing the eyes, not from the point of view of the content which more often than not ranges from the excruciatingly boring to the excruciatingly irrelevant.
It heartening and a welcome development that some on the Irish left have begun ro a have a serious re-think about the EU its role and its class character.
The struggle is more complex now as we have ceeded so much control and power to an instrument that represents and is the primary instruments of control for capital in Europe -and i don’t just mead the EU- . The muched talked about democratic deficiate at the heart of EU by Social democratic forces did not stop them supporting further transfers of pwers.
As the CPI pointed out in 2010 “the intergration strategy of the European Union is the emasculation of the national democracy and sovereignty of the members-states, making them subservient to the interest of European monopoly capitalism..”
To begin to build a sustainable economy on this island and to harness the peoples skills and develope our natural resources to creat employment. The question of the control of capital and how it is socially invested brings you right into conflict with who decides fiscal and monetarary policy.
Where or how is democratic pressure brough to bear on investment and social priorities? The ECB was constructed to ensure that it only responded to market pressures – capitals needs – and was above national formations and national class struggles.
This ensured that the main and dominante representatives of capital Germany- France would determine the outcome. As has been clearly shown since this current phase of the crisis has proceeded.
Democracy will always be set aside when the interests of capital are threatened, history has shown that. It is nothing new. If the “New Left” illusions are collasping around them that can only be a good thing.
Would recommend that people get themselves on to the Peoples Movement mailing list for real annalysis of what is happening in the EU.
Oh dear Eugene, you seem to be suffering from CP-centrism again. There was plenty of folks on the Left in Ireland who were opposed to the Euro project from the get go.
The Socialist Party said from the outset the Euro wasn’t going to be a long term viable project for example.
I’d go so far as to say opposition to the European project was the majority view on the left.
Who exactly on the left are you referring to when you say some are reconsidering?
Oh dear Neilcaff, you seem to have a bad case of the trots there.
Eugene McCartan is talking about the EU, which you’ve compressed into the Euro.project.
You do know there is a difference?
As regards the trots, take come Imodium and you should be ok.
Phew, some one got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning! If you read the last paragraph of my post you’ll see I called it the European project, which I meant to signify the EEC, EC and EU.
Still I can see how confusion could arise as I did say euro project in the first paragraph, which is what happens when you type things on a smart phone screen. The fact that there’s die hard Trotskyist haters such as yourself lurking about (Imodium, such Wildean wit, oh my aching sides!) also serves to muddy the waters.
It’s a pity that some folks either sympathetic to or actual members of the CP seem to think this is still the 1930′s. A small glimpse perhaps of why the false methods of CP aligned groups tend to alienate so many in the labour movement.
Once more Neil, what possible purpose does squabbling with the CPI’s handful of doddery Stalinists serve? You should know better.
“handful of doddery Stalinists”
That might be a bit harsh, I’ll bet Donal can jitterbug and do the Charleston like anything!
I had no idea the Mili took any interest in dancing. But I may be confusing them with the Wee Frees.
Kenny, Gilmore and Pat Rabbitte et al have made it clear on a number of occasions that Ireland has lost its sovereignty to the ‘Troika’. They can’t really act independently because ‘their hands are tied’ etc.
They go further and claim that for ireland to regain sovereignty the government has no choice but to implement the IMF/EU deal with its neoliberal dictates of austerity, privatization, and further commodification of the labour force.
Democracy has been sacrificed to placate the irrational markets and to impose an obsolete ideology.
How long the sovereign people acquiesce in this denial of their democratic rights remains to be seen.
Yes, but Kenny, Gilmore and their friends generally make this admission in contexts where it is less than accurate. They are challenged about some cut and claim that it is part of the EU/IMF deal. Usually, it isn’t that specific cut that has been agreed, rather there is some general commitment to cut spending. It’s dishonest and it is used as a means of suffocating debate.
“The New Left Review has declined in quality recently”
I’d bought a few issues on the last year or two, based on an article that always looked interesting, only to be disappointed with the high-falutin’ abstraction, history, or dense prose that the articles turned out to be. Ironic that I had decided not to spend my month when in Books Upstairs last week and had my interest piqued by the contents list
The latest edition represented a sharp upward spike for the NLR, hopefully it signals a return to form. Daniel Finn’s recent article on the Irish crisis was another outstanding piece. If they could just drop Frederic Jameson and Zizek and stop publishing so many articles about literature, architecture and art and stick to politics and history they could probably turn things around….
I suspect that the NLR has never been ‘as good as it used to be’
+1 Which applies to many of us.
Where does Fintan O Toole’s linking of democracy and capitalism leave China?Isn’t China proof positive that capitalism doesn’t need or indeed lead to democracy.All done within thirty years.Want to tear down this street,done want to set up a factory,done,want a compliant workforce,done.
Europe is looking to Beijing for money.Financial capitalism how are you!
CLR………Why do you allow such abuse on an otherwise credible forum 0f left debate ?
“Once more Neil, what possible purpose does squabbling with the CPI’s handful of doddery Stalinists serve? “…….from Mark P .
As an elderly member of the CPI I hav’ent the respect to debate with Mark P ……..maybe some of our younger ones or our members of the Connolly Youth Movement have. Such abuse diminishes all the Left.
To be honest given that some of the comments were a response to the ‘trot’ comments I felt they both cancelled each other out. Personally I don’t like or admire the absurdities of basing political positions in 2011 part on the rhetoric of contexts widely divorced in time, location and practice from this one, particularly when to some of us these disagreements seem like two sides of the one coin sniping at each other, but I didn’t have the energy or time to intervene yesterday and my feeling was this time let them slug it out between them… anyone looking on would be well able to come to the conclusion as to the respective coat trailing taking place.
+1,
and they wonder why the Working Class never achieves its objectives.
+2 – sometimes wryly amusing in a ‘he’s the one over there sitting by himself’ kind of way, but utterly counter-productive.
[...] Regime change? EU style? Not at all, it?s the market, while the EU stands by and looks on. 07:40 Tue Nov 08, 2011 | WorldbyStorm [...]
Getting back to the point slightly – one of the key problems in Europe is the political culture of Germany, at least since Kohl. Essentiall Kohl, daughter-of-Kohl (Merkel) and inbetween Schoeder had and still have the nationalist project of the reunification of Germany upermost in their priorities. European developments take second place, in a way that didn’t apply to their predescessors. Along with this goes the ideology of Leistungsfähigkeit – glossed in hegemonic discourse as ‘efficiency’ but carrying with it the implication of the personal and societal bearing of burdens.
From this point of view the idea that all debts should be repayed (conveniently forgetting the almost total forgiveness of German debt in 1947 and again in 1953, if I remember rightly) is deeply ingrained, despite the repeated failures of German banks that have been bailed out by the state. Secondly there is no (official) recognition of the extent to which German exports were fed by a debt explosion in the rest of Europe.
I hasten to add that this is not an anti-German rant of the kind one hears so often – it’s just essential to understand what is driving the disastrous (non)decision-making of Merkel and her advisors at the moment.
I’m aware that I’m also wandering so back to the point – so I’ve been trawling through the online editions of German papers to try to find any recognition of the profoundly anti-democratic nature of the market-driven regime change in Germany and Italy.
- Die Zeit – One interview with Zizeck (forgotten how to do the accents) on the growth of authoritarion capitalism. Say what you like about the man but he was going on about the convergence towards the Chinese model of capitalism years ago.
- Süddeutschezeitung – Nothing – much about how the ‘Greek people’ want a speedy hand-over of power.
- Berliner Zeitung – One piece on the disillusionment with democratic government of the ‘Italian people’.
These are all on the ‘liberalish’ side of things – I didn’t bother with hugely influential Bild, die Welt etc.
And damn all in the greenish-leftish Tagezeitung either about the undemocratic nature of proceedings – just repetition of the betting on the the next technocrat.
You see what we’re dealing with.
What’s interesting and possibly positive is how liberals / Keynsian social democrats like Mr. O’Toole are beginning to realise that the limited representative democracy we have enjoyed is living on borrowed time:
Here Larry Elliot in the Guardian who is a little more blunt:
neilcaff: I just checked my piece to refresh my mind being old and all that. I never mentioned the SP in my comments where one of a general nature and to some of the comments on the thread. Comrades who clearly have supported the EU strategy for some time and are now questioning it in light of current developments.
Even former advocats of supporting everything the EU threw up are now raising questions as to what is happening. This week alone two governments have been ousted because they would not follow the “programme”
Across Europe there is clearly a growing questioning as to the nature and role of the EU. What does democracy mean? The gap between the retoric of the establishment and the reality and alienation felt by growing sections of people.
As someone who never place much faith in the much talked and written about democracy of – capital – but I am extremely interested in the democracy which empowers – labour – the working class and others affected by the system.
As Connolly put it so well “Governments in capitalist society are but committees of the rich to manage the affairs of the capitalist class.”
We may be at a turning point in the history of contemporary Europe. The battle lines are being to emerge from the fog of confussion of the last number of decades.
Serious questions now confront us but not us alone. The euro was and is a failed strategy from the context of working people and democracy but it has not yet fail the interests of capital.
I have attempted to engage in a wider debate with those on the left willing to engage. The debate about the euro, social control of capital, the debt are real immediate issue for the left and democratic forces in Ireland in Europe. These are crucial strategic questions.
Mark P: You well dismiss the CPI from you grand ivory tower that is your want. But then on the other hand to dismiss the knowledge and experience of very experienced working class activists who have a shared generational experience spanning 90 years and beyond.
The experience passed on from those comrades who struggled alongside Connolly in the ISRP, then established the Socialist Party of Ireland and the Citizen Army and then founded the first CPI.
It is better view the world through windows to allow the rich and veried experience of life to enrich our knowledge and to challege our preceived understanding of the world. Than to live in an ivory tower surrounded by mirrors reflecting back ones owns precieved view of how the world how it should be because that is how I see it.
[...] process of a referendum on the austerity plan for Greece. Over on Cedar Lounge Revolution, CMK and LeftAtTheCross drew attention to a scholarly but accessible essay by Wolfgang Streeck on the [...]