As new prime minister Alexis Tsipras began unravelling Greece’s deeply unpopular austerity policies, leaders of Australia’s largest Greek community associations united this week in declaring their support for the SYRIZA government’s intentions.
Harry Danalis, president of the Greek Orthodox Community of NSW, said that the election result was entirely predictable after successive Greek governments “continually kept caving in to the demands of the troika – with all the misery and suffering that entailed”.
“It was inevitable that they would turn to someone who is promising to at least renegotiate and alleviate the austerity measures,” said the Sydney lawyer, who added that he was optimistic that SYRIZA’s promise to re-negotiate Greece’s €240bn debt repayments could achieve a positive outcome.
“It has to be possible to renegotiate. The EU and the troika have to face reality: you can’t keep pushing people into a corner,” said Mr Danalis, who said he had little sympathy for outgoing PM Antonis Samaras.
“What he did was he succumbed to his masters. He didn’t take into account the suffering caused to his own people.
“Any leader who is subject to the whims and wills of other countries, and who doesn’t
countries, and who doesn’t give a damn about how it’s going to affect his own people – no I don’t have a lot of sympathy for him.”
In Victoria, Bill Papastergiadis, president of the Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne, said the election result was a “historic moment” but that Greece was now taking “an uncertain and difficult road, but a road many believe needs to be taken.”
Reflecting on the past four years, Mr Papastergiadis said the implementation of austerity policies had been “emotionally catastrophic” for the Greek people.
“The toll on the people was too much. They have been consumed by uncertainty, by unemployment, by the lowering of wages, and the capacity to live a normal life,” said the Community’s leader.
Mr Papastergiadis described Syriza’s victory and policies as “Greece’s last chance. If this fails then what do we have?”
Syriza has targeted the creation of 300,000 new jobs in the private, public and social sectors, and to increase in the minimum monthly wage from €580 to €750. The new jobs are focused on young people – almost 50 per cent of under-25s are currently out of work – and the long-term unemployed
Salaries and pensions fell in 2012 as the Samaras coalition government put the brakes on spending, but Syriza has vowed to reverse such “injustices”.
The new government is also committed to ending the despised Enfia tax – an annual levy on private property that was introduced as an emergency measure in 2011 but made permanent under the previous administration. Syriza will instead introduce a tax on luxury homes and large second properties.
Victorian Federal MP Maria Vamvakinou told Neos Kosmos that the implementation of Syriza’s radical agenda comes with immense challenges.
“There’s an expectation that the new government will bring about immediate relief and respite to those hardest hit by the austerity measures – the poor, the unemployed, the young and the elderly – and, of course, there is an expectation that the debt will be dealt with in a manner that is more palatable and bearable to the Greek people,” said the Labor Member for Calwell.
“On the other hand, Prime Minister Tsipras also needs to convince creditors and his European partners that renegotiation of Greece’s debt has to be based on the principles of social justice.”
Ms Vamvakinou added that momentum developing in other European countries would assist the new Greek government’s strategy as it works towards renegotiating the terms of the debt repayment.
“I think, contrary to the prevailing view, the Greek PM is in a better bargaining position, and may stand a chance of renegotiating Greece’s bailout.”