At a UN General Assembly where 77 countries walked out when Netanyahu took the floor, and in a New York where the streets were packed with demonstrators demanding that Netanyahu be brought before the International Court for his crimes, Mitsotakis chose to meet with Netanyahu and underscore his commitment to the “axis” with Israel. As Efimerida ton Syntakton writes:
“The issues of cooperation between Greece and Israel were at the centre of the agenda. The two of them hastened to greet each other warmly and embrace in front of the cameras.”
Beyond the embraces and the international humiliation they represent for Greece as the rear base of the Zionist state committing genocide in Palestine, Mitsotakis’s involvement in the war translates into an enormous cost for the working class here. How are the billions required for this military involvement being secured?
Obviously, through cuts to public-sector wages and pensions. The most recent example is the Council of State’s confirmation of the abolition of the 13th and 14th salaries. But that is not the only one. As Trump’s and Netanyahu’s war in the Middle East spreads, the price of oil rises, and with it inflation. The result is that real wages, daily wages and pensions are being squeezed, while VAT revenues skyrocket and end up funding expenditure on frigates, F-35s and the “Achilles Shield.”
A criminal downward spiral
Alongside wages, the “social wage” is also being shredded, with terrifying consequences. Every day we experience what the dismantling of public hospitals and schools means. Now, the cost of dismantling all public services is coming dramatically to the fore. In 2019, Mitsotakis abolished the Inspectorate for Health and Welfare Services, with the result that we have reached the point of the unchecked activities of the killers of Mazonakis. The dismantling of the Labour Inspectorate has led to “Violantes” in workplaces. Monitoring natural-gas leaks became a private matter for contractors, and we reached the point where we are counting six dead in the heart of Athens, in Plaka. Not even the 57 dead at Tempi stopped this government’s criminal downward spiral. “Safe” connection of military “domes” with Israel, zero safety in everyday life.
This is why the workers’ response to these challenges must, and can, be an all-out one. Workers in schools, municipalities and hospitals are rising up, demanding not “just” increases in their own wages, but also staff recruitment and increased spending on all the services Mitsotakis is laying to waste. The trade-union leaderships, even where the KKE is the leading force, as in the DΟΕ and ADEDY, are wavering and violating conference decisions on strike action, but the rank and file are persisting—for 30 September in the schools and for 14–15 October, all together, women and men alike. The Kypseli Residents’ Initiative, who are watching their homes being destroyed by the Metro’s “terror mole,” is calling a rally on Saturday, 3 October, in a mobilisation that is taking on new dimensions following the deaths caused by the collapse of the house on Lysikratous Street.
Even greater momentum for the common struggle is being provided by the anti-war rallies on 10 October. On that day, we will join our voices with the global movement in solidarity with Palestine. Here, in the country where Mitsotakis shamelessly embraces Netanyahu, we have millions more reasons to take to the streets. So that we can finally put an end to the government that places war and profits above our lives.