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Costas Lapavitsas on the promise of the Greek election

Ryan Healey19 June 2012

In The Progressive, Costas Lapavitsas, author of the forthcoming Crisis in the Eurozone, elaborates on the results from the recent Greek election as indicative of the advent of progressive political forces to shape not just Greece, but the rest of the continent against "the poisonous brew of austerity, privatization, and liberalization." Lapavitsas then provides an overview of the sociopolitical makeup of the Greek population to deduce why the political initiative and spirit has alighted on Syriza, the Coalition of the Radical Left. The electoral success of Syriza points to an anti-austerity program that will soon catch on to Portugal and Spain if properly adhered to:

If Syriza sticks to its radical program, calls for unity among the left, and presents itself as a reliable party of government, it can emerge as the largest party in Greek politics. It will then have the initiative in forming a coalition government of anti-bailout forces. On this basis, Greece might at last break out of the vice of austerity that is currently destroying economy and society. Such an event could propel forward all progressive forces across Europe that are already mobilizing against austerity.

Lapavitsas's new book, Crisis in the Eurozone, out from Verso this September, is a radical call to break up the Eurozone to thwart counterproductive and destructive European austerity.

Read the full article at The Progressive.

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