The left's moment in Greece.

• Author: Lapavitsas, Costas

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The Greek election in May has given a tremendous boost to the fight against austerity in Europe. Progressive political forces are in a position to shape the future of Greece, if they are determined and have clear vision. There is even hope that the Eurozone crisis could be resolved in the interests of working people, not just in Greece but across the continent.

The election has shown that the Greek people do not want the bailout policies imposed by the European Union, the International Monetary Fund, and the European Central Bank. Greeks have rejected the poisonous brew of austerity, privatization, and liberalization, and all parties supporting it were pummeled in the polls. More broadly, Greeks have rejected the political order that has run the country for nearly four decades. The combined vote for the party of the center-left, PASOK, and the party of the center-right, New Democracy, has plummeted to less than 34 percent, when it used to exceed 75 percent. People have said no to the political corruption, backscratching, and sheer obtuseness that have ruined the country.

Yet, the election has also shown that the Greek people are not clear about what they want. Rejecting the bailout went hand in hand with a deep fear of being forced out of the European Monetary Union, and even the European Union.

The contradictory outlook of the electorate is the result of economic and political trends of the last two years. A bailout program was first imposed in May 2010, bringing deep cuts in public expenditure, large tax increases, tighter bank credit, and drastic reductions in wages and pensions. The Greek economy, already weak from the global crisis of 20089, plunged into unprecedented recession. National output has gone into a downward spiral, while public debt has risen out of control. And in the midst of this disaster, a second bailout program was agreed to in March 2012, imposing deeper austerity. On conservative estimates, by the end of 2012 the bailout policies will lead to a cumulative contraction of the Greek economy of at least 20 percent, while unemployment will be around 25 percent. When contraction stops, projected annual growth is unlikely to exceed 2.5 percent for the indefinite future. Greece has been pushed into a depression from which there is no obvious way out.

The depression has destroyed the livelihood of wage workers as well as of vast layers of the middle class, including the self-employed, small and medium...