Riots at the end of autumn for Greece are a natural and even familiar phenomenon
The parliament (repelled three times by police), the Rex theater in Athens, the Diplomatic Academy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Athens Archaeological Museum, and several expensive hotels were attacked by vandals, and a branch of the National Bank was robbed under cover of the chaos. As Expert magazine notes, the damage from the riots has already exceeded one billion euros.
Anarchists Forever
The formal pretext for such destructive protests was the accidental killing by a Greek policeman of a fifteen-year-old teenager who, together with his friends, attacked a police patrol. Riots at the end of autumn for Greece are a natural and even familiar phenomenon. Usually they occur on November 17, when the country marks the anniversary of the suppression of the student uprising by the 'black colonels' regime. And this year, according to one Athens correspondent, 'everything was ready for the anniversary, even though it was not a round one. Ceremonial events and marches were organized, provocations by anarchists were planned, shops and museums in the city center closed, the American embassy went into siege mode.'
Anarchism in modern Greece is a fairly popular political movement that has effectively become the focus of the traditional leftist idea among Greeks. Anarchism is mostly a youth ideology, but older generations secretly sympathize with them, remembering their own youth. This happens largely because the left in Greece could never come to power despite popular support. After World War II, local socialists did not gain power only because the West provided large-scale military and economic aid to the Greek right. In 1967, the United States again prevented the left from coming to power by organizing the 'black colonels' coup.
The guardian of leftist ideology and the haven of anarchism became the Greek student body. In student committees, which are influential bodies of youth self-government, nine out of ten people consider themselves communists, anarchists, or bearers of other far-left ideas. Partly, the peculiarities of the local education system played a role here. In Greece, students cannot be expelled for any academic debts. They can study until retirement, while living for free in dormitories and eating for free three times a day in special restaurants (the menu includes Greek salad, chicken thigh, lentil soup patsas, and a serving of squid). The parasitic lifestyle and lack of employment give students who are already over thirty enough time for 'socio-political activity'. The center of this activity is the Greek district of Exarchia.
'Here on the walls are posted modern Greek translations of the 'Letter to the Youth' by the Russian terrorist Nechaev, and graffiti like 'Fellow citizens, you resemble the ancient Greeks in only one way: they too were homosexuals.' In the cafes on Exarchia Square, eternal Greek students are busy with their favorite pastime: planning protest actions that, regardless of the pretext, end at the American embassy. Around these thirty-year-old activists gather gangs of their younger classmates, dreaming of a similarly heroic and romantic life. Among the young 'squires' there are also children from very wealthy families. For example, the father of the accidentally killed Alexandros Grigolopoulos is the owner of one of the banks in Athens, and his mother owns a jewelry store.'
Riots Ahead of Schedule
This time, the unrest, which had nearly subsided by the end of November, suddenly flared up with renewed force and turned from student demonstrations into nationwide protests. Alexandros Grigolopoulos was buried as a national hero. All higher and secondary educational institutions in the country closed in protest. In Athens, thousands of students took to the streets in a demonstration, with teachers at the front carrying a banner reading 'The murderer and the responsible party is the government.'
Greece responded to the call of the protesters. The students were supported by the Greek trade unions CSEE and ADEDY, which unite 2 million people (half of Greece's working-age population). A wave of strikes swept across the country. The student demonstrations became a catalyst for a surge of long-accumulated popular discontent. The economic situation of the majority of Greece's population has been getting worse in recent years. The huge public debt, which increased dramatically after the poorly organized 2004 Olympics (Greece borrowed $10 billion to host them), placed a heavy burden on the country's economy.
The conservative government of Greece, led by Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis, on the advice of the IMF, fought economic difficulties by cutting the social sphere. The prime minister began reforming the unprofitable pension system by raising the retirement age and the amount of pension contributions. Mass privatization of state-owned enterprises was launched, and the possibility of privatizing Greek universities was discussed. With the onset of the economic crisis, the construction bubble burst, and the economic situation in the country became downright threatening. Especially painful for the 'eternal students' was the authorities' decision to limit the duration of study in higher education institutions to seven years, thereby depriving them of free meals and shelter.
On the wave of anti-government demonstrations, the PASOK party (the second major party in Greece, which alternates in power with the current one) through its leader George Papandreou called on the government not to test the patience of the people, to call early parliamentary elections and resign. Karamanlis refuses to resign, but understands that his ability to stop the riots is very limited. Between attacks, the anarchists hide out on university campuses, where police access is barred by law. Karamanlis can neither break this law nor order the police to use force against the anarchists – otherwise the current authorities would be on a par with the regime of the 'black colonels', which shot demonstrators thirty years ago. The prime minister remembers that those riots led to the overthrow of the ruling regime.
Unable to stop the pogroms, the government focused on preventing them from escalating. First of all, it initiated an investigation into Epaminondas Korkoneas, the policeman who killed Grigoropoulos. He was suspended from duty and charged.
Moreover, the authorities are trying to drive a wedge between the demonstrators and turn the Greek middle class against the anarchists (today more than a third of Greeks justify the pogroms carried out by the anarchists). In an attempt to win over at least part of the electorate, the government is trying to stimulate their material interest. The cabinet has already announced the launch of a program to assist affected entrepreneurs. They will be paid €10,000 immediately, and in the future, half of the proven amount of damage will be covered. The remaining losses can be compensated through budget loans. All debts of affected companies to tax authorities, banks, and insurance funds will be deferred. For employees of those companies that cannot recover by December 20, the government promises to give gifts and pay wages for three months.
Europe Next
Despite the fact that the riots in Greece have many specific features inherent to the particular political landscape, experts fear a repetition of this scenario in other EU countries. The economic crisis and active liberal reforms by most EU governments have heightened the intensity of protest sentiments among the electorate, which feels deceived.
First of all, this could affect the countries of Eastern Europe, where the crisis is expected to hit the welfare of the population hardest, but other, more prosperous European countries could also be at risk.
Already now, the actions of Greek anarchists have been supported by their 'colleagues' in other European countries. The current socio-political institutions are in the deepest systemic crisis in many countries of the Old World. Therefore, the ideas and slogans of Greek anarchists about social justice are understandable and close to the hearts of many Europeans. 'Solidarity protests' have swept through Spain, Denmark, Italy. They were strongest in France, where several hundred young people took to the Champs-Élysées.
In the near future, European leftists will be able to launch independent actions. 'The stronger the effects of the crisis are felt, the higher the likelihood of chaos on the streets of Europe... Every EU state has its own protest electorate capable of starting unrest. In Austria, it is the far-right; in France, the descendants of immigrants from Maghreb countries; in Greece, the left and anarchists,' says Yuri Shevtsov, head of the Center for Eurointegration Problems. 'The fact that they are so different makes it difficult for EU authorities to form a common strategy to suppress unrest. And the trigger for their start, as shown by the events in Greece and the recent car burnings in France, could be anything.'