UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn hails Alexis Tsipras of Syriza
By
Robert Stevens
4 July 2018
Last week, Greek Prime Minister and Syriza (Coalition of the Radical Left) leader Alexis Tsipras visited the UK. He met Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May and was received warmly by an audience in the Guildhall in the City of London consisting of what the Greek Embassy in London described as “key representatives of the financial sector”. Tsipras called on his audience to invest in the Greek economy to reap vast financial rewards.
His most enthusiastic welcome, however, was afforded by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who tweeted of their June 26 meeting, “It was good to meet Greece’s Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras today to talk about Brexit, the fight against austerity, and the crucial importance of international solidarity in our time. Governments can and must work together to support refugees fleeing war and devastation.”
Just who does Corbyn think he is fooling? What “fight against austerity” and support for refugees is he talking about?
If he were honest, Corbyn would have said that he discussed Syriza’s fight to impose austerity.
It was only weeks after coming to power in January 2015 that Tsipras junked Syriza’s promises to oppose austerity and agreed with the European Union (EU) and the International Monetary Fund to enforce slash-and-burn policies that have pauperised millions of workers and youth.
After signing an agreement to extend EU austerity in February 2015, Syriza trampled the landslide “no” vote against the measures in the July referendum and rammed even worse attacks through parliament.
After three and a half years of Syriza’s rule, salaries have fallen by an average of 15 percent. Out of 4.1 million households, nearly 800,000 live in…