(We publish here the first of a two part article written by the Editorial Board of Marxistiki Foni) The results of yesterday's parliamentary elections in Greece – a political earthquake –are a clear indication of the growing radicalisation of society on the basis of the historic deadlock of capitalism and the movement towards an openly revolutionary situation. 

Millions of workers and youth around the world have been observing carefully the current events in Greece. 24- and 48-hour general strikes, mass demonstrations, the sieges of parliament during the austerity votes are all looked upon with enormous sympathy and the role of the Greek Communist Party (KKE) in these events is evident to everybody.

Here is the remarkable story of Eleftherotypia, a Greek left-wing newspaper whose workforce has defied the odds and responded to the threat of bankruptcy with workers’ control as the answer. This is taking place in the second largest newspaper in Greece and is happening despite the sabotage of the owners!

Hello all. Thank you so much for your interest and support. The occupation of our hospital in Kilkis by its workers started on Monday, February 20th, 8:30 local time.

Yesterday’s Eurogroup meeting in Brussels finally reached a deal and, in the most provocative manner, put a seal on the drama that the Greek working people have had to endure for the past two years.

The result of the vote on the latest austerity measures in the Greek parliament on Sunday, February 12, was a "Pyrrhic" victory for the Papademos government. It had earlier set itself the goal of winning the support of more than 200 MPs. Eventually 199 MPs voted in favour of the measures “in principle”, while 190 actually voted for the overall package.

Conditions in Greece are becoming desperate as unemployment continues to rise, wages and pensions are slashed, many small businesses close and the country slides towards a likely disorderly default. The pressure on ordinary working people is relentless.

The Greek crisis has now reached the point of a pre-revolutionary situation. On Sunday we saw the biggest demonstration in the history of Greece. Hundreds of thousands of people gathered to protest the reactionary deal before the Athens parliament. Here was the real face of the Greek people: workers and students, pensioners and shopkeepers, young and old, came onto the streets to express their rage.

Hundreds of thousands of workers, unemployed, pensioners and youth tried to gather On Sunday [February 12] in Syntagma Square and in the main squares of dozens of other cities across Greece, to protest against the government and the Troika. Sunday’s massive mobilisation was unprecedented, reflecting both widespread anger at the reduction in the annual income of workers by an equivalent of three months’ wages, the reduction of the "net" minimum wage to 410 euros (and to 320 euros for youth up to the age of 24) and the new reductions in pensions.

Tuesday's 24-hour general strike in Greece – the 16th day of general strike in the last two years – highlighted on the one hand the willingness to fight which exists within the working class and on the other, once again, the ineffectiveness of such strikes that are not part of a more general and coordinated and long-term struggle.

Greece's "technocratic" prime minister Papademos is desperately trying to make the three parties supporting his government (PASOK, ND and LAOS) agree to yet another round of brutal austerity cuts. The enormous pressure created by the relentless attacks on the working people of Greece is reaching breaking point. Health workers at a hospital in Kilkis have decide to take over their hospital and put it under workers' management. There is a new epidemic of homeslesness affecting people whose lives have been shattered by the crisis and the austerity measures. 

The formation of the Papadimos government is the result of the economic and political stalemate that Greek capitalism finds itself in and represents a desperate effort on the part of the ruling class to subjugate the working class which is in a rebellious mood.

Yesterday, the former vice-president of the European Central Bank, Lucas Papademos was named as Greece's new prime minister. He is to lead a national unity government whose task is to implement sever austerity measures and then take the country to elections in February. We are publishing here an analysis by Greek Marxists as to what this means for Greek and European workers.

As we write these lines the Papandreou government is staggering towards collapse. In a matter of days the whole situation has been thrown into turmoil.

October 28 is a National holiday in Greece marking ΟΧΙ (No) Day – the refusal of Greece in 1940 to accept the Italian ultimatum advanced by Mussolini, to allow the Italian fascist troops to enter the country. Not only did Greek forces stop the Italian invasion, but actually forced Mussolini's troops back into Albania. Every year it is celebrated as a day of “national pride”. Not so this year! The masses took over the celebrations and used them to express their anger at the Greek ruling class. Here we publish a report from Athens written on the day of the “celebrations”.