On the 11^th of January a large political-cultural event was held by the Attica Party Organization of the KKE in Piraeus’ indoor stadium to honour the 96^th anniversary of the KKE. The GS of the CC of the KKE, Dimitris Koutsoumpas, spoke at the event.

Thousands of people of all ages, workers, unemployed, young men and young women flooded the stadium, sending a message that we must have a strong KKE, a strong people’s opposition the next day.

Present at the event were trade unionists from the World Federation of Trade Unions, the Cuban Ambassador, Osvaldo Cobacho Martinez, the ambassador of Venezuela, Farid Fernandez, of Palestine, Marwan Toubasi, as well as representatives for the embassies of Vietnam and China. Alejandro Castro Espin, son of the Cuban President, Raul Castro, the mayors of Petroupoli, Haidari, and Kaisariani and various writers and artists were also present.

The GS of the CC of the KKE, Dimitris Koutsoumpas, spoke before the multi-faceted programme, which included a musical-theatrical production with the participation of 200 artists and technicians, and he stressed amongst other things:

“96 years! We learn from our heroic history, we remain unwaveringly committed to our goal of abolishing the exploitation of man by man. We creatively utilize the conclusions we have drawn from the titanic struggles of our people, with the KKE in the frontline!”

In reference to the political developments, he noted: “The day after the elections, a government, either based on ND or based on SYRIZA, will take the baton passed by the previous one and even if it follows a slightly different route, you can be sure that it has the same starting point and the same goal, in line with the strategy of the EU, the profitability of the monopolies, the capitalist development path.

For this reason, this government will inevitably be an anti-people one, because it will implement the EU commitments. It will be a government that will negotiate the debt, because it accepts that it is the debt of the people and the country. It will be a government that will defend the interests of the big business groups.

And we are not only ones who say this. They themselves admit it.  For example, ND says, that “We must implement reforms on our own without being asked to do it and we will go beyond our commitments”… and when SYRIZA says that “We will negotiate inside the framework of the European Union and European institutions.””

D. Koutsoumpas provided a detailed exposé of the character of the common anti-people strategy of ND and SYRIZA, despite their various differences, and added: "ND with its previous experience in government and SYRIZA with its previous experience in undermining the movement are struggling to undertake the role of the chosen one of the EU and the monopolies." He made special reference to the President of SYRIZA's, A. Tsipras, promise, in a statement made on a British TV channel, that SYRIZA will do whatever is necessary "to save our common home, the EU". D. Koutsoumpas noted that this is the reason SYRIZA is promising only crumbs.

The GS of the CC of the KKE noted the following in relation to the party’s refusal to participate or support a “left” government:

“Everyone should consider the following: in previous years one-party and coalition governments came and went, extorting the popular vote sometimes through fear of the “worst” or through illusions about the “lesser” evil.

They are repeating the same fairytale now. That if we can agree on 2-3 issues, we should give SYRIZA our tolerance. But things are not that simple, because the 2-3 small issues are determined by the big, strategic issues.

In essence, they are asking the KKE to support such a government in its entirety.

Because, in reality, a government in its entirety has to deal with all the issues. The developments do not restrict themselves to 2-3 issues.

It will deal with all the problems of the economy, health, education, immigration, state repression, justice, foreign policy etc.

There are some who say that if SYRIZA can solve one issue that is good. However, a government does not only deal with one or two issues. It has to deal with a vast range of matters related to the EU, NATO, Greek-Turkish relations, matters related to the Aegean Sea, the Cyprus question, the military interventions and conflicts in the region and beyond, i.e. everything. In reality, has any government ever been judged just on one or two issues?

What we must all be clear about is that as long as a government manages the fortunes of the people and the country, trapped inside the shackles of the EU and the capitalist development path, which is obsolete and rotting, this trap of the lesser evil will continuously lead to new anti-people governments.

The people must be freed from all the anti-people governments and their political line, they themselves must take power. The situation today-both in Greece and internationally- does not allow for any time to be wasted.”

In reference to the value of voting for the KKE, D. Koutsoumpas underlined: “The KKE is a guarantee that the people will not be tricked again. We must not give in to the extortions and illusions.

We must have a strong KKE everywhere, because it is the only real opponent of the monopolies and their power, of the EU and the permanent memoranda, and of the anti-people governments. There will be a government after the elections. In any case, there are several that are willing- parties and formations of a limited shelf life- to contribute to this. What is important for the people is that there is a strong KKE so that the people themselves can be strong.

You know the KKE as a consistent, unwavering force against every anti-worker-anti-people offensive. You know what the KKE has done, a stable force of the workers-people’s opposition, inside and outside of parliament over the last three years since the 2012 elections.

Wherever you look, you will see the contribution and impact of the communists’ struggle. However, you know that the electoral reduction of the KKE had a negative impact on the dynamism and mass character of the labour-people’s movement.

You know that despite all that, the KKE did not give up. It supported employees, farmers, self-employed, pensioners, students, school students for the right to health, social security, pensions, education, the protection of income, and housing from the usurious loans and unbearable taxes.

The KKE never told the people lies. We address ourselves in particular to those of you who justifiably think that the situation can not continue like this, that “they must go”. We must reject today’s government by rejecting the strategy of the EU and capital and not by choosing some other government that will implement the same strategy, with some differences that do not affect the people in a positive way.

Today, you can see more clearly that the leadership of SYRIZA, with the credentials it provides to capital and the imperialist organizations, is cutting every tie with the history of the people’s movement. It is providing the opportunity for the most reactionary forces to slander the militant traditions of our people. It is very rapidly taking the place of social-democracy, and an even worse version than before because the capitalism’s situation is worse, and the situation in the labour movement is also worse.

The KKE is the people’s consistent support. Whatever has been won by the people was won through struggles, with the KKE in the frontline. When the movement and the KKE were weakened, the people were the losers. Think about which force tomorrow will be next to the people in the frontline of the struggle for salaries, jobs, their rights.

The KKE calls on every concerned young person, worker, pensioner everyone who has not compromised with misery and defeatism to join forces with it. It calls on them to vote for the KKE and strengthen it everywhere. So that the people themselves become stronger and so that the people’s resistance and struggle are reinforced. So that the People’s Alliance against the monopolies and capitalism is strengthened, so that we can pave the way for the prospect of workers’-people’s power.”