On 19^th June in an interview with the radio station “Real fm”,Dimitris Koutsoumbas, General Secretary of the CC of the KKE, referred to the results of the recent European elections held in Greece and the rest of the EU. Specifically for Greece, he noted that “there has been another significant electoral rise of the KKE, starting from the 2019 European elections (5.35%), the 2023 parliamentary elections of May (7.2%) and June (7.7%), and now the European elections (9.25%). This confirms that positive processes are taking place in society,in the struggles and the elections of the mass movement. I would say that a current disputing the dominant policy, i.e. that of the Commission, the EU and the New Democracy government, is being stabilized and strengthened; and, of course, this current is mainly expressed by the increase in the prestige of the KKE and in the rallying of broader forces aroundit.”

Asked by the journalist about the rise of the far right in the EU, D. Koutsoumbas noted the following:

“Let me briefly mention two facts that are also linked to historical experience. For at least the last 20 years, various fronts have been made ostensibly to confront the far right, which is, of course, constantly growing stronger. There is evidence of this, because the so-called left parties in Europe have whitewashedanti-popular policies. That was also the case with Chirac, Sarkozy, Hollande, Macron and others —some of whom are also invited to Greece by Mr Tsipras. They have left room for far-right forces to present themselves as supposedly anti-systemic when they are not, because they are implementing EU policies.

A second importantfact is the content of this policy, of the New Popular Front itself, because it is presented as a solution, also by some people here in Greece, who are calling for “a front against the right and the far right”. This content is also reflected in the candidates. You will have seen that Hollande, whose government has led the anti-popular plans to undermine collective agreements and extend flexible forms of employment, is a candidate in France. France is also taking a leading role outside its borders, in a series of EU and NATO interventions and wars.

And, of course, none of the positions of this so-called progressive New Popular Front seem to question the fundamental choices of the EU, the ‘green transition’, the fiscal rules, the Recovery Fund, etc. Not to mention the fact that on the war in Ukraine, which is the main point on which Le Pen is demagoguing and winning people over, this ‘progressive rallying force’, the New Popular Front in France , is committed to ensuring that the necessary weapons are sent to Kiev. In fact, Raphaël Glucksman, the new leader of the Socialist Party, as you will have seen, is criticizing Macron for not sending enough weapons to this massacre in Ukraine.

One cannot help but wonder which party is far-right and which is centre-left.”

21.06.2024