#betrayal

There was always another economic alternative available to him, but instead Alexis Tsipras has waved the white flag of surrender and betrayed the people who voted him into office.

THE TRENDING HASTAG on Twitter has been #thisisacoup, referring to the 'agreement' that Greece has been bullied into by the Troika. Economist Paul Krugman wrote in the New York Times: "The trending hashtag ThisIsACoup is exactly right. This goes beyond harsh into pure vindictiveness, complete destruction of national sovereignty, and no hope of relief."

But the hash tag #betrayal is also appropriate. Alexis Tsipras, who was telling everyone that Greece would not be blackmailed, has abjectly capitulated to the demands of the Troika. He has waved the white flag of surrender and invited Merkel and her cronies to rampage and pillage throughout the Greek economy in return for a promised 'bailout' that won't solve Greece's problems.

In a few days we have gone from a triumphant 'no' vote to more austerity from the Greek people to Tsipras saying 'yes' to whatever what the Troika wanted. This deal is ghastly. Tsipras has failed and betrayed the Greek working class, 80 percent whom voted 'no' in the national referendum.

There has always been another way for Tsipras. Last week Energy Minister Panagiotis Lafazanis, MPs Costas Lapavitsas and Thanasis Petrakos and other figures such as member of the Syriza Central Committee Sophie Papadogiannis, wrote a letter to Tsipras in which they stated: “an exit from the eurozone under the current circumstances is a difficult but a realistic process that will allow the country to follow a different path, away from that of the unacceptable programs that will emulate the Juncker proposal.”

They again called for the radical restructuring of the banks, ending austerity, and defaulting on the debt and exiting from the eurozone. It is the credible alternative - and the principled alternative that will defend the immediate interests of the Greek working class.

But Tsipras has chosen to capitulate and he has become the handmaiden of European capital.

Tsipras, with the help of the centrist and right wing opposition parties, will get approval for this capitulation from the Greek Parliament. He will also try to weaken the left wing of Syriza. The first targets will be Energy Minister Panagiotis Lafazanis, leader of the Left Platform within Syriza and Deputy Labour Minister Dimitris Stratoulis, a former unionist and a consistent opponent of pension cuts.

But he can expect a fierce battle.

The danger with Tsipras was that he was always going to be little more than a populist social democrat who rose to the power with a winning combination of radical rhetoric, personal charisma. and the not inconsiderable organisational support of the Greek left.

But, in return, Tsipras has delivered less than nothing when the Greek people wanted to win not so much the world, but a better future for themselves and their children. They have been sorely betrayed.