You Know the Mainstream European Left is Bankrupt when their Leaders can’t make Speeches like this

This is the British UKIP leader Nigel Farage speaking in the European Parliament a few days ago when the Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was present.



And, no, I haven’t gone conservative, nor would I endorse UKIP’s domestic economic policies – which would involve a nasty dose of neoliberal poison, probably worse than the conventional neoliberalism. And, yes, we all know well that some people who vote for UKIP are xenophobic and bigoted. They also have an unhinged libertarian wing, which makes me hold my nose in disgust.

Nevertheless, Farage has it right here, and the mainstream Left in Europe seems utterly bankrupt, impotent, confused and all at sea. Most of them would defend the EU and even the Euro even if it meant utter catastrophe for their own national electorates – and all from a misguided and utopian obsession with the European Union and utter incompetence when it comes to economics. However, the issue with the EU and the Eurozone is not just about economics, it is also about democracy. Democracy is becoming a farce in Europe and anyone rational on the Left should be able to see this.

Take the case of Greece: it would now appear that Syriza – despite its stunning win in the recent referendum – might actually accept more austerity, as is suggested in a fine analysis by Bill Mitchell of the whole Greek debacle here.