The European United Left/Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL) is a grouping of left-wing members of the European parliament, which brings together elected reps from the Party of the European Left and the European Anticapitalist Left.
It released the below statement on January 5, ahead of January 25 general elections in Greece that polls indicate the anti-austerity Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) -- part of the GUE/NGL -- is likely to win.
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GUE/NGL MEPS have today expressed their support to the Greek people in their fight to defeat austerity and protect democracy.
A SYRIZA victory at the forthcoming Greek general election will send an important message that the current Greek government's austerity era is over. It will mean an end to the exponential growth of unemployment and a new phase of development in the country in favour of a social Europe.
Given that the European institutions have no say in matters of member states' national sovereignty, the GUE/NGL calls on them to maintain a neutral stance on the electoral campaign in Greece.
GUE/NGL also condemns interfering remarks about the Greek elections made by key Europeans political figures such as German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble, as reported in German media.
Any intervention that seeks to intimidate the Greek people goes against basic democratic principles. The Greek people should be the ones to determine their own political future and leaders, and their decision should be respected.
The Guardian's Seamus Milne interviews SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras in 2013 about SYRIZA's response to the crisis and the prospects for social transformation.
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