“Under capitalism, no government is an independent authority. Power is exercised by the bourgeoisie, and the bourgeois state is the instrument of its power, to which all institutions are subordinate. The decisions of the EU and NATO are binding and take precedence over national constitutions and national legislation. Governments of bourgeois management cannot and do not want to abolish the law of laws: capitalist profit. The defence of the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie by all means is inevitable and obligatory. Laws are abolished through the revolutionary overthrow of the system itself and the establishment of a new form of power: of the working class in a socialist communist society.

Aleka Papariga, member of the CC of the KKE (and GS of the CC of the KKE from 1991 to 2013), emphasized this point while speaking at an event attended by thousands of young people participating in the KNE camp. She added:

“In all the social systems that have succeeded one another —the primitive communal, the slave-owning, the feudal, the capitalist and the socialist that we experienced in the 20^th century— the decisive factor has been and remains the productive process, the relations between people within it, the division of labour, and the ownership of the means of production. The state and political power systems are fundamentally determined by the economy. Therefore, under capitalism, the participation of the Communist Party in government is incompatible with its stance that the struggle of the people and the youth, based on the experience they gain, must be directed towards overthrowing the political power of the bourgeoisie, destroying its state, abolishing capitalist property in favour of workers’ power and the exploitation of man by man.

The KKE is fighting for a new form of power in which the working class rules —or, to use the more common term, governs— and not the KKE. The KKE is its organized vanguard and guiding force. Therefore, the arguments put forward by our enemies and so-called ‘friends’ that we always want to be in opposition are false, as are the claims of those who are dying to get into government positions. We will be in opposition for as long as the people are in opposition and no longer. We understand that many young people may wonder whether the KKE has given up on trying to win some gains and alleviate the working class and the popular strata today.

Firstly, the history of the KKE, from its founding to the present day, and the broader history of the International Communist Movement, demonstrate that no achievement or armed struggle for liberation has been won without the decisive contribution of the Communist Party and its youth. However, the Communist Party can only contribute when it remains independent of the bourgeois state and government shackles, acting as a vanguard guiding force in the development of the driving force of history: the class struggle.

The name of a party does not define it, nor does its slogan. Rather, it is defined by its programme and its actions. It has been proven that, in times of economic crisis and imperialist war, the capitalist system was not only supported by liberal and social democratic parties, but also by parties that identify themselves as left-wing, renewal, anti-systemic etc. No government with the participation of a Communist Party has ever served as a springboard for an attack on capital and imperialism. Much less has it been the key to the transition to socialism, as they claimed. We also have our own negative experience to draw on.

Regardless of their differences, all other parties consider national elections,  referendums, and generally the ballot box every three, four or five years, to be the highest form of struggle and democracy. They mainly view the people as voters and call on them to support the incumbent government.

On the other hand, we have proclaimed class struggle to be the driving force. Based on our theory and ideology, we are the only party that believes that only the people can save the people, with the support of the KKE and by joining forces with it. We are not liars, hypocrites or dreamers who make empty promises to the people, telling them that voting for the KKE every four years will solve all their problems. (...)

A. Papariga underscored the above at an event marking 10 years since the referendum called by the SYRIZA-ANEL government led by Prime Minister Al. Tsipras, which resulted in new anti-people and anti-labour measures. She called on all those who turned their backs on the KKE in 2012, when the party declared that it would neither support nor participate in a coalition government with SYRIZA, or in any coalition government in the framework of capitalism, to reconsider their position. Referring to the experience of SYRIZA’s coalition government, she noted, among other things, that:

“The worst and most dangerous service that SYRIZA has offered, comparable to the PASOK period, is the manipulation of the people according to the ‘kowtow’ logic due to the negative correlation of forces.

Invoking the balance of power is a political call for the people to compromise and reinforce the decayed system and imperialist war. While it is important to objectively assess the negative correlation of forces from a class perspective, it is quite another to use this assessment as an excuse to abandon the struggle for positive change and overthrow.

Under capitalism, the KKE fights to secure at least some gains for the people, while warning them that the enemy is waiting to take them back. At the same time, it seeks to raise the people's consciousness of their rights and their strength; to unite, help mature and educate the working class and popular forces so that, in a revolutionary situation, they will have the courage to choose the only option: overthrow and transition to workers’ power”.

09.07.2025