[Marxism] Re: German left unity endangered NOT

[Nobby <nobbytob@xxxxxxxx>]

http://lists.econ.utah.edu/pipermail/marxism/2006-March/039379.html

Ben Courtice      benj2006 at connexus.net.au wrote:

> Well, I do know that much already about the differences between
> Germany and Australia. But the information that the WASG in Berlin
> is a small group of 800 or so, against the 10,000 of the Left-PDS,
> indicates that perhaps the actions of the CWI section there, and
> their co-thinkers, may reduce the WASG to the status of "a small
> regroupment of elements of the far left", instead of joining in with
> "real social forces and parties with a semi-mass membership and
> support" (in your words).

The SAV (CWI) in entire Germany has only 400 members. From a
socialist perspective, some of their key members play an important
role in Berlin state. But it is just the SAV as small part of the hard
left in the WASG. Oskar Lafontaine has joined the LPDS and is a
so called "double member" now. he is an opportunists who only looks
at numbers but not political content. The Berlin LPDS is playing an
active role in the neoliberal state government that the principled left
simply cannot swallow. While i do NOT trust the SAV leadership as
they consistently need to be forced to favour left unity which is the
overwhelming wish also of the hard left, i do think they de-facto
politics serves the goal of uniting the whole left (including the social
movements and other left extra-parliamentary organisations, and not
just a LPDS+WASG). The real sectarians here are the opportunist
wings of both LPDS and WASG (mainly supporters of the current
national leadership) especially the LPDS Berlin and "Meck-Pom"
leaderhips (which is the two states where they co-govern).

Germany a an abundance of formerly organised marxists, trotskists,
socialists, commies, that are quite self-confident so the centralist
parties like the SAV do have to give  their cadres quite some freedom
as situations vary from city to city and state to state.

In general, Germany has way more left forces that act somewhere
in society than Australia has. That is what makes it so difficult for
socialists downunder as the opportunism of the likes of gould and
union bosses lets them claim to think socialist but act as traitors
of the working class.

http://lists.econ.utah.edu/pipermail/marxism/2006-March/039383.html

Lüko Willms      lueko.willms at t-online.de wrote:


> I'm not [..] a member of Linkspartei.PDS or WASG, but I venture
> to make some comments:
> [..]
> I think the WASG will lose a lot of people on its left fringe, and
> many of the will be demoralized after the chance for a "real" left
> party is gone by the WASG being swallowed into a reformist formation.
> In Berlin especially, one cannot fight against cutbacks on the one
> hand and go with the PDS into the continuation of the coalition
> government with the SPD with the other.
> A rest-WASG which consists mainly of the various leftists sects
> doing a kind of entrism very sui generis, will explode quite quickly,
> I presume.

Lueko is right in only statement: He is obviously not a WASG member.
The fight to keep the WASG and with it a future United Left Democratic
Socialist Party as left and principled as possible is in full flow. The Berlin
left has won a membership ballot and will stand again the neoliberal
state LPDS over there. This will boost the left nationwide in their unity
talks with not the LPDS but also the social movements that can clearly
see now that the WASG is a new party that is not corrupted (yet?).
In fact, the WASG has lost is most right-wing, that is anti-communists
that won't unite with the LPDS (or Ex-SED how they call them). The
battle is now the left base against the "fusionist" national leadership
and their opportunist followers. And the principled is gaining support
and the WASG leaserhsip is already backing off their hard-handed
approach in forcing "fake unity" onto the now 12,000 members.

Even if forced to a quick fusion with the LPDS, the WASG is still about
twice as string in every west.german state, so the hard left will stay also
in a united left party and fight on its left-wing. after all, we have lots of
great hard left comrades in the LPDS as well ... (so i will unite in fight
with the LPDS left wing rather than the WASG opportunists.)

in internationalist solidarity,
Nobby.



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