Who are the Euro-Greens?
NINE OUT of ten people in Britain oppose the part-privatisation
of Royal Mail, being implemented by New Labour
before the deadline set by the postal services directive passed by the
European Union (EU). In the European elections on 4 June some opposed to
this policy may consider voting Green against the main parties and the
far-right. Such voters might be surprised to know that the Green Party
in the European parliament supports this directive!
They say: "The objective of the postal directive is
to guarantee a high-quality universal service. The opening of the market
is not an objective in itself, but… to facilitate the achievement of a
high-quality universal service". (The Postal Directive: A Greens/EFA
Approach, Position Paper, 24 April 2007) In other words, they agree with
New Labour that it doesn’t matter how a service is delivered, so long as
it is delivered. But privatisation cannot and
will not deliver high-quality public services.
Some Green members and representatives oppose
privatisation. Some see themselves as socialist or Marxist. When elected
to positions of influence, though, Green parties have dumped radical or
environmental policies. Right-wing policies have been implemented in
collusion with the main big-business parties. Green party memberships
have proved unable to halt this.
The Euro-Greens’ attitude to the Lisbon treaty,
formerly known as the EU constitution, is indicative. Lisbon aims to
entrench neo-liberalism into EU law. It was
rejected by Irish voters last summer. The Irish Greens failed to take a
position, but their continental counterparts had no difficulties: "The
Greens in the European parliament support the treaty of Lisbon as a
further step in the European constitutional process". "It is a
compromise, and in many ways an unsatisfactory one, however it is
indispensable and represents a step forward". (The Lisbon Treaty – A New
Beginning for Europe, 10 December 2007)
The treaty must be ratified by every EU state. The
EU presidency is currently held by the Czech Republic, whose squabbling
establishment makes it harder to enforce the Lisbon treaty. That will
not be for want of help from the Greens, however, who hold the
environmental ministry in the Czech government. Their minister recently
urged the Irish Greens to wholeheartedly "support the process which is
now formulated by the Lisbon treaty". (Irish Times, 10 January)
Green MEPs last autumn noted the ‘mistrust’ of
people towards the EU before blithely stating that the Lisbon treaty is
the answer, if only the Irish, Swedes and Czechs would get on with
ratifying it! (European Council of 15-16 October 2008 – Greens/EFA
motion for a resolution on the economic and financial situation)
The position in Ireland is revealing. The government
of the Irish Republic is a coalition of the traditional capitalist party
Fianna Fáil and the Green Party. When formed in 2007, this coalition
included the Progressive Democrats, a small neo-liberal party which
dissolved last year.
Before the election, the Greens stressed their
environmental policies, including on Shell Oil’s very unpopular decision
to develop the Corrib gas field off Ireland’s west coast. Green TD,
Eamon Ryan, now energy minister, promised that the Greens entering into
coalition would mean a review of the Corrib project. Once in coalition,
deals done by previous governments are apparently unbreakable. Shell got
the go-ahead on 9 April. Under the same government, anti-Shell
protesters are in jail. The Green executive last June called for a
different policy but, as the party chairman said, that is "something we
would like to see happen, but which we also realise is unlikely to
happen…" (Irish Times, 11 July 2008)
The Irish economy plummeted faster into recession
than most west European economies. The government responded with a
series of attacks on working-class people. The October budget last year
attempted to scrap free healthcare for people aged over 70, although
huge protests forced a partial retreat. (See Socialism Today No.126,
March 2009)
Billions of euros have been used to bail-out banks.
A series of scandals erupted. The April 2009 budget means income cuts of
up to 8% for workers, a 2% cut in welfare payments, and reduced housing
benefits for newly unemployed workers aged under 20. After the two
budgets this year, an ‘average’ Irish family has lost €7,000. This has
gone straight to the bosses. But none of this has broken the Greens from
their coalition.
The Greens’ actions in Ireland were predictable
after the experience in Germany. Together with the Social-Democratic
Party (SPD, Germany’s equivalent of New Labour), the Greens ruled for
seven years from 1998. This Red-Green coalition government was neither
red-socialist nor green-environmental, but staunchly pro-capitalist.
"Although big business complained about [the] reforms" implemented by
the Red-Green government, said former German Green leader Joschka
Fischer, "they worked in their favour". And they did. These ‘reforms’
included a 20-30 year guaranteed lifespan for nuclear power (the Greens’
election pledge was to end it in one or two years); an annual €100,000
bonus to the millionaires by cutting the top tax rate from 53% to 42%;
increased deportations, restricted citizenship rights and immigration
controls; attacks on unemployment benefit and widespread growth of jobs
paying €1 per hour; sending weaponry to the Iraqi government appointed
by Bush after the 2003 invasion, and deploying German troops abroad;
privatisation of public services; and enabling tuition fees for
university students.
In local coalitions with the CDU (German Tories),
the Greens hammered through cuts, in Cologne implementing the biggest
cuts since 1945. Green leaders looked to coalitions with the CDU across
Germany. The Greens were clear about why. The head of a think-tank close
to them said: "Red-Green was important to show we are capable of
participating in government". The Greens were proving their loyalty to
the bosses.
A similar process took place in France. Les Verts
went from opposing the Maastricht treaty, crucial to the EU, in 1992 to
enthusiastically supporting it in 1999. From 1997 to 2002, they formed a
plural left coalition with the Parti Socialiste (PS – the French
equivalent of New Labour) and others.
Securing the environment ministry, in return, the
Greens abandoned serious opposition to nuclear power, helped implement
the 35-hour week in a way which private-sector employers used to cut pay
and casualise working hours, and ditched their defence of the ‘sans
papiers’ immigrants. In the pre-election pact between the PS and Greens,
the only reference to the environment was for equality between people
who hunt animals and people who don’t!
Over five years, the plural left privatised more
than previous conservative governments from 1993-97. Air France and Air
Inter were privatised, and the national rail company, SNCF, was partly
dismantled. Big corporate groups in 2002 controlled over 27% of the
local bus companies, and a private subsidiary of SNCF controlled another
40%. Factories closed, retirement benefits were attacked, and the
state-owned telecommunications company was privatised.
Huge disappointment with the plural left enabled the
right-wing UMP (president Sarkozy’s party) to win the 2002 general
election and cling to power since. The Greens got 6% in the 2002 general
election and 5.25% in the presidentials. Their presidential candidate
lost nearly a million votes in 2007.
A similar process has taken place with other Green
parties. This is fundamentally because they do not have a political
programme based on representing the interests of the working class, and
the need to mobilise workers as the only force capable of seriously
challenging the bosses. Especially in a vicious downturn, the Greens as
a political trend are rudderless, and go with the pro-capitalist flow of
official politics.
This is clear in their October 2008 European Council
motion on the economic and financial situation. Ten aspects of the
crisis are noted and 24 points proposed. Public ownership is not
mentioned once! State aid is mentioned in passing: it is "essential to
implement suitable rules [to] prevent any abuse", although "an
appropriate contribution by the private sector is needed, as a
counterpart". No explanation that the EU rules limiting state aid,
intended to further open up national economies for multi-national
companies, have been cast aside as national politicians bail out their
puppet-masters. Or that handing money over to the financial sharks is a
recipe for abuse, highly unlikely to be matched with private-sector
funds.
Their proposals are for a scheme of regulation to
include the neo-liberal International Monetary Fund. But suggesting
minor additional investments here and there is less than a drop in the
ocean. Nowhere is there any recognition that capitalism itself is to
blame, or that a crisis was inevitable in one form or another.
The Greens are incapable of implementing their
environmental policies, let alone other progressive policies. In power
they do the bosses’ bidding. A real alternative at the European
elections and beyond will be found elsewhere. Those socialist and
working-class elements within Britain’s Green parties should take a long
hard look over the Irish Sea and join with the Socialist Party and
others in campaigning to forge a mass party of the working-class.
Hugh Caffrey
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