Germany: left alliance promises fresh breeze
Support for the ruling coalition of the social-democratic
SPD and Greens has collapsed as opposition to its vicious attacks on social
provision, work conditions and wages grows. Out of workers’ protests, the WASG
party (work and social justice alternative) was set up. Now, WASG is linking up
with SPD dissident, Oskar Lafontaine. KIM OPGENOORTH reports on dynamic
developments on the German left.
Translated from the German
by Tanja Niemeier
‘LAST WEEK MY colleagues were discussing football in the
break, this week they are discussing politics’, reports a cleaner from Berlin.
It is as if somebody turned the switch. Oskar Lafontaine’s announcement to stand
as a candidate for a new left party in an instant changed Germany’s political
landscape: ‘Colleagues who never discussed politics before say they are going to
vote for the new party in September’, ‘We will have to give it a try’.
All of a sudden events are chasing one another. The SPD
loses the elections in its former heartland and most populous regional state,
North Rhine-Westphalia, and the whole political landscape is now painted black.
(Black is the colour of the Christian Democrats – CDU.) But the CDU does not get
much time to celebrate as SPD Chancellor, Gerhard Schröder, adopts a
cut-your-losses-and-run strategy and calls for early elections. Then former
chair of the SPD, Lafontaine, decided to leave the SPD, announcing that he is
willing to stand for a new left alliance. His statement was the starting point
for negotiations between the PDS (Party for Democratic Socialism) and WASG (a
new party initially set up by middle-ranking trade union officials, former SPD
and PDS members, and activists from the social movements).
The press has since reported daily on developments around
the new left alliance as one of the main headlines. There is talk about the
historic opportunity to unite the left. First opinion polls indicate that 18-25%
of the German population could imagine voting for such an alliance.
The conservative newspaper, Frankfurter Allgemeine
Sonntagszeitung, writes: "The time is ripe for new political ideas. At a time of
the furthest reach and impact of the neo-liberal ideology, there are more and
more signs that people simply have had enough of it". Another paper quotes Karl
Marx and the Communist Manifesto. In talk-shows, Lafontaine speaks of the
serious responsibility of an incoming government, that if it does not implement
‘reforms’ in ‘a more social way’, a revolutionary situation is unavoidable.
The established parties are nervous. They have discovered a
social conscience as it becomes fashionable to be on the left. In a frantic
manner, the SPD is adopting – minor – changes to the hated Hartz IV laws (major
attacks on unemployment and social provision). It is allowing the older
unemployed to receive benefits for longer, while retreating on lowering
corporate taxes. The CDU blames Schröder for undermining the principles of the
‘social market’ economy. The CDU wants to implement cuts in a ‘socially
responsible’ way. All of a sudden, both parties say that wage rises are
justifiable. The Greens are in a panic. It is far from certain that they will be
re-elected into the national parliament. Social policy has always been like a
foreign language to them, but they now speak of basic security for everyone to
guarantee a life out of poverty. The SPD portrays itself as ‘centre left’, the
Greens as ‘modern left’.
Quite rightly, the new left alliance is also seen as a
threat by the far-right and fascist parties which thought they would be able to
benefit by getting the support of non-voters who no longer feel represented by
any party.
The capitalism debate
THE SPD CHAIR, Franz Münterfering, adopted an
anti-capitalist phraseology in the run-up to the North Rhine-Westphalia
elections in an attempt to prevent disaster for his party. He spoke of financial
investors as a plague of locusts which invade a company, devour it and then move
on. He accused them of not thinking of the people whose jobs they destroy. It
did not help. While 66% of the population agreed with Münterfering’s criticism
of the ‘power of capital’, 73% did not believe the SPD was serious about its
criticisms. But the debate he unleashed continues. The conservative Allensbach
research institution admitted that only one in four Germans have a positive
opinion of capitalism. Economists complain about their bad reputation in
society. On the news channel for children, capitalists are defined as people who
make profits and sack workers.
An SPD official describes the situation: "When it comes to
the economy, the red-green government has fulfilled all the wishes of big
business and sometimes even exceeded them… After five years of subjugation to
the dogma of neo-liberalism, the rich have become richer and the poor have
become poorer; there are more old people and fewer children. Unemployment has
reached a record high, the state finances are ruined and 100,000 small- and
middle-sized companies have vanished. And all this is now going to be covered up
for by a little bit of locust talk...?"
The red-green government coalition unrolled the red carpet
for big business. It very generously implemented tax cuts for big business and
the super-rich. But with Hart IV and Agenda 2010, it also implemented poverty by
law for a large part of the population. For years on end, it has preached and
implemented wage restraint. It implemented fees in the health service and
smashed the social security and pensions systems.
Under the red-green government, Germany also participated in
a war for the first time since the end of the second world war, sending troops
to the Balkans and Afghanistan. The struggle for a permanent seat on the UN
Security Council is an indication of how German capitalism is striving to put
its imperialist interests back on the agenda.
Apparently, this still is not enough for the German
bourgeoisie who increased pressure on the government and did not want to wait
until after the elections, originally scheduled for 2006. German capitalists are
faced with a stagnating economy and want to see an increase in attacks on the
working class.
The SPD is facing deep crisis. For the first time in 50
years, membership is below 600,000. The pressure in society has weakened
Schröder’s position. He can no longer be sure of the full backing of the
parliamentary group. And there are signs of a sustainable formation to the left
of the SPD.
Because of bureaucratic rules that stem from the electoral
laws, a new left formation needs to be launched very quickly. There is not a lot
of time for long debates, according to the leaderships of WASG and the PDS at
least. They are negotiating who will stand at the top of the electoral list and
what the name of the new formation will be. They are not discussing the
programme. Their aim is to become the third biggest force in parliament and they
are keen on winning seats. A clear programme could cut across this, in their
view. The negotiations are conducted amongst a small layer of people. Even
though WASG will hold a ballot and party conference, in effect, all the
conference can do is say yes or no to the proposals. The members do not have a
genuine say. Although standing candidates on PDS open lists was initially
rejected by the WASG leadership, this is exactly what is going to happen now.
The objective is to fuse the two parties in the next two years. Up until then,
the formation will be called Democratic Left/PDS. The conditions are largely
determined by the PDS, which in terms of members is ten times bigger than WASG.
Standing WASG independently is no longer considered to be an
option by the WASG leadership, even though this would have meant a new and
genuine alternative. Especially in the West, a combative, independent election
campaign by WASG could have attracted broader layers than a PDS open list.
The WASG alternative
WASG WAS FORMED against the background of the mass protests
over the last two years. Half-a-million people participated in the one and only
demonstration organised by the trade unions against the government’s policies.
The trade union bureaucracy was forced to organise it because of the enormous
pressure that was developing from below and the danger of the protests bypassing
them.
With summer 2004 came the Monday demonstrations: mass
protests, especially in East Germany, against the implementation of Hartz IV.
These movements led to a first split between parts of the trade unions and the
SPD. Middle-ranking union officials and activists from those movements formed a
new party, WASG. As a split from the SPD and as an alternative to the PDS, it
had already received widespread media coverage in 2004. It was portrayed as more
to the left than it actually was and scored good results in opinion polls.
Internal quarrels and a boycott by the media left it hardly noticed until after
the important regional state elections in North Rhine-Westphalia.
WASG’s membership ranges from left Christians, right-wing
reformists, supporters of a party to defend the welfare state, left reformists,
as well as activists who see themselves as socialists. One of the more prominent
leaders, Klaus Ernst, says: "Nobody is interested in socialism as an objective
for today anymore". Parts of the membership have got a different view on that.
At the last WASG conference, 30% of the delegates voted for Sascha Stanicic,
general secretary of SAV (Socialist Alternative, CWI Germany), in elections for
the national committee. SAV campaigns for WASG to adopt a programme that rejects
capitalism and fights for a socialist perspective. On this basis, SAV has built
a strong position inside WASG. In the national press, "the Trotskyites of SAV"
have been mentioned again and again.
From the very beginning, the rank and file has been critical
of the leadership. The lack of democracy has been an issue since WASG was
formed. There are reservations in relation to Lafontaine. Many are annoyed that
he did not openly come out in favour of WASG before the regional North
Rhine-Westphalia elections. Also, his move does not really signify a new left
policy. It is true that his candidacy has had huge media coverage. At the same
time, it potentially strengthens the rightwing within WASG which would be a
further setback for party democracy. The election campaign will most probably
focus on Gregor Gysi, the eloquent top candidate of the PDS, and Lafontaine.
They will become the focal point of attention and will try to determine the
outlook of the party by what they say.
Publicly, Lafontaine is renowned for his opposition to
Agenda 2010, the EU constitution, and the participation of German troops in the
wars against former Yugoslavia and Afghanistan. Many see him as somebody who
stands by his words and who dares to speak out. Hartz IV was described by
Lafontaine as "absolutely unreasonable", a "cold expropriation of old and
deserving employees". He is famous for his attacks against "finance capitalism"
which destroys democracy, and for his attacks on those MPs who act as the
"servants of big business", who pass "scandalous laws" over the heads of the
people.
However, what he likes about the PDS is that it defends the
principles of the market economy, employers and profits. He is still in favour
of a decrease in the working week with loss of pay. Every now and again, he also
adopts nationalistic rhetoric. He is in favour of limiting the right to asylum
and for the creation of refugee camps in North Africa to prevent people from
entering Europe. He was also criticised for using the insulting term "Fremdarbeiter"
(‘foreign worker’) in one of his recent speeches. Lafontaine, who still views
himself as a social democrat, was chair of the SPD until 1999 and, therefore, is
co-responsible for the SPD’s shift to the right.
He likes to stress that he held public positions for 25
years. As mayor and then prime minister of Saarbrücken and, later, as finance
minister in the first-term Schröder government, he implemented cuts against the
working class. He has been involved in corruption scandals. In Saarland, he was
responsible for closing down several steel factories and for slashing thousands
of jobs. We need to be cautious about Lafontaine. It is necessary to build a
strong leftwing inside WASG that can challenge and put him under political
pressure.
The problem of the PDS
AT FIRST SIGHT, there seems to be a lot of pressure for
coming together, with a joint candidacy of the left. But for many, the PDS is
not eligible. It is suspect because of its Stalinist past and because,
generally, it still sees the GDR (the former East German Stalinist state) as
socialist.
It forms joint government coalitions with the SPD in the
regional states of Berlin and Mecklenburg Vorpommern. In addition, it has got a
lot of mayors in East German towns and cities. Wherever the PDS has taken on
government responsibility, it implements social cuts. The PDS sees itself as a
socialist party. However, when it comes to day-to-day policy, it tends to forget
about that. On Mondays, it demonstrates against Hartz IV. During the other days
of the week, it helps implement it. Allegedly to prevent worse things from
happening, it privatised hospitals in Berlin, increased fares for public
transport, and introduced cuts in benefits for the blind. Thirteen thousand
public transport workers took strike action against the SPD-PDS senate in
Berlin.
Its active membership is estimated at 6,000. This equals the
number of its public representatives. The rest of the 60,000 are paper-members,
most of them beyond pension age. Fifteen years after the fall of the Berlin
wall, it has not succeeded in building a real base in the west of the country.
In the regional state elections of North Rhine-Westphalia, it only scored 0.9%
of the vote. WASG reached 2.2%, yet was far less known, with a smaller
apparatus. The WASG’s 181,000 votes was a very creditable result. In some
working-class districts, it received between 3-4% and, amongst the unemployed,
up to 9%, becoming the third biggest force.
Big discontent exists amongst the WASG rank and file about
the PDS dominance. The criticisms come from the left and the right. The
right-wing, anti-communists do not want to be aligned with socialism. Amongst
the left, the PDS is discredited because of its ‘realpolitik’ of social cuts.
There are also concerns that WASG is simply being eaten up by the large PDS
apparatus.
SAV argued for a radical shift in PDS policy, and a
rejection of privatisation and social cuts. This would have meant the PDS
leaving the government coalitions they are currently involved in and would have
been a clear signal, representing a serious step towards forming a genuine new
alternative. Unfortunately, this has not happened. SAV now argues in favour of
WASG conducting an independent election campaign within the alliance.
In the future, this alliance could break up. Only six months
after the proposed September general election, elections are due in Berlin. SAV
and many others want to see WASG standing independently against the PDS, which
is in the coalition government in Berlin. That decision was also made at WASG’s
regional conference in Berlin.
A new politicisation
THE SELF-PROCLAIMED leaders of the new left formation want
to solve the current problems in society with old recipes from the 1970s. They
believe that Keynesianism can help tame capitalism. They do not accept what a
disastrous state capitalism is in and what destructive dimensions the worldwide
pressure to compete has taken on. The programmatic limitations and the
restricted orientation towards parliamentary solutions could very soon mean a
deadlock for the alliance. This would be the case if, for example, Lafontaine
was to indicate that he would be ready to join or tolerate a coalition with the
SPD and Greens.
Getting elected into parliament is as good as certain. It is
even possible for the left alliance to score 10% or more of the votes. The
bourgeois mass media will try to point at the internal contradictions of the
alliance and will also point at the remnants of Stalinism inside the PDS. Still,
there is a huge vacuum for a party that defends the interests of the working
class, pensioners and unemployed. The hatred against the political establishment
will manifest itself in a lot of votes for the new alliance.
Lafontaine only excluded a coalition with the SPD and the
Greens for the forthcoming elections. It took the Greens ten years and the PDS
five years in government to sell out their principles. This new formation will
be watched very closely by the working class and will not get the same amount of
time before workers walk away if it does not deliver. On the other hand, it is
possible that the leaders of the left alliance will be pushed to the left by
protests and the general mood of the working class.
The CDU announced a sort of poll tax for health services, an
increase in VAT, a softening of laws that protect workers against redundancies
and cutting down the rights of works’ councils. In the likely case of the CDU
winning the elections in September, it will not be able to keep the trade unions
in check as much as the Schröder government did.
Being in opposition – possibly, even, under a grand
coalition of the CDU and SPD – would give Lafontaine and others the possibility
to adopt a left rhetoric without having to do much. In case of a CDU-led
government and a SPD in opposition, the WASG/PDS would need to adopt an even
more left-wing rhetoric in order to differentiate itself.
This could lead to a further awakening in society. The mass
movements against Hartz IV, the protests on shop floor level against Agenda
2010, wage cuts, redundancies and company closures, are now starting to find
their political expression. The vacuum that exists for such a new party can no
longer be denied.
The simple fact that there is going to be an alternative to
neo-liberal ideas, will lead to an enormous politicisation of society. After
years where talk-shows and political magazines echoed the same neo-liberal
phraseology, millions will be delighted to finally hear and discuss different
ideas. The confusion and lack of alternative that was dominant can now be
replaced with new hope. The new developments will encourage resistance and
public protest. If there is going to be a combative and lively election
campaign, then there is a real chance that thousands of workers, unemployed and
youth will move towards WASG and will start to play an active role. The dynamic
that exists today needs to be seized by socialists. It is possible to prevent an
adaptation to PDS policy by continuing to build WASG as an independent and self
reliant party. A left and socialist wing needs to make sure that – instead of
orientating towards the parliamentary work - WASG focuses on organising protest
and resistance on the streets and in the workplaces.
The process of building a new workers’ party in Germany has
reached a new dimension. What was seen as impossible for a long time is now
feasible. Taking into account all the limitations of this joint candidacy, it
still provides socialists with the possibilities to argue and fight for a clear
socialist and anti-capitalist alternative. This will be the stepping stone for a
new mass workers’ party that will genuinely defend the interests of the German
working class.
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