By Franois Vercammen
The dramatic crisis of the European Community in the summer months of 1992 has stimulated a series of Europe-wide initiatives by the left opposed to the capitalist vision of a united Europe embodied in the Maastricht Treaty.
The very small majority in favour of the treaty in France followed soon after its shock defeat in the June referendum in Denmark. Italy and Greece saw a massive strike wave against the austerity plans necessitated by Maastricht's stipulations on economic convergence. And finally, the exit of the British pound and Italian lira from the European Monetary System, accompanied by a cascade of devaluations of other currencies, showed the fragility of the whole edifice.
However, collaboration between the bourgeoisies and the bureaucracies of the workers' movement — with the support of the intellectual elites — prevented the emergence of any serious alternative to Maastricht Europe. The only gainers were the far right, which has moved into the vacuum.
Now a series of well-known political and trade union figures from a variety of currents of the anti-capitalist left have launched an appeal for "an assembly of the European left" to be held in Paris on June 12.
This initiative comes in the wake of a conference in Copenhagen held on April 23-24 under the heading "for an alternative to the EEC and to political and monetary union". This was called by Denmark's Red-Green "Enhedslisten" alliance, which brings together the Communist Party, the Left Socialists (VS) and the Socialist Workers Party (SAP — Danish section of the Fourth International).The aim of the conference was to back up the campaign for a second No vote in the new Danish referendum on Maastricht.
The Enhedslisten's initiative was a big success. On
the panel were Tony Benn, a left-wing Labour MP from Britain, Winfried Wolf, the editor in chief of the German Sozialistische Zeitung newspaper, Karmelo Landa, Euro-MP for the Basque nationalist Herri Batasuna party and Dorothy Piermont, also a Euro-MP, previously for the German Greens, but now independent.
Representatives of many organisations took part in the discussion, among them:
- sections of the Fourth International in Denmark, Sweden, France, the Netherlands and Belgium;
- the Communist parties of Britain, Greece (both the KKE and the AKOA — the Renovated and Ecological Left), Portugal and Finland (the Communist Party — Unity);
- the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) and the United Socialist Party (VSP) from Germany; the ex-Maoist AMG and the Red Electoral Alliance from Norway, which brings together the AMG and the Workers Power Group, which has developed relations with the Fourth International; the UDP from Portugal; the Red and Green Alliance from France; Herri Batasuna and the Nationalist Bloc of Galicia from the Spanish state.
The conference organisers had prepared and sent out in advance a draft political declaration that reproduced in a generous interpretation the main ideas of the speakers. However, some CP delegations objected to this declaration.
However, the conference had a big media impact owing to the presence of Tony Benn and to the big turnout for the public meeting on the Saturday, both of which gave a sense of the legitimacy of the "left-wing no", even if it is now represented in Denmark only by groups without parliamentary representation.
For two evenings running, the conference was on the television news and various radio stations. Some papers, including the Social Democratic daily, put it on the front page with photos and interviews with Benn. In this way the Enhedslisten made its mark on the debate; on the morrow of the conference leaders of
the Danish Socialist Party, which is the pivot of the new government, were calling for a visit from a spokesperson of European social democracy to reply to Benn.
The forthcoming Paris Assembly can pick up where Copenhagen left off. The latter initiative was part of a one-off campaign to influence the referendum vote while the Paris meeting will address broader political issues. Last September, as the EEC tottered, the absence of a left alternative was sorely felt. This led to the drawing up of an appeal aimed at bringing together left forces from the workers, union and social movements to present a clear profile to European public opinion.
Despite its rather general nature, the appeal is clearly anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist, anti-racist/fascist, feminist and ecologist. It embodies a long-term perspective. The ruling classes of Europe are far from winning the war.
However, the workers and social movements of Europe are paralysed by deadbeat leaderships and national divisions despite the obligatory "European" professions of faith.
The Paris assembly must be the first link which tests, organises and draws together all those who have shown themselves ready to resist the bourgeois offensive, who maintain a socialist vision and who have already found themselves working together on key questions such as the Gulf War, the rejection of austerity and of Maastricht, support for the progressive forces in Nicaragua, Cuba and El Salvador, against racism and for equal rights and for equality of women and men.