New European Left party founded

international | eu | opinion/analysis Friday January 23, 2004 00:01 by BigMac

But is there an Irish party suitable for membership?

In Berlin recently, eleven European leftist and (reformist) communist parties established a new European Party of the Left.

On January 11, 2004, 19 European leftist and communist parties met in Berlin to discuss the foundation of a united European Left party (EL), with eleven of these parties agreeing after ten years of discussion and debate to establish it. The remaining eight are to continue as observers, waiting for confirmation from their home countries or considering the founding premature.

The meeting went unreported in the Irish media, most likely due to the fact that there seems to be no party in the country interested in or eligible for membership. This new pan-European party, which is the first of its kind, is undoubtedly far too radical for the Irish Labour Party, and would prove a difficult reformist home for the anti-EU SP, the anti-parliamentary SWP, and the insignificant Communist Party of Ireland. Sinn Féin would hardly be interested and it is unlikely that the other member parties would accept it.

Some statements suggest that membership can occur on a collective or a individual basis, meaning that Irish citizens will be able to join even though no Irish party will be affiliated to the new organisation.

The eleven parties who decided to sign up to the new party have a combined membership of about a half a million. They agreed on a common program and have left the debate on the statute for another meeting to be held in Spring.

In the new program, which will feature in the manifestos of all the eleven founding member parties in the forthcoming European elections, stressed eight main demands:

1. No weapons of mass destruction from the Atlantic to the Urals but rather a Europe of collective security without NATO or any military alliance of the European Union.

2. A redistribution from rich to poor, solidarity, and social policies aimed at full employment and job training, investment in ecology, taxation of capital speculation. People not profits must become central.

3. No attacks on human rights in the name of fighting terrorism but an open Europe with human rights and asylum for refugees.

4. No trade war at the expense of the less developed countries but courageous initiatives for just economic and political partnership.

5. Opposition to the concentration of the media in fewer and fewer hands and a plurality of opinions, information, culture and education with cultural variety, knowledge and information for all.

6. Ecological goals against CO2 emission, export of garbage, the exploitation of energy resources and forests.

7. A rollback of growing sexist discrimination caused by globalization, for equal rights for men and women.

8. A fight against the domination by capital and the rule of capitalism. We want a different culture of life, work, production and distribution.

"We orient ourselves toward the fight for peace, for anti-fascism, anti-racism, democracy, social justice, feminism and ecology. We remain open to all who cannot yet or do not wish to join us. We deeply respect varied forms of cooperation and practice them so our continent becomes more democratic, social and peaceful. "

The reasoning behind the new party was outlined by Lothar Bisky, chair of the host party, Germany's Party of Democratic Socialism : 'The time is ripe for a party of European leftists. A Europe of peace, of justice, of openness and democracy is impossible without a strong visible and self-assured Left. We will be treading new paths and abandoning old models of thought," he said, adding that the party should become more than simply a loose umbrella organization. It should be a party open to varying work methods and to democratic cooperation. The answer as to what kind of Europe the Left wants will be more convincing "if we ourselves demonstrate the answer: democracy, equality, transparency and tolerance are consensus and prerequisite for our alternatives." Not party bureaucracy and party diplomacy, but active engagement in politics, with changes in the everyday life of the people as our goals.

The meeting and the founding of the new alliance or party - unions of rightwing, Social Democratic , Green and other groups in the European Parliament already exist, did not hide sharp differences of opinion on the left in some countries. One of these was in the host country, whose PDS still faces sharp controversy in its ranks about its present course, especially its participation in a coalition with the Social Democratic Party in the Berlin government, involving sharp cuts in social programs in order to stave off bankruptcy.

These parties are (with internet links to English-language websites where possible):

- Austria. Kommunistische Partei Österreichs/Communist Party of Austria (KPÖ) www.kpoenet.at/
- Czech Republic. Komunistická strana Čech a Moravy/Communist Party of Bohemia & Moravia (KSČM) www.kscm.cz/index.asp?jazyk=2
and
Strana demokratického socialismu/Party of Democratic Socialism (SDS) www.sds.cz
- Estonia. Estonian Social-Democratic Party (ESDLP) www.esdtp.ee/inglise.htm
- France. Parti communiste français/French Communist Party (PCF) www.pcf.fr
- Germany. Partei des demokratischen Sozialismus/Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) www.sozialisten.de/partei/international/fremdsprachige_dokumente/index.htm
- Greece. ΣΥΝΑΣΠΙΣΜΟΣ/SYNASPISMOS. Coalition of the Left of Movements and Ecology (SYM) www.syn.gr/index/en/enmainframe.htm
- Italy. Partito della Rifondazione Comunista/Communist Refoundation Party (PRC) www.rifondazione.it/pg/internazionale/english.html
- Luxembourg. déi Lénk-la Gauche/The Left. www.dei-lenk.lu
- Slovakia. Komunistická strana Slovenska/Communist Party of Slovakia (KSS) www.kss.sk/anglicky2.php
- Spain. Izquierda Unida/United Left (IZ) www.izquierda-unida.es/

The eight remaining observer parties are:
- Catalonia/Spain: 2 leftwing parties.
- Cyprus: Progressive Party of Working People (AKEL) www.akel.org.cy/English/akel.html
- Czechoslovakia: Czech Communist Party
- Netherlands. Socialistische Partij/Dutch Socialist Party (SP) www.sp.nl/en/
- Norway. Sosialistisk Venstreparti/Norwegian Socialist Left Party (SV) www.sv.no/hvem/english/
- Finland: Vasemmistoliitto/Left Alliance (V) www.vasemmistoliitto.fi/en.html
- Greece: Κομμουνιστικό Κόμμα Ελλάδας/Greek Communist Party (KKE) www.kke.gr/kke_en.html