[Debate] Statement of the CC of the KKE on the Election Result of the 6th May 2012

[Yoshie Furuhashi]

<http://bit.ly/IJoibv>
Statement of the CC of the KKE on the election result of the 6th May 2012

The CC of KKE met in order to make an initial assessment of the
election result of 6th May 2012. This assessment will be discussed in
the organs and the Party Base Organisations as well as in the organs
and the Base Organisations of KNE. Furthermore, the party will discuss
the election result with the people who work alongside the party, its
supporters and friends. After this round of discussion and expressions
of opinion the CC will conclude its assessment.

1. The election result leads to the reinforcement of the tendency for
the renovation of the political scene, as it had been formed for three
decades with the rotation of ND and PASOK in the government since
these parties have suffered a heavy defeat. The reversal of the
political scene, in the form it took with the election result, does
not constitute any political overthrow. In the conditions of justified
anger and indignation, the logic of punishment and the illusion that
there exist immediate solutions from above and through negotiations,
prevailed. Nevertheless, the election result shows the positive
tendency which is being outlined, the tendency for a radical overthrow
at the level of power against the illusions for an easy solution.
Despite the spectacular decline of ND and PASOK the election result
does not constitute a new era in the correlation of forces between the
people and the monopolies, an overthrow or a “peaceful revolution” as
has been said.

2. The reforming of the bourgeois political scene, which still finds
itself in a transitional phase, serves the attempt to inhibit the
tendency of radicalisation, and the liberation from the bourgeois and
political influence. Its main characteristic is the restoration of the
centre-right and centre-left, the recomposition of social democracy
with the forces of Syriza initially as its core. The power of the
monopolies needs the renovated bourgeois political system, and
possibly with the creation of new parties, to provide the respective
alliances and coalition governments. This possibility to attempt the
renovation of the system is based on the fact that the forces of the
“EU one way-street”, the forces that serve the interests of capital,
of the capitalist system, were not reduced in terms of their overall
vote.

3. The vast majority of the voters of the two bourgeois parties were
scattered mainly to political forces with a similar ideology that
support the policy of the “EU one way- street”. To a much lesser
extent they were directed to the KKE. In this framework the diverse
dispersion of votes was directed to reactionary and nationalist
parties such as the “Independent Greeks” and the fascist nazi “Golden
Dawn” (Chrisi Avgi). In addition, the election result is marked by the
low participation that also expresses a dead-end indignation as well
as the financial difficulties of the voters who had to travel. The
rise of “Golden Dawn” is one more piece of evidence that in conditions
of a deep crisis and impoverishment of the people, while the workers’
and people’s movement has not moved into counterattack and the
majority of the parties support the capitalist system or refer to the
illusion of its humanization, the danger of the influence of
nationalist and neo-fascist views increases. Indeed, in conditions
when the EU and all member-states have adopted the equation of fascism
with communism as a state ideology. Only a strong workers’ and
people’s movement and a powerful KKE can deal with these dangerous
views and make them marginal and harmless. “Golden Dawn” cannot be
dealt with by antifascist sermons even more by appeals to national
unity and the anti-fascist consensus.

4. The people should not have a position of “wait and see” regarding
these processes that start with the attempt to form a government. The
hard core of the bourgeois class, the business groups as well as the
mechanisms and the leading bodies of the EU and the IMF will play an
active role in the renovation of the political system. They seek to
provide substitutes to the people as soon as possible before the
workers and people’s radicalism, the organisation and the initiative
of the people becomes stronger and acquires mass characteristics.
Irrespective of the outcome of these attempts the main orientation is
the acceleration of the actions in order to head off in a timely
fashion the sharpening of the class struggle and the rallying of the
social forces, the interests of which are to be in opposition to and
rupture with the monopolies and imperialism, with the EU itself and
the choices of NATO, to strengthen the anti-capitalist consciousness.
SYRIZA, which has a social-democratic programme, bears immense
responsibilities in relation to the people for the blatant lies that
it told before and during the election period, for the illusions it
fostered and fosters that there can be a better situation for the
people without a confrontation with the monopolies, the imperialist
unions.

5. The renovation of the bourgeois political system must be confronted
by the people’s vigilance and readiness along with the mass
organisation and struggle in the workplaces , in the sectors, the
offices, the people’s neighborhoods, the countryside, in schools ,
universities and vocational schools with immediate demands to repel
the new measures which are on the way. No toleration for the slogans
of renegotiation, the gradual disengagement from the memoranda and the
loan agreement in the framework of the bodies of the EU and the IMF.

6. The CC calls on the members of the party, KNE, the friends and
supporters of the party, the people who work alongside the party who
have fought proudly in the struggles and the electoral battle, to be
beside the working people and defend their rights and just cause
consistently. The role and the responsibilities of the party increase.
IT IS THE IRREPLACEABLE AND DECISIVE FORCE FOR THE PEOPLES MOVEMENT
THAT WILL STRUGGLE, COUNTERATTACK AND HAVE THE PROSPECT of the
conquest of the workers’ and people’s power and economy, for the
disengagement from the EU and the unilateral cancellation of the debt,
the socialization of the means of production, the productive
cooperatives of the people , the nationwide planning for the
utilization of the development potential of the country with workers’
and people’s control from the bottom up.

7. The CC assesses that the election result was formed in conditions
of the general people’s anger and indignation, in conditions of an
acute, prolonged economic capitalist crisis and while the EU, with the
agreement of PASOK and ND, chose the classic and typical way out in
favour of capital and the monopolies: uncontrolled bankruptcy for the
workers and the popular strata and controlled bankruptcy of capital.
The memorandums and the loan agreement include measures which are
based on the Treaty of Maastricht , whose implementation started
gradually in all the EU member-states. They are also based on the
decisions which followed and the European treaty that extends till
2020. For that reason the KKE has revealed the false character of the
separation of the parties of “EU one way-street” into pro-memorandum
and anti-memorandum parties.

The KKE literally passed through the obstacles placed on both sides by
the system’s forces and its reserves, which are united, despite their
differences, in their insistence on the country’s assimilation in the
EU, thus their criterion is the peoples compliance with its class
choices at all costs, in the name of the euro. On the one hand there
was blind indignation and on the other hand there were illusions that
a government of the so-called anti-memorandum forces can provide
relief and a solution to the pressing problems. The largest section of
the discontented and angry workers and unemployed submitted to
impatience and the pressure of the illusion of an immediate positive
result, the immediate solution without having acquired the required
direct experience from the participation in the organization and
waging of the struggles. It submitted to the generalized propaganda
that there can be no radical change or that this will occur in the
“second coming”, a beloved slogan of Syriza that is dangerous for the
people. The KKE assesses the election results and tendencies with the
objective conditions as its criterion, it does not determine its
stance based on the electoral strength or electoral shrinkage of the
other political parties.

The KKE had a small increase in these elections. Nevertheless the
final assessment of the quality of the intervention and activity of
the party in relation to the election result will be completed after
the gathering of opinions and data from the regions and of course
after the collective opinions of the party organizations.

With today’s numbers and the changes in the arrangement of the
political forces which has been noted, irrespective of the final
assessments which will be formed through the collective party
procedures, the CC assesses that once again the position of the party
has been borne out that the progress and sharpening of the class
struggle determines the political influence of the KKE and its
electoral performance. The evaluation of the KKE which it stated
openly at the outset of the crisis has also been borne out: that in
the conditions of the capitalist economic crisis, which increases both
the relative and the absolute destitution of the people, there
co-exist two elements: that the movement can move forward and also
that it can temporarily retreat. That the most destitute sections of
the working class, the unemployed and the semi-employed, sections of
the petty bourgeois strata which suddenly lost their income, are
subject to the influence and tendencies which are developing within
discontented petty bourgeois strata which are still enduring from a
financial point of view, but do not want to lose everything, and which
are still hostile to radical change because they believe in their
continuing survival. The KKE considers that the second element, that
of retreat, has not yet been determined. There are possibilities in
the next period for the class struggle to sharpen and the movement to
acquire new strength so that there is hope and a positive perspective.

The CC salutes the thousands of working men and women, and unemployed
who appreciated the militancy, consistency and the truthful clarity of
the KKE’s words, the militancy and unselfishness of the communists and
supported it at the ballot box, irrespective of their level of
agreement with its overall political proposal. A large section of the
workers as well as a section of the party’s voters, under the pressure
of the exacerbation of the popular problems, the misleading slogans
concerning the renegotiation of the memorandum and the immediate
relief for the workers, could not understand and take on board the
difference between a government and real power. The CC, summarizing
the assessments and conclusions of the party organizations, will
better examine weaknesses which must be overcome above all in our
activity in the working class and its allies and will make a more
specialised evaluation of the election period.

The political proposal of the KKE regarding the struggle for working
class-people’s power will find itself at the core of the people in the
next period, as the difference between a government and real people’s
power will become even clearer, as well as the overall proposal
concerning the immediate issues of the people’s survival and working
class popular power. From this standpoint political electoral activity
of the KKE in harmony with its strategy, as is proper, constitutes an
important legacy for the years to come.

The KKE will not support any government, no matter what its
composition, which will emerge from the post-election collaboration of
the parties, whatever title it may have. This government will not
provide anything positive for the people. On the contrary it will
respond to the needs and interests of capital, the choices of the EU
and IMF. For the KKE to agree to participate in a government, the
party would not have to simply carry out a small retreat, but it would
have to turn its programme and political line upside down, and make
unacceptable compromises regarding the present and future of the
people’s interests. The people do not need such a KKE.


7. The KKE and KNE, will be found from the first moment and every day
in the front line of the struggle. The CC of the KKE calls on the
working people which is suffering, the unemployed and pensioners, the
self-employed in the city and countryside, to meet once again with the
communists and members of KNE, those who work alongside the KKE and
the radical working class and popular forces in the struggle to
relieve the sharpening problems, to repel the worst measures which are
on the way. No slogan for negotiation and renegotiation can support in
the slightest the sharpening needs of the workers and unemployed.
Readiness and accurate adjustments at every turn of the struggle are
what is required. Above all immediate activity is required if a
coalition government does not emerge and new elections are called,
which will bring to the fore once again even more intense electoral
dilemmas and more powerful illusions.

ATHENS 7/5/2012 The CC of the KKE

-- 
Yoshie Furuhashi
<http://mrzine.org/>