15.09.2004

Remaking the left

Hugo Braun is a leading member of Attac Germany, which he represents at preparatory meetings of the European Social Forum. He is also a member of the German Communist Party (DKP). Tina Becker spoke to him about the current political situation

The Monday demonstrations first took place in the old East Germany just before the wall came down in 1989. While in 1989 the demos were very critical of the GDR, where the demos are at their biggest today, now many people are angry at the effects of capitalism on their lives.
In the east of Germany, a lot of people are very disappointed in the way unification took place and the fact that so many promises were not delivered. Remember the then chancellor Helmut Kohl painting his rosy picture of “blühende Landschaften” [blooming landscapes] that would stretch all over East Germany? In reality, massive decay and wide-scale destruction of industry have taken place.

The Monday demonstrations were not aimed, originally, against the GDR itself. They were aimed against aspects of its policy of paternalism: against travel restrictions and so forth. The overwhelming majority of those taking part were not opponents of the GDR, not opponents of socialism.
The Monday demos were revived to protest against the war on Iraq. In Leipzig, for example, protests regularly took place until about nine months ago. Pretty much the same organisations that were involved in these demonstrations are now taking up the protest against Hartz IV.

Which political forces are involved?
Generally, a range of left alliances has taken on the task of mobilising for these demos, which look a little different in each city. In most areas, those involved include the PDS, the DKP, Attac, unemployed organisations, trade unionists and all sorts of other different left groups. Naturally, in the east of Germany, the PDS is far more involved than in the west, simply because of its different size and influence.

In western Germany, the newly founded local social forums, which have mushroomed in the last couple of years, are also part of the campaign. Those forums, which see themselves as part of a worldwide network of social forces, have - for the first time - effectively shown their existence in these demonstrations.

They are part of a more general attempt to unify the different social movements in Germany. In July next year, for example, the first German Social Forum will take place - very symbolically - in an east German city, Erfurt. Trade unions such as Verdi and IG Metall are heavily involved in this process, as are NGOs, Attac and other such organisations. It could be a very important weekend for crystallising and pulling together the different protest movements.

Then there is the Gewerkschaftliche Aktionskonferenz [union activists conference] coming up, where leftwing trade unionists are starting to collaborate and organise together. There is a core of activists involved in all these different movements.

These forces seem pretty identical to those participating in the new Wahlinitiative Arbeit und soziale Gerechtigkeit party (WASG). Can you describe how it came into being?
In a positive sense, you could describe the WASG as a social democratic force. The initiative was first taken by a number of left SPD members and middle-ranking trade unionists - overwhelmingly from IG Metall and Verdi - in Berlin and Baden-Württemberg. The leaders of these unions are very definitely not involved, and neither are any other prominent politicians. It is a real bottom-up movement. Prominent left social democrats like Oscar Lafontaine, who has been supporting the Monday demonstrations, has made it clear that he wants to carry on his fight within the structures of the SPD.

The official founding will take place this autumn, when alternative candidates in the 2006 parliamentary elections will be proposed. Particularly in the west, this new party will be the only left alternative - there is nothing else around.

There are negotiations going on with the PDS, though I do not think that an electoral alliance is on the cards at the moment. But I have to say that this might be the only realistic way to achieve a strong left representation in the Bundestag - with the PDS standing in the east and the WASG in the west. Officially, the PDS leadership is still saying ‘no’ to such an alliance, but some are coming round to the idea. No final decision has been made.

Would the WASG still stand against the SPD if that meant a conservative victory was more likely?
The time of pure pressure politics is over. You cannot seriously tell people to go for the lesser evil any more. You cannot tell them that the SPD-Green government is just that little bit better than a conservative government. Of course there are nuances in the neoliberal agenda that both of these political forces follow, but they are only nuances - and people in Germany are increasingly starting to recognise this.

What is the relationship between the WASG and the Monday demonstrations?
Wherever the WASG exists, it has been taking part in the Monday demonstrations. But the WASG has not emerged out of these protests: it is purely an intellectual development, if you will. Of course, politically it would have been very desirable to see a new political party arise out of a broad mass movement seeking parliamentary representation. Unfortunately, this is not what happened.

Will a social democratic party be enough to stop those neoliberal attacks or do we actually need something more: a revolutionary party?
I see the WASG as a historically necessary project. It is supported by the DKP and other left organisations. However, it has no programme as of yet. How deeply organisations such as my own get involved in the WASG will depend on how that turns out. There are of course a number of communists and socialists who are involved in drawing up the programme, so we will have to wait and see.

How democratic is this process?
Although I am not personally involved in these negotiations, they are, as far as I can tell, democratic. It is still early days, of course, and in many areas the structures are only starting to develop, many even under different names. Every organisation that wants to come on board, either on a local or national level, can do so - which, of course, leads to its own set of problems. Our conference in the autumn will be presented with a first draft for a programme, which will then start the public debate, but no final decisions will be made during the conference.

The WASG will most certainly not adopt a revolutionary programme - though historically that is of course what is necessary. But for the 2006 parliamentary elections this is not on the cards. The programme will, however, stand against the neoliberal agenda of the government and will present clear alternatives - for the here and now, under capitalism. The DKP will of course make it very clear that the fight for a socialist future must be part of this discussion.

Germany of course already has such a broad, reformist left party: the PDS. Why build another one?
The PDS does not clearly reject the government’s neoliberal agenda any more. They used to present some kind of alternative a few years back, but wherever they have been part of the government they have been involved in enforcing pro-capitalist, business-friendly policies. In Berlin, the PDS has been responsible for massive social and cultural cuts.

This is where a new left party needs to give a firm ‘no’ and draw the line. In my opinion, this new party should already make it clear today that it would not participate in any neoliberal government. Parliament yes, but not the government.