Italian Communist Party suffers poll defeat

Italian Communist Party suffers poll defeat

THE RESULT of the recent Italian clections is significant in many respects. While the electoral strengthening of the government is undeniable, this was achieved through a squeezing of the minor governmental parties between: the Christian Democrats and the Socialists, the major coalition partners. It is therefore not a salution to the: long standing crisis of bourgeois political Icadership.

At the same time, the Comminist Party (CM) suffered a serious defeas, caused directly by its own policy. This was not, however, a defeat of the working class and the oppressed, There has nut been any simple shift to the right. The successes of the Greens and of the lists of Proctarian Democracy on which the Lega Comunista Rivoluzionaria, section of the Fourth International, stood its own. candidares. represent a positive factor in this context.

The political crisis which led to the early clections came about as a result of the power. struggle between the major government partners. Rarely have the degeneration of Italian political institutions and the contempr for the electorate's needs and intelligence been more evident. But, in spite of all this, the cr has been politically paralysed

As a consoquence of its acceptance of capitalist austerity policies and its search for fall legitimacy in the eyes: of the bourgeoisie as a party capable of responsible' government, the CP's opposition in parliament has become more and more fake.. It has allowed a government that has always been unpopular in its policies (for example, in the siting of cruise missiles, and the cuts in the sliding scale of wages and in social expenditure) but never. strong to continue in office.

The CP's political strategy. together with thar of the union leaderships, has been largely responsable for the weakening of workers struggles, the fragmentation of demands, rhe

Natta, leader of the Italian Communist Party disorganisation of movements. It couldn't and cannot provide any answer for the fight bark of the working class, the potential for which has recently been proved again in the development of the anti-nuclear mass movement around the demand of a referendum to stop nuclear centres, in the fight of the workers at Alla Romeo, threatened by Fiar's rakcover, and esperially by the struggles of the Genoa dockworkers and the teachers, where significant forms of selforganisation have devcloped. It is the political void left by the Cp which has made the success of the governmental parties possible:

The Christian Democrats recouped a little on their poor 1983 result with 34,35, while Craxi's Socialist Party is awarded a 2.9% increase lor good services done to the bourgeoisie, gerring a 14.3% share of the vore. The lusses of the CP amounted to 3.3% (800,000 votes!). Their share

P.C.I.

of 26,650 is a pre-1968 kind of result. A closer look presents: an even worse picture: losses are particularly heavy in the big cities (for exampic, Bologna -4%, Naples -5%, Turin -5.3%) and in working class arcas (near Milan up to 67). The political blow is serious but it is probably too carly to assess how the Jeadership will react or what effect it will have on the party's internal crisis, and how it will affect their burcaucratic control of the workers'

To the left of the Cp there were some positive results. The Greens enter parliament for the first time, their vote expressing especially the anti-nuclear mobilisations over the last year, with 969,534 votes (2.5% nationally and very often more than 3-4% in thc big ciries), thirteen MPs and one senator, Proletarian Democracy inreases its vore to 1.7% (642,021 votes) and now has cight MPs (+ I) and one

These two results certainly express, although at different Ievels, a positive radicalisation

It is difficult to toresee now what will happen in the months abcad. months abead. The campaign for the anti-nuclear referendum, the reopening of mobilisation, and next autumn's budget should be on the political agenda Certainly the strongest opposition will have to be organised to the artacks that will undoubtedly be carried our with renewed vigour by the new government. regardless of what form the coalition takes.

The working class needs to regain the initiative, The development of forms of self-organisation in struggle and of the opposition to the bureaucracies and their policies within the trade unions, such as Democrazia Consigliare in the communist; led Con confederation will be very important in this respect. MARCO VALSANIA