Greg Tucker reports from the fourth Conference of the European Anti-Capitalist Left
As Tony Blair and Spanish prime minister Aznar put together their final plans for building Fortress Europe in Seville, key elements of the anti-capitalist left from across Europe have met in Madrid to affirm that another Europe is possible.
The fourth Conference of the European Anti-Capitalist Left, hosted by the Spanish Espacio Alternativo brought together representatives from parties and currents in eleven European states including the English Socialist Alliance, the Scottish Socialist Party, the Danish Red Green Alliance, French LCR, Portuguese Left Bloc and Rifondazione Comunista from Italy.
Previous meetings in Porto, Paris and Brussels had opened up discussion between groups, begun to map out points of common analysis and set out basic agreements on joint action. Madrid has taken the debate a stage further.
Key to this was the deeper involvement of Rifondazione Comunista. Gennaro Migliore of RC opened the conference outlining the profound crisis of the traditional left and the need for unity across Europe of the alternative anti-capitalist left.
>From their different experiences delegates outlined a common process.
In 1998/99 social democracy led 12 of the 15 EU member states and was able to dominate the main EU institutions. But rather than use this exceptional power position to break with neo-liberal policies it deepened this drive. Now we are faced by an EU dominated by an aggressive, xenophobic and reactionary right (led by Tony Blair!).
But this is not a simple electoral move to the right across Europe. Right wing gains facilitated by the collapse of social democracy and other participating plural left parties (Greens, CP etc) have been accompanied by massive abstention and alienation from conventional parties. Whilst this has been exploited by the far right it has also led to modest but important gains for the far left. The growth of the anti-capitalist globalisation movement is a challenge that the workers movement has to embrace.
Whilst the EU summits continue the process of constructing the EU through economic integration and attacks on social rights there is a counter trend – a strengthening social resistance movement, seen on the streets of Nice, Genoa, Brussels and Barcelona. The question is how to give these social struggles a political form.
As a representative of the LCR put it, "We used to say we were blocked by the SP and CP, but with their collapse we have space to operate in. We are in a race with the far right to occupy this space in the working class.
"Our class is not beaten – our task is to organise its defence and link it up with the anti-capitalist globalisation movement. These are complementary tasks."
The Conference outlined an alternative programme for Europe:
Against the Bush-Blair war drive and the growth of a European army - no war in Iraq, withdrawal from Afghanistan and for Israeli troops out of Palestine;
Against Fortress Europe – freedom of movement and equal rights for all;
Against the undemocratic plans to build a small strong EU Executive directly in the service of European big capital, a war machine against the people –
For a radical democratic constituent process from below to allow the peoples and the working classes to truly decide what sort of Europe the want to live in;
Against the neo-liberal offensive – putting people before profit.
Confident that an alternative is possible, that for the first time in ages a political polarisation to the left of the social-liberal left has begun, the conference looked to the future deepening of collaboration between its participating parties.
Among other things this means mobilising with the social movements for the European Social Forum in Florence and planning further discussion for our next meeting at the end of the year in Copenhagen.
This will particularly focus on whether it is possible to prepare a common European platform for the European Parliament elections in 2004.
The Socialist Alliance and SSP must see themselves as part of this process – building a real common European anti-capitalist left identity.
Practically, in finally deciding to try to mount a collective campaign against Fortress Europe and in defence of the rights of immigrants and asylum seekers the conference outlined one way in which militants from right across Europe can work together in common cause.