WHEN Neil Kinnock was crowned Labour leader last week, he took red roses from his wife's bouquet and held them aloft — surely not an accidental gesture. For the red rose in a fist is the symbol of Europe's socialist parties, and Kinnock made explicit reference to their success in his acceptance speech in What are the politics Eurosocialists, and how does Kinnock intend to imitate them?
The place to start is with Francois Mitterrand, Carrenl President par excellence founder of 'Eurosocialism'. the general strike of 1968 occurred in rrance. Communist Party easily the dominant party of the retce woou cros. The Socialists, that organised in the SFIO (French Section of the Socialist International) were by comparison a grouplet. In the 1969 presidential election they were crushed by both the Gaullists and Communists, receiving only 5 per cent oi le volc But the traumatic events of 1968 had radicalised a whole generation, and the vast majority looked first to the mass parties of the working class rather than the far left groups.
Mitterrand saw his opportunity to rebuild the Socialist Party. The first thing he realised was that to gain a mass base, to break with the SFIO's image of a staid party of parliamentary manoeuvre, the Socialist Party had to be built as a left wing party.
Sy Paul Lawson Mitterrand took the socialists into the alliance with the Communists, the union ae la aucne, ana neroea 10 daborate the Programme Commun of the alliance. Through this alliance, the Socialists built themselves, but on very particular political line. Socialists went simultaneously to the right and the left of the Communists. On certain crucial issues defence, NATO adopted a political line well to the right of the Communists.
But on social questions such as democratic rights; reform of the archaic and centralised state apparatus, ret management 1n industry. adopted a line to the left of the Comterand democratic rights beautifully illustrated when the Trotskyist Ligue Communiste was banned in 1973. While the Communist Party held aloof, Mitterrand rushed to be photographed with the handcuffed Ligue leaders.
Mitterrand's project amounted to this: while certain crucial guarantees had to be given to the bourgeoisie, to convince it that the SP remained a porential party of government, leftist demagogy could be used to build the SP's base.
In the mid-1970s libertarian socialism' could be used the French, Greek and Spanish their munist Party rivals, weighed down by the burden of a Stalinist past and residual links with Moscow.
Only in Italy could this project not succeed, because the Italian Communist Party moyed to occupy any political space that could otherwise have been used the democrats.
The extent of the left demagogy of the Eurosocialists could be gauged by the statements of the ader of the Greek PASOK, Papandreou. He described the EEC as dub multinational as ine military pressive machine - the state multinational capital'.
When Franco died in Spain in 1975 the now-legalised Socialist Party held mass rallies with red flags, clenBrighton. of the of •LIC When was time The the - they they was ist Party, did SP leader Felipe the theme of repress his left wing.
The manoeuvres Com- change the fundamental these narties abbalalus. capitalist system.
eating By 1982 social lainca stale power.
Led rapidly to the right.
wing Mitterrand's cratic reforms.
Koyeucul
'a abolished the monopolies' sup- OI table to the ruling class.
Internationally, Kinnock will use radical phraseology in imitation of his 'Eurosocialist' colleagues ched fists and renditions of the Internationale. Only three years later, after frappe, having outmanoeuvred the CommunGonzalez move to drop the word 'Marx- crusade.
Ism trom tae barty s consutunion ana oi the Eurosocialists in the 1970s however did not nature of - the fact that they were after all social democratic parties, tied to administering the bourgeois state role, supporting the French force de sending French troops Lebanon and Chad, and becoming part of the international anti-Moscow At home he has imposed stringent austerity.
Gonzalez's government is at least as right wing as the German SPD government of Helmut Schmidt. And the PASOK leaders have gone back on all their anti-NATO and anti-EEC demagogy. questions police, fighting the cuts, defence of local government, trade unions rights — Kinnock can atford a leftist stance in the short term.
By pulling into his team of advisors the erstwhile lefts Labour Co-ordinating Committee, he will be well briefed on these issues. Doubtless he will clean up his act on women's rights.
No suspicions about his future intentions, or his willingness to lead Labour towards coalition with the JULY democratic rights, the health service trom the Illg on this option rather than an antiquated Atlantic alliance.
The Eurosocialist analogy is of The British movement has no mass Stalinist party to compete with social The trade unions are affiliated to the mass party of the workLAU+ there •limited percentage in trying to build a party on the issues which attract intellectuals and 'middle' layers in society. Most of all, the project is difficult in a party which already has a powerful and entrenched left wing.