The crisis of German democracy and calls for a “left” government

[Antid Oto]

REPLY TO: D66 at nic.surfnet.nl

The crisis of German democracy and calls for a “left” government
16 July 2010

Two issues are currently at the centre of political discussion in Germany.
First, criticism from the business media of the government of Chancellor Angela
Merkel (Christian Democratic Union—CDU) continues to grow, and is linked to
expressions of support for so-called “red-green” coalitions, combining the
Social Democratic Party (SPD) and Green Party.

Second, a debate has begun about the “crisis of democracy” and the “need for
Bonapartist solutions.”

Both issues are directly related. Influential sections of the ruling class are
of the view that the SPD, in alliance with the Greens and if necessary supported
by the Left Party, would be in a better position to implement sweeping social
cuts and suppress anticipated popular resistance than the current Christian
Democratic Union-Christian Social Union (CSU)-Free Democratic Party (FDP)
federal government.

They complain that the Merkel government is too preoccupied with itself and with
its internal conflicts; is hesitating to push through deep cuts in the social
safety net, and is not tackling with enough determination the “economic reforms
that are indispensable” for big business.

The election of the SPD regional chair, Hannelore Kraft, as the new state
premier of North Rhine-Westphalia last Wednesday, consummating the formation of
a “red-green” minority government in Germany’s most populous state, is to serve
as a test of collaboration between the SPD, the Green Party and the Left Party,
with a view toward a possible “red-red-green” option at the federal level.

The ruling class will use the “red-red-green” option in two ways: to exert
pressure on the CDU-CSU-FPD federal coalition and, if necessary, install the
“left” coalition in place of the existing federal government.

There is a proliferation of media commentaries praising the Schröder-Fischer
government (1998-2005) as “red-green I” and depicting the social cuts
implemented by means of its Agenda 2010 and Hartz IV welfare and labour
“reforms” as crucial steps in increasing the competitiveness of German industry
in Europe and worldwide.

But “red-green II” would not be a repeat of the first SPD-Green Party federal
government. Given the global economic crisis, the ruling class is calling for
social attacks that go far beyond Agenda 2010. What remains of the welfare state
is to be slashed even more drastically.

The demands of big business are wide-ranging: removing legal protections against
dismissal, cutting paid sick leave, scrapping the statutory holiday minimum,
slashing state pensions, and much more. Moreover, value added tax is to be
raised significantly, as are health and pensions contributions.

Such a frontal assault on social conditions will encounter fierce resistance
from the population and ultimately cannot be enforced by democratic means. In
Europe and around the world, preparations are underway to change existing
governments and establish the necessary authoritarian structures to shift the
burden of the economic crisis onto the working population.

Nowhere can any serious resistance be found in the ruling elite to the
dismantling of democratic structures and the introduction of police state-type
measures.

The eulogies to “red-red-green” are an expression of the fact that sections of
the ruling class regard such a coalition as an appropriate instrument for the
transition to authoritarian forms of rule.

SPD Chancellor Schröder’s “enough is enough” policy, by which he suppressed all
opposition in his own party and in the population, still garners admiration in
business circles. During the years of the “red-green” government, the SPD lost
17 state elections, but Schröder was not prepared to give way to pressure from
below. After the party’s substantial loss of votes in the North Rhine-Westphalia
state election in 2005, he presented the population with an ultimatum by
bringing about early federal elections: either he would obtain a new mandate, or
he would hand over power to the CDU/CSU.

In the event, he did the latter.

To force an early election, Schröder, supported by the Greens, bypassed normal
democratic procedures. Since then, both parties have moved even further to the
right.

In the past decade and a half, the SPD has lost more than a third of its
members. Anyone who had even the slightest hope that the SPD would pursue social
and humanitarian goals has been disillusioned and turned his back on the party.
Today, the SPD is little more than a state-funded bureaucratic apparatus to
implement the interests of the ruling elite.

The transformation of the Greens is particularly striking. It has become the
mouthpiece of a privileged layer of the upper-middle class. Its membership
includes the highest proportion of state employed officials of any party.

During the years of the “red-green” government, these former pacifists
transformed themselves into supporters of foreign military missions by the
German army. Now they fervently advocate the transformation of the Bundeswehr
into a professional army, knowing that this goal is being pursued by those who
want to overturn the constitutional ban on the deployment of the Bundeswehr
inside Germany so that the army can be used in domestic crises and against
strikes and mass protests.

Recently, historian Herfried Münkler, who describes democracy as a “tyranny of
the majority” and writes about the “need for Bonapartist solutions,” pointedly
directed his arguments toward the Greens. Citing the “impending” environmental
“disaster,” he asked, “What happens when the people do not want to listen?”

“Then the idea of an eco-dictatorship arises,” he replied.

The demand for an authoritarian form of government is combined with a call for a
Council of Experts comprised of educated professionals, which, in addition to
competence, must also have the authority of the state to enforce its decisions
against the will of the majority.

The trade unions form a part of these preparations towards authoritarian forms
of rule. Since the crisis began in the autumn of 2008, they have intensified
their collaboration with the government and act ever more openly as a part of
the state apparatus. Their goal is to suppress the class struggle and to ensure
that peace and order prevails. Their network of works councils and union
representatives is used primarily to prevent any independent movement on the
part of workers.

The Left Party plays an important role in this “red-green” alliance with the
unions. Because memories of the anti-social policies of the last “red-green”
federal government are still widespread, and the representatives of the SPD, the
Greens and the German Federation of Unions who show up at rallies often evoke
shouts of “You were responsible for Hartz IV!”, the Left Party has taken on the
defence of the “red-green” alliance, a task for which it is well prepared.

In the East of Germany, the Left Party (formerly the Party of Democratic
Socialism—PDS) has its roots in the repressive Stalinist regime of East Germany.
During the period of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the PDS regarded its main task
as maintaining “law and order on German streets.”

The claim that “red-red-green” is the lesser evil stands things on their head.
What is referred to in the media as a “left-wing” government is, in fact, part
of the preparations by the ruling class for intensified social attacks and
growing working class resistance.

Under conditions where the class character of bourgeois democracy is becoming
increasingly clear, the working class must make its own preparations to
establish genuine democracy. This requires an international socialist programme
and the establishment of workers’ governments to expropriate the financial
aristocracy and the banks and corporations and put them under the democratic
control of working people.

Ulrich Rippert

http://wsws.org/articles/2010/jul2010/pers-j16.shtml

**********
Dit bericht is verzonden via de informele D66 discussielijst (D66 at nic.surfnet.nl).
Aanmelden: stuur een email naar LISTSERV at nic.surfnet.nl met in het tekstveld alleen: SUBSCRIBE D66 uwvoornaam uwachternaam
Afmelden: stuur een email naar LISTSERV at nic.surfnet.nl met in het tekstveld alleen: SIGNOFF D66
Het on-line archief is te vinden op: http://listserv.surfnet.nl/archives/d66.html
**********