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First German Social Forum

From 21.-24. July, the first Social Forum took place in Germany, in Erfurt. Around 3500 participated during four days of discussion in 300 workshops, seminars and plenaries.

Like the European and World Social Forums and the French assemblies for a constitutional alternative, the Forum in Erfurt was marked by a strong bid by left reformists and trade union bureaucrats to impose their policies on the social movements.

So there was a strong, staged presence by delegates from France and other European countries like Elisabeth Gauthier from the French CP, pushing for a “social, democratic, …” alternative to the neo-liberal draft constitution, trying to make mass petitioning its “main axes” the top priority of the European Social Movements. This was accompanied by the presence of PDS parliamentarians, leading members from major German unions like IG Metall, the service sector union ver.di and Attac on the platforms. What was missing, even compared to the London and Paris ESFs, was a large audience of young people. Consequently its size was less than it could have been. Some officials were heard to express the view that this was no bad thing. Indeed little if any attempt seemed to have been made to attract people from Erfurt itself to the Forum and most local people seemed totally unaware that it was taking place.

The participants largely came from the following political/social backgrounds: many trade unionists, particularly lower and middle ranking officials , shop stewards and Betriebsräte (works council members); a large number of functionaries and members of the newly formed Left Party, the Linkspartei (particularly PDS members but also members of the Wahlalternative). There was also a wide range of unemployed initiatives, groupings and competing “co-ordinations”; left wing (DKP, Linksruck, DIDF, Antifa) and revolutionary organisations (Arbeitermacht, German section of the League for the Fifth International, and the youth organisation, REVOLUTION) with stalls, leaflets and meetings organised by themselves. There were also numbers of NGOs and campaigns.

Whilst the final call of the “Assembly of the Social Movements” held during the Forum, was a largely a reformist and utopian catalogue of what “another” Europe should be like, without mentioning capitalism or imperialism as a system and as the enemy, the Forum was not as “harmonic” as some would liked it to be.

Firstly, at the demonstration on Saturday afternoon, the DGB-leader from Thüringen called in his speech to “improve the Hartz IV” regulations, the massive attacks on unemployed and social benefits introduced by the government. This caused a massive uproar. The crowd effectively silenced him, shouting “Weg mit Hartz IV!” (repeal Hartz IV!). A more radical section of the final rally, shouted “Down with the market economy!”

Secondly, the final declaration of the assembly of the social movements should have been passed without discussion “by acclamation”. This was stopped and a whole series of criticisms, amendments etc. raised. Whilst they were not dealt with in a democratic way, some found their way into the final call (for example a statement against the wall in Palestine). A comrade from Arbeitermacht spoke against the “call for strengthening of internal law” which was in the original draft and which was then duly removed by the chair.

Thirdly, the best attended meetings were the ones on the Linkspartei on the one hand, and meetings dealing with the questions of revolution on the other hand. So Arbeitermacht organised well attended and successful workshops: one with the title “Keynesian nostalgia or social revolution” and another the future of the movement. Seminars and workshops dealing with “revolution” by other organisations (DKP, Linksruck) were also well attended.

This proves that there is a current, albeit at the moment a minority when such events exclude or repel young people, who are discontented with building up “another reformism”. Strengthening and making this minority more visible and vocal is an urgent task in the current period of increasing, generalised attacks and sharpening of the class struggle. Increasingly a policy of class compromise means a policy of surrendering important working class economic and social gains and drastically weakening its fighting organisations .

Nevertheless, the assembly of the social movements did adopt a whole series of mobilisations and called for national meetings to bring forward important struggles:

– a national day of action on 5. September to put forward the demands of the social movements in the election period; a date which has to be utilised to put demands on the Linkspartei and its deputies.

– a national strategy and action conference of the social movements, the unions, the left in November to discuss and adopted a plan of action to fight the next governments offensive.

– a campaign against global exploitation and repression around the World Cup in 2006.

– a mass campaign against the G 8, focussing on a mass mobilisation against the G 8 summit in July 2007 in Heiligendamm. This will also be the ideal time and place to organise another German Social Forum in the midst of a mass mobilisation.

The task facing revolutionaries is a twofold one : on the one hand to fight for demands and proposals around which the struggle against the capitalist offensive by the workers and social movements can unite and to agitate and propagandise for organs of struggle, like social forums, action committees, rank and file movements ,which can do this job.

At the same time, they have to link this with the fight for a new mass workers party and a new, Fifth international to give a lead to these struggles and lead them from the current defensive into an offensive against the whole capitalist system and for the socialist revolution.

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