War and the dirty role of social democracy

From left to right: Olaf Scholz, Alexis Tsipras, Pedro Sanchez.

The following article is based on a piece published in the weekend edition (5-6 March, 2022) of "Rizospastis", the daily newspaper of the CC of KKE, under the title "Social democracy's dirty job in times of war":

“If you had picked up the phone to call the party leaders, I might have told you my opinion, but not now after the fact, like the other political leaders. I would tell you that it would be better to send humanitarian aid, it would be better to send non-lethal equipment, like Spain and Italy did”. 

Spain: Communists slam government's Labor Reform

The Political Bureau of the Communist Party of the Workers of Spain (PCTE) has issued a statement making assessments for the so-called "Labour Reform" prepared by the social democratic government of Spain.

Read the statement below in both English and Spanish:

"The Reform passed by the Government, the trade unions, and the employers' unions, carries out component #23 of the so-called Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan, and it is an essential part of the Government's commitments to the European Commission in return for the NextGenerationEU funds. 

Boric's triumph in Chile is not a victory for the working class

The following article was originally published in "El Machete", Organ of the CC of the Communist Party of Mexico (PCM), under the title "El triunfo de Boric en Chile no es una victoria para la clase obrera".

By Julio Cota.

The recent electoral victory of Gabriel Boric does not represent a root solution to the current economic and political crisis in Chile. Chilean workers and other popular strata must continue their frontal fight against any capitalist management or government. Maintaining high expectations of change or even settling for the least worst, is a trap for the Chilean working class, imposed by the monopolies and the bourgeoisie. 

Chile: Social democrat Gabriel Boric elected president

Gabriel Boric, the candidate of the social democratic coalition "Apruebo Dignidad", which is also supported by the Communist Party, prevailed on Sunday's second round of the presidential elections thus becoming Chile's youngest-ever president.

According to the final results, Gabriel Boric won 56 percent of the votes, compared with 44 percent for the candidate of the neoliberal coalition "Vamos por Chile", Jose Antonio Kast, an ultra-conservative lawyer who claims to be a political successor of fascist dictator Augusto Pinochet. 

Germany's social democratic icon Willy Brandt allegedly served as a U.S. agent

Willy Brandt (right) with John F. Kennedy in 1961.

Former German Chancellor Willy Brandt, an icon for Europe's social democracy, is believed to have been an informant for the U.S military intelligence Counter Intelligence Corps (CIC) for four years before he came to power in 1969-1974, according to Der Spiegel.

Brandt, who served as leader of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) from 1964 to 1987, provided intelligence to the CIC from 1948 to March 17, 1952, Der Spiegel has reported.

The magazine wrote that Brandt briefed the CIC about the activities of the FDJ, the youth wing of the German Democratic Republic (DDR) and the ruling Socialist Unity Party (SED).

Die Linke supported the ban of German Communist Party

On 9 July we wrote that the Federal Election Commission announced that the German Communist Party (DKP) will not be allowed to participate in September's Bundestag elections and at the same time will be deprived of its status as a political party. 

The pretext for this shameful decision was the alleged late submission of financial statements. 

Several Communist and Workers' Parties from across the world have strongly condemned the decision of the Commission and expressed its solidarity to the DKP. 

"President Maduro, the real dilemma is whether you are with the working class or with the capitalists" — PCV Statement

In a very interesting statement published on Tribuna Popular, the Political Bureau of the CC of the Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV) refers to some critical issues concerning the political direction and stance of Nicolas Maduro's social democratic government. 

The full statement is the following:

With foundations in its ideological, political and organisational autonomy and independence, the Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV) is committed to confronting US-European imperialist aggression. It is also committed to confronting the economic, labour and agricultural policies which President Nicolas Maduro has been applying in favour of Capital and landowners.

Germany's Die Linke party adopts anti-Cuban resolution

A recent decision of the German Die Linke party confirms what is already known: the role of social democracy as a timeless instrument of imperialism and an enemy of the working people. At its last meeting, the Party's executive committee decided to adopt a hostile position towards Cuba by declaring its support for the counter-revolutionary group known as “San Isidro Movement”.

According to Neues Deutschland newspaper, Die Linke - a leading member of the Party of the European Left - adopted with a majority of 90% a resolution about the “democratization of Cuban society”, with which it expresses solidarity with the so-called “dissidents”. Under the pretext of “human rights”, Die Linke's social democrats advocate in favor of the US-backed counter-revolutionary efforts in Cuba. 

Want Democracy? Then You Need a People's Dictatorship

 By Charles Andrews.

A mob was permitted, even helped, to take over the United States Capitol building on January 6, 2021. No government can allow that sort of thing and survive.

Officials and public figures ranging from social-democrats like Congressional Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez through a broad range of conventional politicians and even continuing into the right wing condemned the action as a threat to democracy.

Capitalist Crisis in Spain: Accelerated by the Pandemic and managed by Social Democracy

By the Communist Party of the Workers of Spain (PCTE)

 

Spain is living in 2020 the worst capitalist crisis of 121 its history. The economy is shrinking on double-digit figures; there are millions of unemployed workers, and dozens of thousands of victims dead because of the pandemic.

A superficial glance could determine that the causes of the current crisis are completely due to the effects of the pandemic and the paralysis of economy during confinement. However, the analysis we had made before the pandemic were already predicting the looming of a capitalist crisis, being the Coronavirus actually a catalyst, rather than the cause of it. One that affects the capitalist relationships worldwide and not only its national expressions.

Not Populism, Not Socialism, but Communism Will Get It Done

By Charles Andrews.

The ruling classes of developed countries get a lot of pushback these days from the masses they hold in contempt. The voters whom U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton insulted as “deplorables” went and put Donald Trump in the Oval office in 2016, daring to elect someone who was not a vetted ruler of capitalism. Then his near opposite, self-identified socialist Bernie Sanders, came back stronger than ever for the 2020 presidential primaries. Socialism has become a recognized political stance that cannot be red-baited off the stage. 

Mexico and COVID-19: Communist leader Pavel Blanco exposes Obrador's social democracy

The following text is a translated version of an article originally published in the weekend edition of "Rizospastis" on 9-10 May 2020. Pavel Blanco Cabrera, First Secretary of the CC of the Communist Party of Mexico (PCM), writes about the situation of the class struggle in the country, exposing the policies of the social democratic government of President López Obrador during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

By Pavel Blanco Cabrera.

SYRIZA’s hypocrisy has no limits

On the right side, the front page of SYRIZA's newspaper "Avgi".

What happens when hypocrisy and opportunism meet anti-communism? 

SYRIZA, Greece’s major social democratic party which governed the country between 2015 and 2019, provides us the best answer to the question. 

Last Saturday, 9th of May, the front page of SYRIZA’s party newspaper “Avgi” (Dawn) was dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the Great Antifascist Victory, depicting the iconic photo of the Soviet soldier waving the red flag in Berlin. 

Mexico: López Obrador sacrifices the working class for the capitalists' interests

The Political Bureau of the CC of the Communist Party of Mexico (PCM) has issued a statement, denouncing the policies of the social democratic government of President López Obrador. 

On the occasion of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, the Party stresses out that “López Obrador’s social democratic management shows that he does not care at all about the lives of workers and their families”. Last Sunday, President Obrador delivered a public message regarding the pandemic issue and his government Reactivation Plan for the Economy. 

Interview of the General Secretary of the KKE Dimitris Koutsoumbas in "EfSyn" newspaper

Dimitris Koutsoumbas, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), gave a comprehensive interview in the weekend edition (1-2 February) of the "Efimerida ton Syntakton" (EfSyn) newspaper. 

The KKE leader refered to various interesting issues, including Greece's domestic political matters, the country's relations with neighboring Turkey, the sinful role of social democracy and the stance of the KKE towards cooperation governments. 

Below, you can read a translated version of the interview:

"No trust in the social democratic government of PSOE-Unidas Podemos" - PCTE statement

The Political Bureau of the Communist Party of the Workers of Spain (PCTE) issued a statement on the occasion of the investiture of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and his social democratic coalition government.

The statement reads:

After more than eight months of deadlock, and through two electoral processes, the candidate of the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE), Pedro Sánchez, has been invested as Prime Minister. 

Communist Party of the Workers of Spain: No trust in the Government of social democracy!

The Political Bureau of the Communist Party of the Workers of Spain (PCTE), after holding its 9th Plenary Session, issues the following statement:

The slowdown of the capitalist growth cycle which followed the last crisis is an unquestionable reality. In spite of the efforts made by the spokespeople of capitalist bodies and governments to state that the current situation of “deceleration” does not take a chance to become a crisis, the macroeconomic data known thus far increasingly express with more clearness that the capitalist growth is deeply weak and there are lots of factors that could accelerate the outbreak of a new crisis in the next years.

Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) votes in favor of Trump's war budget

The much-celebrated star of U.S. social democracy, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez  (AOC) recently endorsed the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019 which is actually a deal between the Trump administration and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. 

By a bipartisan vote of 284-149, the House approved the bill, sending it to the Senate, which is expected to debate it next week. Among other issues, the bill adds billions of dollars to military spending thus including about $738 billion for fiscal 2020 which is a 3 percent increase from current year levels. 

The phony radicalism of Yanis Varoufakis and his MERA25 party

By Nikos Mottas.

The former Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis is back and ready to participate in Greece's general elections on July 7th. Once again, the flamboyant economist tries to present himself as a "radical", "pro-european leftist" and an anti-establishment political force, aiming to attract voters who have been dissapointed by the anti-people policy of SYRIZA. 

First of all, Varoufakis tries to obfuscate the reality about his past as a member of the Tsipras' government. He denounces the pro-memorandum, pro-austerity stance of SYRIZA but he doesn't say a word about his own contribution to this policy. Why? The answer is clear and straightforward: Varoufakis had been an accomplice in the preparation and voting, by the SYRIZA government, of the 3rd memorandum in 2015.

Social Democracy plays a leading role in EU policy that feeds the fascists- Kostas Papadakis

The latest issue (3/2019) of the "Communist Review" (KOMEP), the Communist Party of Greece's (KKE) political and theoretical journal, organ of the Central Committee, includes an extraordinary interview with two of the Party's candidates for the European Parliament elections; Makis Papadopoulos and Kostas Papadakis. 

Below you can read - translated into english- an excerpt of Kostas Papadakis's answer in the question "aren't there issues for joint action of the communists with social democracy in the wake of the danger of rise of the far-right and fascism?".