Building a World Party of Socialists hand, Jean-Claude Duvalier's wife been up to now.
By Mikael Ernwik
A NEW SOCIALIST PARTY FOR SWEDEN
GOTEBORG--The congress of the Swedish section of the Fourth International was held here at the begining of February.It registered the results of a period of growing activity and numberical increase for the
The major areas of work since the last congress, which was held in October 1980, were the trade unions, notably in the fight against austerity and cutbacks; and international solidarity campaigns, in particular in defence of Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Poland. For example, the Swedish section, the Communist Workers League (Kommunistiska Arbetarforbundet, KAF) was one of the main initiators of the Polen-Solidaritet committees, the national organisation that leads the campaign for Solidarnosc.
The growing activity of the KAF is indicated by an increase in the number of public meetings held by the organisation since the last congress--117 public meetings attended by a total of 4,000 persons.
One of the debates with the biggest practical implications at this years congress was over tactics to be followed in the elections to be held next September.
One third of the KAF's members are
26 industrial workers, most of them in heavy industry, where they have played a role in building the struggles against layoffs in steel and in the shipyards and in promoting struggles for trade-union and political rights. A good number of them hold positions of leadership in their unions and work-
A number of positions were put forward in the precongress debate. The two main positions were (1) that the KAF should run a general campaign of its own and (2) that it should call for a vote for the Social Democrats or the Communist Party against the bourgeois parties and their government.
The debate reflected real political problems and real differences of assessment. One problem is that parties must get 4% of the vote to be represented in parliament. That puts strong pressure on progressive peo people to make their votes 'count' by casting their ballots for the traditional parties such as the Social Democrats and the CP, rather than for organisations such as the KAF that have no chance of topping the 4%
Another problem is that the CP's representation in parliament begins to be threatened. The Polish events have increased distrust of the CP as well as the tensions within it. Furthermore, the rise of a Green, or environmentalist party, is cutting into the CP vote, although the opinion polls and analysts give the environmentalists no chance of surmounting the 4% barrier.
If the CP loses its parliamentary repres entation, which for the time being seems less probable, that would knock one of the props out from under the Social Democrat and CP majority and make it much more difficult to defeat the three bourgeois
This situation increases the pressure on left-minded workers who might have considered voting for revolutionary socialists to cast their ballots instead for the SP
Thirdly, the workers are growing exasperated with the present Liberal-Centre coalition, which is being pressured to move even further to the right by a pseudooppositional rightist party. This inclines them more strongly to vote for the two established workers parties, and in particular the Social Democrats, who offer the only realistic governmental alternative to the bourgeois coalition.
However, while the Social Democrats want to take advantage of this growing feeling that the present bourgeois government must be replaced by a government of the workers parties, they are trying to
The reformists are well aware that a Social Democratic government would have to deal with a deepening crisis in the industries that have traditionally dominated the Swedish economy--the iron mines, steel, ship building, paper, and pulp. They know that in line with their classcollaborationist policy they would have to carry out a tough austerity program and to twist the arms of the trade unions to get
The Social Democrats are giving clear signals of their intentions, while being careful not to provoke any reactions that 'voluntary' wage restraint and redirecting industrial production into more profitable lines. But they have not been able to give any indication of how a major increase in Swedish exports could be achieved in the context of growing international competit-
Moreover, the Social Democrats are looking for a closer working relationship with big business, the decisive force in the Swedish economy. They hope to accomplish it through a sort of historic compromise between the labour misleaders and representatives of the more advanced circles of the bourgeoisie.
In exchange for accepting wage restraints and boosting capitalist profits, the labour
There were 76 delegates, more than two-thirds of whom were members of LO (Landsorganisationen, the national trade-union federation for blue collar workers). Very close to half were metal workers.
The age of the delegates ranged between also members of the youth organisation sponsored by the KAF, the Ungsocialister (Young Socialists).
The percentage of women delegates was low, even compared to their overall number in the organisation (roughly one third). But women delegates played a major role in the debates. Nonetheless, this bad aspect of the congress composition was also reflected in a low proportion of women on the incoming National Committee (four out of twenty-three full and alternate members). This situation is now becoming a challenge to the organisation.
The congrèss concluded four months of discussion in which written contributions were debated throughout the organisation. Three minority tendencies developed, representing respectively 6%, 6% and 9% of the membership. Compared to this, they were slightly overrepresented in terms of delegates. All three minorities dissolved during the latter part of the congress.
A number of greetings were delivered to the congress. They came from a representative of the Socialist Workers Party, the organisation in the United States that is in misleaders hope to get a bigger say in the | day-to-day economic decisions. This perspective is closely linked to the Social Democrats' scheme of creating earners' funds. " These are to be built up from payments in lieu of wage increases and a certain, very limited share of the profits in the most profitable industries.
These funds will buy stock on the open market and thereby the union representatives on their boards can hope to gain an increasing influence in financial circles. Schemes of theis sort are being put forward by the leaders of the traditional workers parties and trade unions in a situation in which the ranks of the workers organisations are confused about the project and these leaders find themselves being subjected to violent attacks from their hoped-for capitalist collaborators.
The present course of the Social Democratic leadership is to the right and retreating from earlier promises and decisions. However, to most workers even the rightwing SP policy seems to offer a less constraining straitjacket than that of the
Thus, the present situation imposes a difficult choice on the KAF. Different currents represented at the congress drew different conclusions from it.
What had to be found was an electoral tactic that would not run counter to the legitimate feeling in large sections of the working class that the only effective way to get rid of the bourgeois coalition is to vote the traditional workers parties into office but at the same time not promote political solidarity with the Fourth International; from a representative of the Socialistisk Arbeiderpartei (Socialist Workers Party, Danish section of the Fourth International); from a representative of a Norwegian co-thinkers group around the magazine Internasjonalen; and from Alain Krivine, leader of the French section of the Fourth International, who also spoke representing the United Secretariat of the Fourth Inter-
One of the greetings to the congress was unusual. It came from a Goteborg representative of Sveriges Kommunistiska Parti, marxist-leninisterna (Communist Party of Sweden, marxist-leninist), Hasse Haggqvist.
Haggqvist began by saying:
"To my knowledge this is a historic first. It seems to be the first time in Sweden that devoted Maoists have brought greetings to a gathering like this. " He continued:
"We hope that your congress will result in a reinforcement of your work in all those areas where you have made positive conttributions to the Swedish class struggle. We also look forward to working with you in the future as a valued ally and a serious organisation. You are not the best organisation, but you are all right."
The congress also received a written message from one of the local groups of the Swedish CP, (Vansterpartiet Kommunisterna, Left Party of Communists).
illusions about what a Social Democratic government could do or would try to do.
A majority at the congress decided that the best way to put forward the KAF's general perspectives and a revolutionary social program for solving the crisis, for opening the way for the growth of support for socialism, was to run its own candidates. It was necessary to make a definite choice, since there is only one round in the elections and there is no possibility for second- and third- preference votes. A minority argued that if the KAF called for a vote for the Social Democrats there would be fairly good chances for linking up with opposition currents inside the Social Democracy and the trade unions. It indicated that a KAF campaign for its own candidates would be an obstacle to accomplishing this.
The majority agreed that the coming period would open up new possibilities for intervening in the deepening crisis of the traditional Swedish workers organisations. Its representatives said that they recognised that there was a need to train the KAF for this. But it argued that the minority overestimated the present level of radicalisation in the traditional organisations and the possibilities for linking up with what they described as very weak and scattered opposition currents inside the Social Democracy.
The majority maintained that it would be impossible to wage an effective campaign on the key issues in the elections without KAF candidates.
Two thirds of the delegates voted for running an independent KAF campaign. The political resolution and draft program presented by the outgoing leadership were accepted by similar majorities.
KAF CHANGES ITS NAME
A special point was put on the congress agenda calling for changing the name of the KAF. This move was originated by a motion from the KAF political unit at the Volvo automotive plant in Goteborg. The activists there argued that because of Sweden's traditions, "communism" has become identified with Stalinism.
On the other hand, "socialism" and "soca ialist" would stand for a positive alternative to the established Social Democracy.
Therefore, changing the designation of the organisation to "socialist" could make it easier for revolutionary socialists to gain a hearing for their real political message instead of getting bogged down in defensive explanations of what the Communist Workers League is not .
By an overwhelming majority, the delegates voted to change the name of the KAF to the Socialistiska Partiet (Socialist Party), Swedish section of the Fourth International.
In deciding to call itself a party, the organisation demonstrated a leap in its political self-confidence resulting from its growing working-class composition and its practical achievements. This is a preparation for seizing the opportunities that all currents represented at the congress agree lie ahead for revolutionary socialists in
of the Workers and Liberation Movements
BUILDING SOLIDARITY WITH POLAND