NEWS FROM THE FOURTH INTERNATION AL SWEDEN Socialist Party congress THE SOCIALIST PARTY (SP), Swedish section of the Fourth International, held its Twelfth Congress May 13-16 in Södertälje, an industrial town south of Stockholm. It was attended by more than a hundred delegates and guests. appeared in the May 18 issue of Internationalen, the SP's weekly paper. The congress also featured an extensive report and discussion on the changes in the Soviet Union.
This congress was extremely timely. It followed intensive work in the fall election campaign, the spring activity in the Dalarna revolt [a rebellion by trade-unionists against the effects of the classcollaborationist policy of the social-democratic union leaderships and government], the "No to the EEC Campaign," the campaign for press freedom [see IV 165], and work in solidarity movements.
In a period when discontent with the social democrats' right turn is growing among workers, no workers' alternative is coming to the fore. The SP has also experienced a gap between the growth of conincreasing possibilities for political collaboration, on the one hand, and the possibilities for recruiting directly to the party, on the other. In the elections, the party made many new contacts, but that has not led to much new recruitment.
A positive assessment of party building
This situation in the society and in the process of party building was the background to the discussions at the congress. And against this background, the assessment of most participants was very posi-
The congress reflected the party's coming together around the demand for an ideological offensive for socialist ideals, against the purveyors of the market philosophy. The political resolution that was adopted talks about holding rallies, writing articles, organizing forums and reinforcing party propaganda in every way. The resolution pointed to two main themes for this propaganda effort - the breakdown of Stalinism in the USSR and the possibilities for a renaissance socialism; the degeneration of the social democrats and the way to a new mass party of, and for, the workers. The document was adopted by a great majority of the
The question of unity among militant
AROUND THE WORLD groups and left forces was in the center of the debate. And the debate showed that something new has happened. Today, there is experience of united-front work. This is a modest but real experience, from the common campaign with the KPML(r) [a group of Maoist origin strong in the city of Göteborg] and the Apk [a split-off of traditionalists from the CP] against the prosecution [by the government for articles about the Palme investigation], from collaboration with other left forces in the Malmö Socialist Club and this year's much improved May Day demonstration in Göteborg.
The congress also adopted a manifesto that calls for unity against austerity and the government's right-wing policy. It approved a letter to the Apk responding positively to the proposal made by the latter's congress for a platform for unity in Political awakening of young people
Over the past year, we have seen signs of an awakening among the youth. The massive protests in the winter against the government's proposed appropriation for the schools is an example. But, at the same time, distrust of established politicians — and political solutions in general - is very widespread among young people. So one major discussion at the congress was over how young people could be won to socialist ideas and how the party should contribute to reinforce the work of the Young Socialists.
Some other tasks sketched out in the political resolution were the following: stepping up our work for democratic and militant trade unions; taking every possible initiative to defend social services; to organize women in the public sector; to step up our work for a six-hour day; to make the party multinational and strengthen the anti-racist movement; to build an independent solidarity movement that can defend popular revolutions and liberation movements even in a hardening ideological climate; to rally as broad as possible public opinion in defence of democratic rights; and to extend dialogue with other left forces.
The congress also adopted a resolution on the EEC that makes it clear that the party opposes the Common Market. It also stipulated that the SP will continue to work in the campaign against the accommodation to the EEC and concealed entry that is being set in motion in Sweden.
How can the unions be won to the fight to defend the environment? How can socialists combat the social democratic propaganda that says that the environment has to be sacrified to maintain "growth" or to save jobs? These questions were taken up in the third major resolution before the congress, "Win the unions to the fight for 27 the environment." * June 26, 1989 • #166 International Viewpoint
The bureaucratic try depends on deci-