In the next period it is necessary, just as before, to strengthen and develop actions, struggles and organization of workers, youth, women and migrants. It is necessary to fight the nighticinema sains and build a socialist 13 political alternative. *
SAP campaign:
"Give the bill to the
International Viewpoint #171 • October 16, 1989
NETHERLANDS rich"
THE Dutch Socialist Workers' Party (SAP — Socialistiese Arbeiferspartij, Dutch section of the Fourth International) was excluded from the negotiations about a common left slate, that led to the formation of Groen Links.
W hen Groen Links published
its program it became clear why the CPN and PPR refused to invite the SAP to the talks. The very detailed program is not socialist, does not challenge the power and possessions of the ruling class, and has many other weaknesses. The SAP could not sign the program without important improvements.
### Women and youth right to immigrate;
• right to vote for everyone of 16 years and older, and also for immigrants.
In it's campaign the SAP proposed that a choice be made to take money from the rich and from profits and to cut the milithat the main factories and plants have to be brought under control of the whole of society, in order to stop the destruction of the environment and to create the means and structures to satisfy the demands of the workers, youth, women and migrants.
"Give the bill to the rich" was the title of the SAP's election program and was printed on its wall-posters and on the more than 250,000 pieces of campaignmaterial (papers, leaflets, a youth paper, a paper to distribute among workers) that were distributed during the campaign.
The SAP had the right to broadcast two TV-commercials of two minutes, and three "programs" of five minutes each because it put up candidates in all districts. Hundreds of persons reacted to these transmissions and asked for campaign material, wall-posters and the party's election program. Campaign wins new members
The SAP obtained 4300 votes which is 700 more than in 1986. That is more than most comrades expected (or feared). It was estimated that the formation of Groen Links would have some attraction on persons in the periphery of the party too. That proved to be the case, but new people were also interested in and attracted by the proposals of the SAP.
That response is more important than the exact number of votes. Compared with the 1986 campaign, twice as many persons phoned or wrote for material.
The familiarity with the party grew, due to the party's TV programs, several interviews and articles in dailies and some appearances on (local and national) radio and - on the evening of the elections
The party won new subscribers, new supporters, new members and possibly one or two new branches. The party leadership was therefore unanimously very positive when it evaluated the campaign.* candidates Social gains under the knife
The SAP therefore participated with its own candidates in the elections. The SAP slate of thirty candidates included eight persons younger than 30 years, which made it the youngest slate. Half of the candidates were women. To stress the key role of struggles all SAP candidates were activists from movements, unions and campaigns. There were dockworkers, activists who were involved in the recent strike in the health-sector, industrial workers, activists from the peace movement and ecological movements and comrades involved in women's liberation activities.
Friend and enemy agreed that the main slogan of the SAP contrasted sharply with those of the other parties and was at least very clear. "Give the bill to the rich" summarized in a provocative way that there is money enough for wages, dole, social security and to stop and cure the destruction of the environment.
The SAP campaigned with a platform of thirteen concrete demands and proposals, including:
• a shorter work-week without loss of pay;
• free child-care on demand;
• stop military spending, the Netherlands out of NATO and NATO out of the Netherlands;
• an increase in wages, dole, retire14 ment pensions and social security;
• stop racism, end limitations on the
THE Danish Trotskyist paper Klassekampen spoke to the SAP'S Wim Baltussen about the record of the Lubber's govemment.
When the bourgeois Lubbers government took over In 1982, we got a real right-wing regime that modeled Itself on Thatcher, But it wanted to carry out Its program at a slower pace.
Big cutbacks were set in motion in education, social welfare and health, for example. In every new budgel, the belt was tightened more. This continued through the 1980s, so that in many respcts we have a different soclety today than we did af the beginning of the decade
User payment have been introduced. Today, you have to pay for services that were free, because they were paid for all at once through taxes.
It costs 19 gullders a year, if we want to borrow books from librar. les. It started at 7.50 guliders, but went up rapidly.
It costs 2.50 guilders for every visit to a reading room, although there is a yearly maximum.
It costs 27 guildere to go to a specialist. Here also there is a
Its costs a families with two children around 1,000 guilders a year to keep them in school.
We have to pay a minimum of 1,500 gullders to register at a univereity. The government plan is that henceforward some forms of education should be more expensive than others.At the same time, sections of the public sec tor have been privatized.
The government has been skillful in splitting the popuation and making It harder to mount a united fightback against this attack. A typical example is the so-called decentralization of funds for municipal and county govern-
The budgets In the municipallties and countles are based on appropriations by the national government. This means that the national government has consid erable control over how much money the countles and muncipalities can spend. Many of them therefore have had to administer cutbacka.At the same time, tasks have been transferred to the local governments that they do not have the money to carry out".*