"Tangentopoli" toppling
ON 27 and 28 March there will be legislative elections in Italy. For the first time, a new electoral system will be in effect. Only twenty-five percent of deputies will be elected on a proportional basis, and the rest will be elected under a system similar to Britain's "first past the post".
International Viewpoint #254 March 1994 of leaders linked to the economic strongholds and able to translate into political terms the interests of the bourgeoisie. Moreover, those belonging to this party, or designated by it, led the big enterprises and banks of the State sector. It was also people from DC that controlled
FRANCO TURIGLIATTO* — Rome, 6 February 1994
T here are three major electo-
Oral blocs now taking shape for the elections at the end of this month (27/28 March). Firstly, the "progressive alliance", which brings together all the leftwing parties and bourgeois democratic formations!. Secondly, the moderate centre, represented by what remains of the former Christian Democracy (DC) - having transformed itself into the Italian People's Party (PPI) - and by the "Pact for Italy" grouping under the leadership of the former Christian Democrat Mario Segni.
And finally there is a bloc of the three rightwing — even far-rightwing - formations. The fascists of the Italian Social Movement (MSI) have created the National Alliance under the leadership of Giancarlo Fini. The Northern League, led by Umberto Bossi, is hegemonic in the northern regions of the country. And the "Forza Italia" grouping — launched by the powerful business magnate Silvio Berlusconi who controls a media empire — which was founded thanks to Berlusconi's close ties to the leaders of the former government, including the "socialist" Bettino Craxi. Berlusconi sees himself as the supreme saviour of a country in the throes of a deep-going crisis.
It is the imperatives of the market and international competition that have compelled the Italian bourgeoisie to unleash a frontal attack against working people — going from salary cuts to layoffs and the erosion of social gains. A major devaluation of the lira has given some breathing room to a crisis-ridden industrial sector, thanks to a spectacular growth in exports. But this has not been sufficient to generally revive the economy, as a result of the decline in internal consumption provoked by austerity measures. 30
The year 1993 thus closed with a stagnation in GNP and big losses were recorded by a number of big industrial groups, including FIAT and Olivetti.
Indeed, private enterprises are no less in debt than the State. They have often endured failures in their attempts at European expansion and concentration. The example of FIAT is symbolic in this regard. The Turin-based group lost market shares both in Italy and across the European Union, and was obliged to increase its assets by linking up with real estate and insurance companies, and banks such as the powerful Deutche Bank - which has meant, among other things, a limit on the power of the Agnelli family.
Generally speaking, there have been confrontations between the various powerful economic groups in the country, and it is difficult to say who will emerge victorious. Within the Ciampi government itself, conflicts have broken out between financial lobbies around the question of the privatisation of the massive industrial and financial property of the State. This privatisation would be a major operation that would have a significant impact on the evolution of the relationship of forces within the bourgeoisie.
Conflicts within the economic sphere are intertwined with political conflicts between old and new - or recycled — elites. And all this is taking place against the backdrop of the spectacular scandals that have implicated the secret services, ministers of the interior and the president of the Republic him-
To understand the crisis of leadership in the Italian bourgeoisie, it is useful to recall the role of Christian Democracy (DC) in the political regime set up after the Second World War.
The DC was able to get a wide range the repressive apparatus of the State and managed the State's ties with NATO and the US
At the same time, in the parliamentary and institutional arena, the DC created a network of allies and political satellites associated with the running of the government. It established a longterm compromise with the Italian Communist Party, which proved helpful for maintaining the equilibrium of the bourgeois State.
### Patronage
Through its control over these economic and political levers, and over the resources allocated to the Welfare State, the DC managed to organise a rather sophisticated and broad system of consensus and patronage in the different social layers of the population. It achieved greater social and ideological cohesion as a result of its privileged relations with the Catholic Church and its diverse organisational structures. And we shouldn't underestimate how much it benefitted from its ties to leaders of the Mafia and the Camorra in the south of the country.
All this taken together meant that, in the interests of the bourgeoisie, the DC was able to exercise a hegemony that was not only political but also social and cultural. It should also be added that all this was possible insofar as the PCIhegemonic within the working class and among other popular layers — accepted the framework of the system and coun tered any anti-capitalist dynamics of the mass movements, especially following the war and after 1968. No doubt, the
*The author was recently elected to the leadership of the PRC and is a supporter of the Fourth Internationalist joumal Bandiera Rossa.
1. The progressive alliance has a wave in the colours of the Italian flag as its symbol. It is composed of the following groups: the PDS; the PRC; la Rete (the Network) led by Orlando, the anti-mafia mayor of Palermo; the Greens: the Democratic Alliance, an organisation that will be supported by "progressive" businessmen; social Christians; and two groups left over from the PSI after breaking from Craxi and his supporters.
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Our correspondent reports. ITALY
International Viewpoint #254 March 1994 clientelist system was costly for Italian capitalists but, when all is said and done, it was beneficial over a long period.?
The crisis of the DC first resulted in the departure of broad sectors of the small and medium bourgeoisie in the north -sectors which have been hit by the national and European economic crisis and fear the loss of their privi leges. This crisis was fed by the progressive decline of the Welfare State following the contraction of financial resources, and further aggravated by the revival of the MSI in the south. Finally, this crisis was greatly deepened by the intervention of the justice system into matters of corruption, which played a detonating role in the break-up of the political system.
### Phenomenon
A few points should be made concerning what is commonly called the "Tangentopoli" (literally, "the city of bribes"). The phenomenon is not so much one of political corruption, but rather of a political and social reality that goes much deeper. Tangentopoli was the way in which the bourgeoisie and its parties went about "normalising" Italian society after the big wave of struggles in the 1970s and to overcome the 1982-85 economic crisis. They wanted to introduce a system of rule which had precise goals.
In other words, a pact was made between big business figures, on the one hand, and the DC, PSI and other government parties on the other. The goal was to carry out a huge transfer of working class wealth to the employers through the State. This was achieved through a series of measures: the elimination of the sliding scale of wages and State payment for major social costs; aid without condition to enterprises for their investment and State orders for monumentally useless public works; outright presents from the State to individuals (for example, the low-price sale of Alfa Romeo to Fiat and the purchase of Montedison shares); and finally the acceptance of a budgetary deficit that has profited capitalists that loaned money to the State at very favourable rates.
It is therefore not surprising that the public "guarantors" of these operations have claimed that their "mediation" in these matters were paid off with bribes corresponding to a pre-determined share in the take. At the same time, the State turned a blind eye to the tax evasion of large sectors of the small and medium bourgeoisie, which was a decisive social base for this order built on corruption.
### Shrinking
The end of the speculative cycle of the 1980s provoked a crisis of the system: economic margins were shrinking and the Italian bourgeoisie could no longer allow for such costly ruling mechanisms. There can be no doubt that one of the current problems of the big bourgeoisie is that of also getting the small and medium bourgeoisie to pay for the
Indeed, the introduction of a modest and questionable tax - called the minimum tax — has thrown tens of thousands of small and medium-size business people and artisans out of the market. These are the layers that fear — not without reason - their own proletarianisation and have joined forces with the Northern League.
When we say that the bourgeoisie has to equip itself with a new political leadership, we are not ignoring the fact that it already has aggressive anti-worker policies and that the State executive has gone to great lengths to put them in place. The Amato and Ciampi governments - directly supported by the industrial employers confederation and the trade union bureaucracies with the
Who will gain in strength from the "progressive alliance"? The PRC or the PDS? agreement of the Democratic Party of the Left (PDS) - have struck hard against working people.
In the space of two years, 800 thousand jobs have been eliminated. In 1993, for the first time since the war, salaries declined as did consumption. Every month the people's standard of living drops further towards poverty. The financial law, adopted at the end of the year with the approval of the PDS, has gone further in the direction of destroying social gains.
The counter-reform in the area of health and pensions and the school privatisation plan - combined with layoffs in industry and the process of restructuring in the public sector — have had an adverse effect on solidarity, forms of social organisation, opportunities for trade union action and democratic consciousness (that is, an understanding of the importance of democratic rights).
It is from this point of view, and not only from the angle of immediate economic effects, that the consequences of government policy have to be measured. In this context, elementary reactionary reflexes have come to the fore and there is a growth of tendencies favourable to the establishment of "efficient" governments of an authoritarian nature.
This is the origin of the Northern League and the neo-fascists' successes. In other words, there is a rightward regression that could accentuate within the framework of very serious future
2. This omnipresence of Christian Democracy in Italian life was symbolised by Giulio Andreotti. He was almost always a member of the government and was president of council on several occasions. Today he has been incriminated for the relations he maintained with mafia bosses.
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International Viewpoint #254 March 1994 social and political convulsions - independently of the specific political forms of such a tendency in the governmental arena.?
It is in this same context that the problem of the unity of the country and the Northern League's separatist goals have emerged. In the final instance, the fracturing of the country is determined as much by the dynamic of European unification as by the government's neo-liberal measures. These are challenging the traditional forms of the capitalist market and the nation. Is time running out for Italy?
The Northern League - which is pro-Europe, a partisan of neo-liberalism, and which has roots in sections of the small and medium bourgeoisie, and also among popular layers — serves to aggravate these divisions. The real problem is not one of maintaining the abstract unity of the country nor of defending discredited institutions - but rather in maintaining the unity of the working class and its ties to its allies, in the interest of opposing centrifugal tendencies and avoiding dangerous conflicts among the poor.
In the current context there are still positive elements on which one can rely to revive the struggle and hope for some success. First, there are those social sectors which - while representing a minority — are conscious of the dangers of the extreme deterioration of political and social life in the country, want to fight back and are beginning to mobilise.
There was confirmation of this fact at the demonstration of September 25 against the policies of the government, for the 35-hour work week and democracy in the workplace. The more than 100 thousand people participating represented significant sections of the working population in struggle to defend their jobs, and other sectors ready to mobilise around more general objectives. These 32 included students and youth groups, trade union and social movement base structures, women, and activists from various political formations that understand the historical stakes of the looming battles.4
To describe these forces, the new secretary of the Party of Communist Refoundation (PRC), Fausto Bertinotti, used the expression "active remainders" — that is to say, forces that have survived the violent attacks of the adversary and are ready to re-take the initiative. As far as other sectors are concerned, there are no clear boundaries between those that could either slip into passivity and despair, support an orientation close to that of the Northern League, and those that may react through struggle and the development of their class consciousness — provided that there are clear alternative projects.
### Mobilise
Throughout the autumn of 1993, a number of struggles developed in workplaces in defense of employment. Working people have proven their willingness to mobilise in this field, in spite of their isolation and the absence of a broad initiative. Results have been rather modest and precarious, but employers have had to back down, at least in part, on certain occasions.
For their part, youth mobilised massively in November and December 1993 against the privatisation of schools and reductions in teaching staff. This was a significant mobilisation even though it did not achieve its goals, and even if there is a long way to go before a coherent student vanguard can emerge.
Finally, in December 1993-January 1994 a new crisis broke out at FIAT. Management wants to lay off 15 thousand workers over two years, close Alfa
Romeo in Milan — an historic bastion of the working class — and eventually massively cut the workforce at Mirafiori in Turin. For the first time, the list of those laid off includes many white-collar employees who in the past took the side of the employers.
After initial difficulties — when only Alfa Romeo workers in Milan and Sevel workers in Naples seemed ready to fight — FIAT workers in Turin also massively mobilised in January, and the whitecollar workers participated alongside the industrial workers.
Workers are demanding the redistribution of production to all workplaces, the reduction of the work week and solidarity contracts that allow everyone to keep their jobs with a small loss in salary. On the level of the city more generally, the traditional prestige of the company management has been shaken. This is a very delicate time, especially when considered that what happens in Turin is a measure of the class struggle in the whole country.
To conclude, we are beginning to see significant developments, but they remain embryonic — above all because the process of rebuilding a democratic class struggle trade union has yet to develop. And the fact that groups of trade union leaders fully accept the logic of the capitalist system has weighed in heavily against struggles.
It is difficult to interpret the results of the municipal elections that were held at the end of November 1993 and the beginning of December. The left and centre-left alliances won against the Northern League and the MSI in the big cities, where the organisational fabric of the working class movement as well as a strong democratic sensibility persist. But they were defeated in a number of small and medium-sized cities. Moreover, the left more often than not actually lost votes, even if its percentage increased as a result of the growth in abstentions -
3. In his report to the PRC congress, Lucio Magri underlined the fact that the Northern League and MSI "got votes not by adopting moderate positions, but by basing themselves on the most extreme and troubling reactions -rejecting parliamentarism and parties as such, based on individualist values of competition and force in a completely irrational way. They hope to consolidate a new inter-class social block through promoting old reactionary myths as well as new myths around ethnic separation [...] As a result, they have won votes not only from moderate voters, but also in popular neighbourhoods and among the youth. So these are not regular rightwing gains, but signal the emergence of a mass reactionary rightwing which is objectively subversive."
4. The demonstration was organised by the PRC, the Greens, la Rete, oppositional trade union structures (councils, the base committees, the Essere sindacato current) and youth groups. The PDS refused to participate and the trade union federations were hostile to the initiative
PRC congress
THE second congress of the Communist Refoundation Party was held in Rome from
20 to 23 January. With 59 for, about ten votes against and about 30 abstentions, the national political committee — a body which is more commonly referred to as a central
International Viewpoint #254 March 1994 and the Northern League and the neofascists received additional votes.
In any event, based on these results the PDS has launched a vigorous political offensive, with the aim of giving credence to the idea of forming a "progrescommittee, and is composed of 218 members - adopted a set of theses in October sive" government. Such a government
1993. There was meant to have been discussion on these theses in the local bodies of would be based on an alliance with the organisation. But after the elections in the end of November and the beginning of
"democratic" sectors of capital, and
December, the focus of the debate made a marked shift. The question then became continue to implement the so-called ecoone of agreeing to or rejecting a left or "progressive" alliance in the run up to the March nomic and budgetary rectification legislative elections, and considering the possibility of a government being formed on undertaken by the Ciampi government.
Occhetto has made numerous declara-
In next month's dossier, International Viewpoint will be returning to the debates inside tions to reassure Italian and international the PRC (alongside developments in other European Communist parties), and to the financial circles, as well as the NATO current political approach of this party. Suffice to say here that different approaches high command and the White House were debated in the provincial and national congresses. A majority of the outgoing leaitself.
dership thought that the broadest possible alliance of "progressives" had to be made, and even put forward the idea of a coalition government after the elections.
Re-alignment
There were minorities on the provincial level which while accepting the idea of electoral agreements — imposed by the new electoral law — explained that given the major dif-
It is true that the crisis of bourgeois ferences that exist between different groups on the left there is no basis for a real political formations and their difficulties alliance or for a coalition government. Others, while not entirely agreeing with these in achieving a serious re-alignment arguments, wanted merely to stick to the theses adopted in October which, according could lead to a situation in which the left to them, had actually been abandoned by the majority on the important questions.
might be able to form a government.
In the final part of the congress, these differences led to the presentation of three diffe-
However, neither the real relationship of rent motions. The first, put forward by a large majority of the outgoing leadership and forces within the left nor its current polisigned by Armando Cossutta and Fausto Bertinotti - respectively the president and tical orientation give any reason to beliethe new secretary of the party — received 70% of the votes. A second motion, put forve that this will be a government that ward by those that had opposed the orientation of the leadership in the provincial can confront the serious problems faced congresses, and also rejected the October theses, was signed, among others, by Giovanni Bacciardi (Florence), Emilia Calini (Milan), Marco Ferrando (Savone), Paolo Ferby the working class.
rero (Turin) and Livio Maitan (Rome). This motion received 20% of votes. The remai-
Even if the progressive front were to win the elections - which, by the way, ning 10% went to those who supported maintaining the October line, including two members of the leadership, Ersilia Salvato and Luigi Vinci.
is unlikely - the government that would emerge from such a victory in the
According to the statutes and the norms of the congress, minorities are represented on a proportional basis both in the national political committee and on the leadership - current situation would only represent a while the secretariat is composed solely of people from the majority.
passing phenomenon. It would run the risk of being swept away by the explos-
A number of diverse foreign delegations participated in the congress, including the Chiive social and economic contradictions nese Communist Party, the Cuban Communist Party, Communist parties from wester which it would be unable to address
Europe, South America, South Africa, the Vietnamese and North Korean parties, the
Communist Party of the Russian Federation and the Russian Socialist Workers' Party with the approach it has adopted up until
(PST). The United Secretariat of the Fourth International was represented by Alain Krithis point. And the progressive front is vine and François Vercammen. - Livio Maitan O not inclined to changing this approach.
The path would thus be cleared for a much more substantial victory by the right-wing
To conclude, it is illusory to provide purely electoral and institutional solutions to the crisis. The starting point can only be the rebuilding of the organisational fabric of the mass movement, and a framework for social struggles, a renewal of class consciousness and the unity of working people in struggle at all levels. This means a long-term oppositional campaign that seeks to radically change the current relationship of forces.
In other words, the creation of an anti-capitalist social bloc is the necessary condition for any governmental project that does not end up in the kind of defeat suffered recently by the French left. * the basis of this alliance.
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