"More journalists than delegates" at PDS Congress
The Fourth Congress of the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) took place in Magdeburg on 3-4 February 1996. Among the
West German delegates was Angela Klein, journalist at the left bi-weekly newspaper SoZ.
© International Viewpoint: What are the main changes since last year? Klein: This conference was much better organised. In 1995 the leadership produced, at the last minute, yet another formal distancing of the party from Stalinism [the PDS is descended from the East German Communist Party (SED)]. The leadership's attacks on the "Communist Platform" minority seemed to lump any radical anti-capitalism with "Stalinism". Their openly stated aim was to make the PDS into a respectable part of the political system. One year later, party leaders came to the conference with a (previously circulated) "Tasks" document proposing concrete campaigns against mass unemployment [10.8% in the country as a whole, 16.8% in Eastern Germany], in defence of social benefits, local government autonomy and democratisation, and against the intervention of German armed forces abroad.
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Delegates responded to the leadership's invitation to discuss and amend this radical-sounding document. somehow the debate was less polarised than in 1995. The possibilities for the crystallisation of a radical, anti-capitalist opposition within the party seemed even weaker than last year. There were more journalists present delegates. A bad sign. And something which is educating conference participants to speak "to the media" rather than to the conference. • But if the leadership's proposals correspond to the practical needs of the party, and are open to amendment, why should there be a "radical opposition"? The PDS is still not completely committed either to a reformist strategy, or a revolutionary one. Obviously, parliamentary activities are pushing the party towards adaptation to the system. Particularly given our good electoral results in the municipalities and "lands" (states) of the former German Democratic Republic [East Germany]. The Party leadership kept this problem out of the centre of conference Roland Claus, PDS leader in the East German "land" of Sachsen-Anhalt had previously said that we should consider participation [as junior partner] in a government coalition with the SPD. But at congress he only defended his current policy of "tolerating" the Social Democratic Party (SPD) government of the Land. Even so, this does mean supporting a policy of loyal management of the capitalist crisis. What was missing at this congress was a sincere balance sheet of this experience of support for a SPD government. And a sincere evaluation of the "adaptionist" policy of the PDS in a large number of municipalities. • Do the Communist Platform make a systematic criticism of this tendency towards "adaptation"? Klein: No. They oppose, in a correct but rather abstract way, the idea of governmental coalitions with the SPD.
But the Platform did not use this congress to raise the issue of "adaptation" in municipal goverment, or "tolerance" of the SPD government in Sachsen-Anhalt. The Communist Platform's own strategy is reformist: the good old "minimum programme -maximum programme" logic. The main articulation of frustration with the logic of submission to supposed "objective constraints" of political co-management came from the Young Comrades Working Group (AG JG). Their amendments went in the right direction, but were so vague that the "practitioners" at the top of the party will have little trouble interpreting them any way they like. • What were the most important amendments? The amendment declaring PDS opposition to any intervention of the German army abroad, including participation in an United Nations operation. This amendment reinforces the struggle against those, particularly in the parliamentary fraction of the party, who want to "soften" our position". Another important amendment made it clear that our commitment to a reduction in the working weeks includes the demand that this should be without loss of salary. Very important! My group's amendments, underlining the importance of the struggle against 'Maastricht' Europe, arguing that the construction of the PDS in Western Germany cannot continue to be seen as an "appendage" of the party in the Eastern lands, and establishing a link between our immediate tasks and the socialist perspective were not adopted. But the first of these proposals did meet with considerable interest among delegates, particularly from the Eastern parts of Germany. This is certainly a 'plus' for debates in the coming period. * Notes Angela Klein, a Fourth International activist inside Germany's Association for Socialist Politics (VSP, formerly the United Socialist Party), was interviewed for IV by Manuel Kellner. She was present at the PDS Congress as delegate for Kreuzberg (West Berlin).