Recent Comments
- ZeitgeistWorker on Shitegeist
- RT Farty Kremlin Party | A Thousand Flowers on Shitegeist
- Javier Sobrino on Scotland and the Basque Country: the struggle for independence
- Gorbachev on Prostitution, the abolition of the victim and post-modernism's defence of the status-quo
- Andy Bowden on Class politics or anti-semitic conspiracies? Why David Icke, Ron Paul and Alex Jones are dangerous to the Occupy Movement.
Tags
afghanistan austerity britain BNP climate change Con Dem coalition demonstration drugs economy edinburgh education elections environment events evil megacorps fascism feminism fighting cuts glasgow greece health internet knobheads Labour Lib Dems moral panic music news police protest racism science SDL sexism sexuality SNP strikes tabloids Tories tv unemployment unions USA war women's rights workers' rightsArchives
- June 2012
- May 2012
- March 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
-
Authors
- admin
- And
- Andy Bowden
- Brogan
- CelticEwan
- David
- Erofeeva
- Euan Benzie
- Frenchie
- ImSpartacus
- Jack
- James McIntyre
- James N
- Kirsty Kane
- Liam M
- Liam T
- lovebug
- LydiaTeapot
- Meghan
- Muzza
- Neil B
- neldo
- Sarah
- Scottish Socialist Youth
- Snowball
- Socialist Pharmacist
- Sophie
- Squeak
- Stuart
- syebot
- TheWorstWitch
- Wavejumper
Germany's Left Party steal our ideas
Every single one of the German party The Left’s 76 members of the Bundestag (the German national parliament) have been expelled after a protest against the war in Afghanistan.
Die Linke holding up the names of killed Afghan civilians
The left wingers, who are members of a new party attempting to unite German socialists and that has had rapid success in elections, held up signs with the names of Afghan civilians killed in a German-ordered airstrike last September.
The protest was during a debate on extending Germany’s mission in Afghanistan. Some 429 MPs voted for and 111 against the new mandate – 16 fewer votes in favour than last time – allowing troop numbers to be increased by 850 to 5,350, and keeping German troops in Afghanistan for another nine years.
This is despite the fact that as much as 80% of the German people oppose the war, and in fact it flouts the German constitution, which orders German armed forces to only be for national defence.
Die Linke know that they can make loads of brilliant speeches in the debate and won’t get covered by the mainstream media. What this protest did was capture the imagination of TV and the news, communicating quickly and visually to millions of Germans that socialists stand up against the war.
The draconian response by parliamentary officials was ridiculous, and is reminiscent of the scandalous way Scottish Socialist Party MSPs were treated in 2005, when they held up signs demanding the right to protest against G8 leaders who were meeting in Gleneagles.
SSP MSP's protest for the right to march on Gleneagles
MSPs from all other parties then voted to ban the SSP members involved from the parliament, and deny their wages and allowances, denying hard working socialist researchers and workers behind the scenes their income as well.
When socialist parties stand in elections, we do it to try and fight to change things as much as is possible within the limits of parliaments and councils that are still overall part of the capitalist system. But that doesn’t mean that sometimes you shouldn’t stand up and show people just how ridiculous what goes on in our parliaments really is. When sign holding is treated as a more serious crime than the killing of 142 civilians, is it any wonder that so many people don’t take parliament and mainstream politicians seriously?
Student politics. Parliamentary cretinism.
And remember the Glasgow Labour MSP who was caught setting fire to his hotel room because he wasn’t allowed any more booze? He was allowed to stay in parliament til his term was up and then afterwards continue as a Lord in Westminster! While the SSP MSPs held up some placards and got this ridiculous overblown punishment handed out to them as a way of telling them to sit down and shut up.
It’s one rule for establisment politicians, no matter what they do – causing dangerous fires, stealing thousands of pounds from the electorate, murdering innocent civilians in illegal wars.. and another for progressive forces
There’s a good article about the background issues in Germany here:
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2010/grossman280210.html
I thought parliamentary cretinism was when you take parliament too seriously, thinking that socialism can only be achieved through parliamentary reforms. Surely protesting in parliament shows that you don’t think it’s a sacrosanct institution that should be respected as the font of all wisdom?
I think this action by Die Linke highlights to people watching the news their opposition to the war more effectively than 20 speeches that wouldn’t have got an coverage.
Also, I think the point is less the effectiveness or otherwise of such protests, as the ridiculously over the top response of the parliamentary administration in both Holyrood and the Bundestag. The fact that most of the time parliament is extremely grey and boring to watch suits them just fine, as they really don’t want public scrutiny of what they’re up to.
But in any case, these sorts of things can only be an occasional fixture for socialist parliamentarians. Most of their time gets taken up introducing pro-working class bills, doing vital casework, and getting access for grassroots campaigners. All these things were done day in day out by SSP MSPs 2000-7.
I actually believe the G8 protest was a disaster for the SSP, and iirc, the SSP vote began to decline from around that period (before the Tommygate shite really kicked off, again iirc).
Die Linke may get away with this because they have chosen to act on an issue that people care about and understand, and one they have mass support on. unfortunately the G8 stuff wasn’t tangible to most people and i don’t think the protest was communicated successfully.
personally i don’t think people want to be represented by this sort of protest by and large.
it also helps a narrative that the media will be more than happy to trot out (no pun intended) that far-left MSP’s are juvenile, attention seeking, and that we can only be effective with this sort of action – which serves to undermine the hard work the MSPs did that Jack outlines above. whatever we may think of Sheridan his political instinct with stuff like this was generally spot on, and he kept himself out of this one.
At the top, Ian, not like the grown up politics of murdering pizza delivery workers, eh ?
From what I can tell-obviously my reckonings from reading the internet aren’t going to be as good as the opinion of someone actually in Germany-Die Linke are more than “getting away with it”. They’re popular precisely because the government’s stance on Afghanistan is totally at odds with most of the German population.
I don’t deny that the media attacked the SSP fiercely about the G8 protest in the parliament, and in an ideal world the left generally could have done better out of Gleneagles than it could. But I still think the main point about it is the insane reaction showed up just how conservative the other forces in the Scottish Parliament are. And plus I think there was more going on in the decline in SSP votes. I could go on, but I don’t know if this thread is the place to go into all the history of the SSP over the past few years.
Eddie what pizza delivery workers were murdered? Two were wounded and two British occupying soldiers were killed. Your response is quite funny and predictable in a toytown wevolutionary lind of way. Check your facts.
Alibi is right- this stunt was guaranteed to result in the ban and had no popular backing. It was student politics and when you enter their devolved puppet parliament they expect you to observe deference to their facade of liberal representational democracy. The SSP was caught between student stunts and parliamentary cretinism. 6 MSPs was the beginning of the end for the SSP and Eddie, as Press Officer at the Parliament along with a good few others seen that close up.
I’m confused as to at what point we were supposed to be parliamentary cretins. Originally the protest was parliamentary cretinism. No we’re caught between the protest and parliamentary cretinism.
And yes of course, the beginning of the end, quite right, the SSP/SSY is dead and gone, that’s why we have an active website that you come to argue with us on every day.
Jack dont see it as arguing really its debating. The working class movement thrives on healthy democratic discussion and debate as long as there is no disruptive agenda towards creating paralysis and disunity in action. Let me reassure you that my aim is to have comradely discussion, i have a desire to see the SSY/SSP grow and develop in a revolutionary republican socialist direction. I was a member of the SSA and the SSP and did my fair share of work along with a couple of hundred highly active comrades to build the SSP. As you know it was a working class socialist project that inspired many thousands of socialists in Scotland and was an inspiration to workers outwith Scotland. The party now is a pale shadow of what it was and i merely want a frank, no holds barred analysis of where we went wrong and how we can progress an independent socialist Scotland or a Scottish Workers Republic, depending on your formulation and perspective.
Leaving the Sheridan situation to one side for the moment, i feel the party was wrong on a number of points. Amongst them are, the decision to allow the SWP entry, the failure to take the position for an independent socialist Scotland forward into an enshrined principle and to tie the question of national sovereignty to the day to day work of the party on all fronts. The partys failures to consolidate and build support in the working class communities and workplaces after some initially excellent preparatory work, the partys tailending of the GFA and lack of engagement with Irish Republicanism and militant Scottish nationalism along with a nuanced electoral strategy involving the SNP and the constitutional nationalists. The failure to build on the excellent Declaration of Calton Hill initiative. These are a few criticisms and i hope they are taken in the spirit in which they are intended.
Like many others i have voted with my feet and left the SSP when the SRSM disaffiliated, but i remain convinced of the need for a Scottish republican socialist party/movement that can agitate, educate and organise around the politics of MacLean and Connolly amongst others and articulate the vision of a Scottish Workers Republic.