[The following is the text of the platform of the Fourth International for the European Parliament elections, scheduled for June 1979. It is signed by the sections of the Fourth International in eight countries that are members of the European Economic Community, all of which will be running slates, and is supported by the sections in three countries whose governments have asked to join the EEC.]
The elections for the European parliament, scheduled for June 1979, will take place in the midst of a sharpening antiworking-class offensive in the countries of the European Community. The capitalist class is trying to make the workers pay the costs of the economic crisis. To achieve this they have carried out more and more factory closings, layoffs, attacks on wages, attempts to take away gains won by the workers in terms of social security, and challenges to trade-union rights.
The bosses everywhere are pressing for austerity policies. Far from defending the interests of the working class in a united way against the employers' offensive, the leaderships of the Communist and Socialist parties are either participating directly in the implementation of such policies, going along with them, or weakening and demobilizing the fightback through fragmentation of struggles and through their lack of any overall anticapitalist alternative.
The multinational corporations are more and more coordinating their actions. Far from responding to this with internationally coordinated action by the workers, the CP and SP leaderships carry out classcollaborationist policies on a national and international level and put themselves in the front lines of defense of the "national" interests of the ruling classes of their respective states. In this way the CP and SP leaderships reinforce the division of the working class.
The Fourth International is participating in the electoral campaign for the European parliament to ensure that an internationalist and anticapitalist voice will be heard, a voice speaking out for the for women, for the oppressed workers, nationalities, for the youth, for the immigrants. It will seek to show that in face of the coordinated international actions by the European bourgeoisies it is necessary and possible to develop a united response by the European working class to fight for the same objectives in all the countries.
A Parliament at the Service of Capital
The European parliament will serve above all as a body to rubber-stamp the decisions already taken by the states and governments that defend the interests of capital in the nine countries of the European Community, a community founded totally on the principles of the capitalist market economy. This means forcing the workers to bear the burden of unemployment and of attacks on living standards and democratic freedoms.
The European elections are not, however, simply an attempt to divert the attention of the workers from the grave problems that confront them day to day. It is not merely a propaganda operation to try to refurbish European institutions. The elections are also aimed at reinforcing institutions that are designed to help the European bourgeoisies arrive at and formulate measures and goals for protecting their interests against all their enemies and competitors.
Working people have nothing to hope for and nothing to defend in this capitalist Common Market or its parliament. The workers have nothing in common with this Europe of the trusts and banks, with this neocolonialist Europe that continues to exploit its old colonies, with this imperialist Europe allied militarily with American imperialism. We are irreconcilable opponents of the institutions of this Europe.
We oppose the argument that Europe can represent a useful "third force" between the two "superpowers." The European imperialisms are in no way better than American imperialism. The multinationals of European origin and orientation are no better than American or Japanese multinationals.
We do not oppose the Europe of the trusts in the name of a phantom "national
Calls for protectionism set the workers against each other...
independence," which is more and more utopian and reactionary in the epoch of multinationals and of increasing internationalization of the struggle of the workers. To call for protectionist measures, which will inevitably bring forth countermeasures by other countries, amounts in reality to setting the workers against each other. This objectively contributes to generalizing the decline in the living standards under the pretext of defending the "national industry." We oppose this Europe in the name of the Europe of the workers, in the name of the Socialist United States of Europe. To the parallel myths of "European solidarity" and "national sovereignty." we counterpose the slogan of internationalist solidarity: "Workers of all countries, unite!"
Undemocratic Elections
The supposed champions of a united Europe have enclosed these elections in a web of national election laws. They prevent the running of a single slateindependent of the nationality of the candidates-in all nine states. In the different countries they have placed countless obstacles to the running of candidates. These supposed "defenders of human rights" deny millions of immigrant workers the most elementary civil and political rights, such as the right to vote or to run for office. We affirm that our goal in such elections would be to run a single slate of candidates composed of worker militants, feminists, and youth not only from the nine member countries of the EEC but from all the affected countries, including representation of immigrant workers from non-European countries. The undemocratic laws in various countries prevent us from doing this. We will defend this perspective even though we are forced to present slates on the national level. Appeal to Militants of the SPs and CPs
Socialist and Communist party militants ought to consider what a scandal it is that each of their parties in the nine member countries of the EEC is going its own way in these elections. The Italian and Spanish CPs support the Common Market-on the pretext that it is possible to democratize it—while the British, German, and Danish CPs oppose it. At a time when the multinationals are maneuvering as they please on a world scale, moving factories, installations, and orders from one country to another according to their own profit calculations and political aims, it is noteworthy that these parties are incapable of counterposing to his a single international program to defend the interests of working people. If their nationalism and sectarianism are not radically overcome, there will be no struggle against the multinationals and the Europe of the trusts.
We appeal to workers who look to the Socialist and Communist parties to fight for their leaderships to break with policy of class collaboration and conciliation with the bourgeoisie, to break with the policy of division of the working class, and to declare themselves for workers governments without bourgeois ministers, workers governments that could satisfy the basic demands of the working masses.
For an International Fightback Against Austerity!
We call on the unionists and on all workers in the nine member countries of the EEC to demand that their unions organize mass mobilizations and a campaign of effective strike action for the thirty-five-hour work week. Many European trade unions have come out in favor of this demand. At a time when unemployment has reached such disturbing proportions, this slogan can no longer be treated as merely a subject of propaganda.
There are nearly forty million trade unionists. If mobilized, this force could impose the thirty-five hour work week with no reduction in weekly or monthly wages, with obligatory proportional hiring to fill the jobs that would be created, and with workers control to prevent speed-up.
We propose that the unions immediately call a European Congress of Labor, which would bring together all the unions without exclusion and assure broad, democratic representation of factory delegates and the rank and file. Such a congress could work out a concrete plan of struggle and immediate mobilizations for the thirty-five-hour week. This could be followed up by efforts to develop a common workers alternative to the capitalist austerity plans. All organizations of the working class of capitalist Europe should unite in action against the austerity policies of the different governments, on the basis of a working-class and socialist plan to overcome the crisis.
For a Europe of the Working People
In counterposing a Europe of the workers—a Socialist United States of Europe that would destroy the division of Europe-to the Europe of the trusts and banks we are calling on all wage earners and whatever their poor peasants, nationality, to unite in the struggle for socialism, for a society without unemployment or economic crisis and without social inequality or oppression. To achieve this it is necessary to expropriate the capitalists, disarm the bourgeoisie, and establish workers power through democratically elected and centralized workers councils. For the workers this will mean not only an enormous extension of their economic and cultural rights and power, but also a qualitative extension of their political freedom, rights, and power in comparison with bourgeois parliamentary regimes.
Such a socialist revolution would sweep away the discredit that has been heaped on socialism by the Stalinist bureaucracy in the USSR and Eastern Europe and the crimes it has committed. It would reveal the true face of socialism, which would decisively hasten the process of antibureaucratic political revolution in the "people's democracies" as well as the winning of American workers to socialism, just as the political revolution in Eastern Europe will hasten the rise of socialist revolution in capitalist Europe.
A Program for Mobilization and Struggle
Our campaign for the elections to the
European parliament in the nine countries is based on a single, international program. We submit this program for discussion by all organizations of the workers movement. We ask them to consider a common campaign based on the key points of this program, which defends the interests of the workers and of the socialist revolution in these elections.
1. Against the austerity policy imposed by the bourgeoisie to make the workers bear the burden of the crisis.
For coordinated trade-union action on a European scale to win the thirty-five-hour week with no loss of weekly or monthly wages, with obligatory hiring and with workers control over the pace of work.
Against layoffs and factory closures; for veto power by the workers; for confiscation of closed-down factories and their reopening as nationalized enterprises under workers control.
Open the books of the mutinationals! Open the books of the European Commission (including those which concern the common agricultural policy)!
To counter inflation that goes hand in hand with unemployment, we demand a sliding scale of wages and social benefits.
To counter the capitalist economic crisis, we propose that the workers movement develop a program based on the priority of fulfilling the needs of the masses through nationalization without compensation of large-scale industry, of the credit sector, and of foreign trade.
Against discrimination against immigrant workers, women, and youth, who are the main vietims of unemployment.
For a policy of cheap credit and cooperative facilities to aid the poor peasants, who are victims of the capitalist crisis and of capitalist middlemen. This would make possible an increase in the peasants' income and at the same time a lowering of the prices paid by consumers for agricultural goods.
2. For complete equality of civil, political, and trade-union rights for immigrant workers. Against all racist or chauvinist legislation limiting workers. Against all racist or chauvinist legislation limiting the free circulation of workers. To counter the racist and neofascist offensive, unity in action of the whole workers movement to defend persecuted or threatened minorities and victims of discrimination.
3. Against neocolonialism; against the European imperialisms and their aggression in Chad, the Sahara, Djibouti, Zaïre, and elsewhere.
Solidarity with all the liberation strug gles of the colonial peoples!
Leave NATO! Dismantle its nuclear arms!
Against the Europe of capitalist armies; international solidarity with the struggle of soldiers for their democratic rights and for better conditions of life.
4. Against the oppression of national minorities in Europe itself, such as the Basques and Catalans. For their unlimited right to self-determination. For an independent united Ireland. Withdrawal of British troops from the North of Ireland.
5. Solidarity with the struggle of the masses of Eastern Europe and the USSR for their democratic, political, trade-union, and national rights. Down with the dictatorship of the bureaucracy; for power to workers councils! Warsaw Pact troops out of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic! For the socialist unification of Germany. For defense of the nationalized property systems against imperialism.
6. Against the pollution and threats to the environment caused by the system of profit and competition.
Against the construction of nuclear power stations. Close down all such plants in operation. The whole truth about the present dangers from nuclear power plants must be made known to everyone.
7. For support to the struggle of women for equality of rights in law and in fact. Free abortion and contraception on demand. Equal pay for equal work. Special measures to compensate for the effects of discrimination against women in training and employment. For quality collective facilities to put an end to the double work day.
8. Against the rise in repressive laws such as the law barring "opponents of the Constitution" from holding certain jobs in the Federal Republic of Germany.
Total and uncompromising defense of democratic freedoms and the right to strike.
Against the "European Antiterrorist Convention," which is not aimed at terrorism but at the radical wing of the workers movement as a whole.
For free circulation of workers and of all people and ideas between all the states of Europe and of the world
For the democratic right to completely free education for all and a salary for students from age sixteen; against selection procedures that limit access to higher education; against bourgeois education that is shaped to fit profit-making, specialized, and alienating work.
9. For unity in action of all parties of the workers movement. Against all pacts with bourgeois parties. Total independence of the trade unions from the state.
To find a way out of the crisis it is necessary to overthrow capitalism, to open the road to socialism, and for the workers to take power.
10. Full support to the campaign of Portuguese, Spanish,
and Greek revolutionists against the integration of their countries into the Community of capital. The future workers governments in one or more of the nine member countries should break with the Common Market, with the Europe of the trusts and of big capital, and should launch the process of construction of the Socialist