Socialist Factions Battle for heart of new Germany party

international | anti-capitalism | other press Saturday May 06, 2006 20:55 by wasg

CWI and International Socialists battle it out in Germany

In Germany a new party, WASG has been formed. Over recent months there has been an idelogical battle for the future of the party. Two sister parties of Irelands two main left parties are at the heart of the discussion. could this be what we could be looking forward to in the future here?

In Germany a new party, WASG has been formed. Over recent months there has been an idelogical battle for the future of the party. Two sister parties of Irelands two main left parties are at the heart of the discussion, could this be what we could be looking forward to in the future here? On the one side SAV, the socialist party faction are delaying unification with the old Stalinist east German ruling party, on the grounds they have been part of neo liberal regional governments, and refuse to stop taking part in neo liberal regional governements, For their side the Socialist Worker party faction claim that the SAV are sectarians. In this we are seeing concrete differences emerge between the two blocks as the SWP seemingly moves to the right while the SP is going the towards the left. While having no direct effect in Ireland we can see the idelogical differences of the two parties put into practice, readers can decide for themselves on their positions.

From the Weekly Worker:

Berlin Haunts Proceedings
Tina Becker and Ben Lewis report from the April 29-30 conference of the Wahlalternative Arbeit und Soziale Gerechtigkeit (WASG) in Ludwigshafen. Intended to smooth the way for unity with the Linkspartei.PDS, it was marked by discontent, threats and the profound disorientation of the left opposition...

http://www.cpgb.org.uk/worker/623/wasg.htm

Tactics and Principles
Tina Becker spoke to Sascha Stanicic, spokesperson of the Socialist Party’s sister organisation in Germany, Sozialistische Alternative (SAV), about the thorny question of Berlin and the opposition in the WASG

http://www.cpgb.org.uk/worker/623/wasg-interview.htm

From Socialist Worker (UK)

Preserving Unity on the German Left
A meeting in Germany last weekend laid the basis for a mass left party which could reshape the country’s political scene, says Volkhard Mosler

http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/article.php?article_id...=8778

“Unity” at the expense of the working class
A reply to Linksruck, sister organisation of the British SWP

From Socialistworld.net CWI/Socialist Party website

Robert Bechert, cwi, Berlin, Germany
In recent months political and social activists in Germany have been gripped by the widely publicised open debate in the WASG (Election Alternative for Work and Social Justice), the anti neo-liberal party that developed in 2004, on its policies and the basis upon which it should unify with the L.PDS (Leftparty.PDS), the former ruling party in East Germany.

http://www.socialistworld.net/

Website of Linksruck the SWP sister faction
http://www.linksruck.de/

Website of the SAV the Socialist Party sister faction
http://www.sozialismus.info/

Wesite of WASG
http://www.w-asg.de/