<DIV>I think what is interesting is that while PDS's nationalism has roots in the "socialist fatherland" conceptions referred to in the article, Lafontaine's racist populism is a Western German phenomenon.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I don't know quite enough about the post-war history of West Germany to comment with any authority, but I think Lafontaine's cultural nationalism indicates a new quality in the politics of resentment in the face of the neo-liberal onslaught.  It isn't just unemployed Eastern Germans who are showing themselves as receptive to this sort of mixture of economic populism and anti-semitic and anti-american demagoguey.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I must say though that I am enjoying the spectacle of the major parties scrambling to form some sort of viable government.  In that sense the Linkspartei deserves praise for providing some much needed spectacle and comic relief.  But I have doubts as far as it providing any sort of long-term perspective for Left politics in Germany.  The fact that Gysi and Lafontaine themselves hinted numerous times before the election that their real intention is to bring the SPD back to it's post-war Keynsian roots is an indication that they aren't really serious about providing a left parliamentary alternative.</DIV> <DIV>  </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>  </DIV> <DIV><BR><B><I>Adam Souzis <adamsz@gmail.com></I></B> wrote:</DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE class=replbq style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid">On 9/21/05, Angelus Novus <FUERDENKOMMUNISMUS@YAHOO.COM>wrote:<BR>><BR>> In light of the somewhat unwarranted enthusiasm on<BR>> this list for the showing of the ex-PDS in the recent<BR>> federal elections in Germany, I have taken the<BR>> initiative of translating a critical article on the<BR>> new formation from the general interest<BR>> Antifa/Autonomist magazine "Phase 2"<BR>> www.phase-zwei.org (for Foucault fans who can read<BR>> German, the latest issue is a theme issue on<BR>> "Bio-politics," alas, not yet online).<BR>><BR><BR>thanks for translating that, it was quite interesting. From a distance<BR>the PDS' move toward reactionary, racist nationalism seems part and<BR>parcel with other ex-Communists parties across former eastern bloc and<BR>Soviet states. But, pragmatically, is this so bad for German politics?<BR>The article makes a good case that it's bad for Marxists, but if<BR>they're as insignficant in Germany as they are in the States then<BR>wouldn't this certainly be outweighed by fact that the New Left has<BR>essentially replaced the far right parties as the political home for<BR>the disaffected? Before the New Left got going, pundits said the far<BR>right parties had a good chance of gaining some seats in the election<BR>-- now those parties are off the map.<BR><BR>-- adam<BR><BR>___________________________________<BR>http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk<BR></BLOCKQUOTE><p>__________________________________________________<br>Do You Yahoo!?<br>Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around <br>http://mail.yahoo.com