AN quoted: "Party Chairman Klaus] Ernst affirms the legacy of the Paris Commune, Rosa Luxemburg, and Carlo Guiliani"
[WS:] What does that mean, exactly? And what are the practical implications?
No practical implications are expected. The program is - like every program of a bigger organisation - a compromise, with quite a lot of special formulations, hammered out in many hours of negotiations between different groups. Only the members of these back room debates know the exact meaning given to such formulations. The result may sound to americans quite radical, in german context it is at best a social-liberal mix.
But the main problem is between words and action: Most of the Party-VIPs know how to please a audience with more or less radical statements. In the same time the backbone of the organization - the members in local, regional and the fedaral parliament with their paid staff - are looking for new opportunities of getting some more influence in forming alliances with SPD and greens. And it works: Already 2 years the "leftiest" regional organization of the LINKE in North Rhine-Westphalia is backging the regional administration of SPD and Greens. They declare to fight bitterly against a capitalism on the brink - but what to do against a prosperous german capitalist accumulation regime?
In nationwide polls the LINKE lost half of the votes: from 12 percent (election 2009) to 6 percent today. So the main focus will be the preparation of the next election campaign.
Sebastian
-- "We try a little more sophisticated radikalism. Nor this mere coarse grained either - or." Rosa Luxemburg -- Sebastian Gerhardt Am Treptower Park 24 Berlin, 12435 Tel. 030/530 27 695 mob. 0176/24 04 28 95 www.hausderdemokratie.de www.lunapark21.net http://planwirtschaft.wordpress.com/