Italian Communists' Party
by Jacopo Venier

AGAINST THE RIGHT WING AND THE AMERICAN DOMINION

Dear Comrades,
we'd like to thank KKE for promoting this meeting, but ours
is not just a formal act. The Italian Communists' Party
considers a strong intensification of the relations among
the left-winged forces being necessary, and this conference
offers an opportunity for confronting the different
experiences and, above all, for detecting common grounds of
initiative to re-launch the struggle for peace and social
progress.
The world and European setting is continuously changing and
now, more than ever, it is necessary for the left-winged
forces and movements to confront in order to be able to
cope with the new challenges of this time, as properly as
possible. Some European countries, particularly, show an
increasing ascent of the right wing and this could
determine the affirmation of such a trend in the whole
continent.
Last electoral tests, in Switzerland, in Austria, in Spain
and in Italy registered the rise of the right wing. What is
worrying is the danger that such a phenomenon could arise:
the widespreading of a negative perspective within Europe,
as a whole. This could start a process reproducing the
American social and political systems in the European
countries. This would be a threat for the democratic and
the social character of our countries.
As it's evident, the change of the political �climate� of
Europe is the result of the choices made by the big
economical powers, which become stronger and stronger
thanks to a deregulated globalisation. During the past,
when the need of a financial restoration and the necessity
of building the monetary union were predominant, those big
economical powers decided to stand, openly or not, by the
side of the social-democrats. Their support has often
determined a deep change of the political and social
attitudes of those parties whose original inspirations have
been radically reset. Now that phase is over and, despite
the fact the social democratic forces' moderate positions,
close to centrist ones, the big powers which supported
them, are now beside the right-winged forces. The Italian
situation gives an example of this.

In Italy the political and financial emergency occurred
from 1992 to 1994, was managed by �technical� governments.
The 1994 general elections were won by a centre-right
coalition: a few months after the polls, several reasons
determined the crisis, which followed: among those reasons
the massive popular mobilisation against their attack to
the pension system. The right winged forces split and the
alliance among the democratic forces won the general
elections held in 1996, when they got more seats than the
adversaries, thanks to an electoral system which grants
coalitions. From 1996 to 1998 it was possible to secure
social equity and achieve a financial restoration and enter
the Euro. The crisis of the Prodi's government and the
settlement of the new Prime Minister, Mr. D'Alema, who's a
son of the communist history, together with the upcoming of
the communist ministers, marked a turning point, by
determining a progressive change in the attitude of the
strong economical powers, which stopped being neutral and
start opposing the centre-left coalition. Mr. D'Alema was
committed to the management of the issue of the war, but
the Italian seek for peace was seen as a dangerous
attitude, not only in our country.
Today, in Italy, a reactionary wind blows. The right wing
which, for some years, as I told you, had split into three
groups, has now re-built its unity in order to reach the
leading position, in our country, as soon as possible. Mr
Berlusconi, the owner of a vast empire of television
networks and telecommunications, is the leader of Forza
Italia, the biggest party in Italy. This force aims at the
demolition of the welfare state. It proposes a savage
privatisation of the National Health System, of School and
the absolute dissolution of contracts and trade-union
grants for workers. Forza Italia is not just an ultra
liberalist party, it is also the place where the worst
electoral customs, formed by those who supported the
Democrazia Cristiana (Christian Democracy), recycled
themselves. The right-wing coalition is composed of Forza
Italia, Alleanza Nazionale (the heir of MSI - Italian
Social Movement -), which is still endowed with a fascist
culture and Lega Nord, whose positions are close to
Heider's, in Austria; there's also the Fiamma Tricolore who
publicly glorifies Mussolini.
The moderate and right-winged forces have always had the
majority of consensus. In 1996 they lost just because they
were divided. Up to this moment our right wing was seen as
a danger for democracy, on a national and international
level, and this contributed to its division and its defeat.
Now things have changed. Thanks to its international links
Forza Italia, helped by Mr. Aznar, was admitted in the PPE.
In Italy the right wing is explicitly supported by the big
economic and financial powers, which have progressively
placed themselves definitely against the centre-left
coalition and the government. A rightist leads the Industry
Confederation (Confinustria) and the national press isn't
by the side of the democratic forces, too. Moreover the
Catholic Church has re-adopted its one-time practices of
directly making politics, now openly supporting the right-
wing.
This is the background of the last regional elections in
Italy. On the 16th April, indeed, local elections were held
in almost the whole Italian territory. The right-wing
coalition got most of the Presidents of the Italian regions
and it now controls the North, which is the wealthiest part
of Italy, and even some important southern regions. If the
same results recurred, the next general election would
secure the Italian right wing even 2/3 of the seats in
Parliament. This would compromise not only the social and
trade-union rights of the working classes. If it
represented such a wide majority, even the democratic rules
could be overruled, as the right wing, being a reactionary
and fiercely anticommunist force, could modify the Italian
Constitution, which was gained through the struggle for the
liberation from nazi-fascism.
The victory of the right wing in Italy should be seen as a
phenomenon occurring within the European frame. The effects
of the affirmation of Mr. Aznar in Spain and Mr. Heider in
Austria, combined with such a change in Italy, could
dramatically open the way to a conservative wave and affect
other European countries.

Several reasons determined the defeat - which we hope being
temporary and momentary - of the alliance of the democratic
and left forces, together with Rifondazione Comunista, in
14 out of 15 regions. The failure is mainly due to the
mistakes made by the biggest party within the coalition: DS
-Democratic Leftists -.
This party, which is still a point of reference for the
working classes, which still keeps a special link with the
main trade-union organisation, CGIL, couldn't play its role
in the very moment one of its members was the Italian Prime
Minister. The biggest mistake was its determination in
winning the moderate electorate. They even tried to
transform the coalition into one party, where the line
between the left and the centre would be deleted. This
moderate attitude DS show, didn't induce trade-unions
promoting social battles able to give the government a
leftist character. But the constant internal division and
polemical attitude made the electoral alliance so little
trustworthy. During last regional elections, Rifondazione
was in the coalition, though it didn't stop attacking the
centre-left government, on a national level. As a result,
the leftist voters, disappointed by that situation,
preferred choosing the way of the abstention. Indeed more
than 3 million people, who, in 1996, voted for a
left-winged force (DS or Rifondazione), didn't vote at all
at the European nor at the regional elections held in 2000.
What seems evident is that in Italy, winning the centrist
voters helps winning the elections, but if it implies
loosing the leftist voters' consensus, there's no chance of
winning. At the same time it is necessary for the left
wing, all the left winged forces together, to form a
coalition with the democratic centre. Of course, the left
wing, within such a coalition, should never stop fighting
to affirm the ideas, the values, and the interests of the
classes it has always represented.

Our Party, the Italian Communists' Party, was born just on
the purpose of preventing Italy from falling in the hands
of dangerous people. Difficulties and contradictions came
out from our relation with both the centrist forces and
those forces which, since 1989, have chosen to drop the
ideological, political and programmatic positions which
belonged to communists. Within the coalition our Party
represented the left wing, and could prevent Italy from
revising its pension system or from supporting private
schools economically. This helped our organisation to grow
up politically, securing an important electoral result. But
this isn't enough: we're committed to the struggle against
the right wing to achieve the victory of the democratic
forces and the plural left, at the forthcoming general
elections.
That's why we made a proposition to all the left winged
forces, aiming at our unity against a dangerous enemy: we
need to build a basic common program in order to earn the
sympathy and the confidence of those, among millions of
leftist voters, who decided not to vote, because of their
dissatisfaction with any of the political forces. What we
proposed to the comrades of Rifondazione, to DS, to Greens
is giving birth to a Confederation, to build the unity of
the left forces for the next elections. We'll work on this
plan, which has already arisen the concern of vast areas of
the working, cultural and political world, in order to give
our contribution to the accomplishment of a very difficult
enterprise, whose direct consequences invest directly the
future of our country, and its position within Europe and
the world.

What is important, today, is telling all the comrades our
worries, because we're seriously worried for what is
happening. The conservative hegemony in Europe in this
phase, represents the solidification of the American
dominion over the world and the isolation of Russia. What
we need is a democratic political framework able to stop
the current development of globalisation and to prevent a
few multinational societies from putting their hands on
genetic licences, and consequently on the future of
humankind. We need such a political background in order to
be able, as democratic and communist forces, to give a
perspective to the struggles of the working classes, to be
able to improve the exchange relations between North and
South: we need to be more influent. On the contrary, both
in our country and in Europe, the democratic and left
forces don't have the chance of stressing upon the
contradictions the current capitalistic re-organisation
shows.
That's why the struggle against the right wing and the need
for the coalition to be extended as much as possible, seems
to be our primary necessity.
In our vision, fighting against the right wing is fighting
against the imperial dominion of USA.
What is extremely important, in Italy, is promoting a
vigorous campaign against the National Missile Defence, the
so-called star-shield the USA proposed. But the commitment
of a single country is not enough: the Italian Communists'
Party thinks a co-ordinated striking international
campaign would be necessary. We consider the NMD as a means
for the USA, to strengthen their military hegemony upon the
world and particularly upon Europe. This anti-missile
missiles system breaks with fundamental treaties, like ABM,
which was signed in 1972, followed by START treaties on the
strategic nuclear warheads reduction. The USA used the
pretext of its self-defence, together with the defence of
Europe, from missiles which could be - unlikely - rocketed
by those countries the USA regards as terrorists; as it's
evident the USA are trying to introduce a new technological
military display, just to impose their strategic control
upon the European area. An international campaign against
the NMD could re-launch the opposition attitude towards
NATO and the dominion it exercises over the planet. After
the NATO attack to Yugoslavia, out of any international law
and political dictate, the European countries have clearly
understood the limits of their sovereignty.
Left-winged forces and communists must present the NMD as a
limitation of the autonomy of Europe, which would be under
control of the USA, which already control the European
continent both through NATO and USA autonomous bases. The
NMD would definitely impose the American
military technology. As a matter of fact, this issue is
seriously worrying Russia, France and Germany.
In our opinion, this mobilisation could open the way to a
common ground of action where the pacifist forces could
promote peace. This could be the way for us to accomplish
the duties we have as communists and internationalists,
expanding, at the same time, the alliance front, while
fighting against the reactionary forces, which are the main
USA tools for exercising their power over the world. If
we'll be able to give our best, the way history witnessed
in the past, the big struggles for peace will help and
strengthen the workers' movement.

Jacopo Venier
Responsible for the International Department
of the Italian Communists' Party