New CP of the Netherlands, Contribution to the Athens
Meeting 21J2002

CONTRIBUTION PRESENTED BY WIL VAN DER KLIFT,
MEMBER CENTRAL COMMITTEE,
NEW COMMUNIST PARTY OF THE NETHERLANDS.

TOPIC: "THE NEW SITUATION IN THE WORLD AFTER SEPTEMBER 11"

Dear comrades and friends,

Again I wish to thank the KKE for the invitation to share
this meetings of increasing importance. Today, as the
contradictions in the world are growing, a common communist
knowledge and common strategy and unites actions are more
important than ever. Capitalism is in deep crisis. That
means increasing danger on one side, but also growing
possibilities for a united peoples front, if we are
successful in keeping contact with the masses, that are
sometimes very confused. Capitalist globalisation has to be
abandoned by the globalisation of the working class, and
other groups that are threatened by capitalism, both
theoretical and practical. We live in an area were we
really can say: socialism or barbarity.

Comrades,
For my analyze I used among others parts of a very
important resolution that was drafted at the International
Seminar in Brussels in May this year. I hope many of you
will be able to study that resolution, because it is
handling the current economical crisis in a very
illustrating way.

Conditions have accumulated for a crisis to break out and
for a more serious and more destructive one as the one of
1929. The financial turbulence that has shaken the world
since 1997 is a striking illustration of it. They show the
extreme fragility of the imperialist world and the
probability of a major collapse in the next years. The IMF
has to intervene headfirst. It has had to remit 50 billion
dollar to Mexico, 63 billion to Thailand and Indonesia, 57
billion to South Korea, 41 billion to Brazil... The
consequences of a financial collapse will be more
disastrous. All experts are conscious of the fact that the
situation is explosive. All dream of a "soft landing". But
all fear a "hard landing", a real crash. The Bush
administration has pushed massive military production. It
has increased the military orders and the defense budget
will raise from 299 billion dollar in 2001 to more than 379
billion dollar in 2003.

There are practically no more than two major solutions for
capitalism in the present situation: either the road of a
new world war, provoked by the aggravation of all
contradictions of the system and itself pushed forward by
the current economic crisis; or the overthrow of capitalism
and its replacement by a superior mode, socialism.

Comrades,
September 11 has been used as the pretext for wars and
aggressions against any country or movement that opposes
imperialist domination. The United States, followed by the
other imperialist powers, have launched a major campaign of
"anti-terrorist struggle". But it is clearly meant to
suppress all forms of people's resistance and all attempts
to anti-imperialist sovereignty. With the war in
Afghanistan, the declaration of war against the "rogue
states", with the announcement of a long and comprehensive
offensive, the United States clearly affirm their will to
dominate the world. In the first place, they aim at the
Middle East, East Asia and Latin America. In the long run,
the inter-imperialist contradictions may also result into a
new world war.

Comrades,
The world is becoming increasingly turbulent and
ungovernable. The imperialist powers intensify exploitation
and oppression. But the people of the world and
independent-minded states resist. The imperialist powers
find themselves increasingly at odds with each other. They
act on behalf of their respective monopoly capitalist firms
and manage world problems for their profit. This results in
a growing disgust for bourgeois democracy, the veil behind
which the control of the financial powers over the State,
the parties and the media is hidden. Amidst the current
crises, everywhere in the world the struggles for national
liberation and democracy multiply. Whether it is in
Palestine, Philippines, Argentina, Nepal, Colombia, Ecuador
or elsewhere, the peoples rebel against imperialism, its
crisis and its consequences.

We have to state in a more affirmative way than ever: the
only alternative to guarantee a world without misery,
domination and war is to fight imperialism and build
socialism. To realize this project, however, we need all
sections of the society that are victims of the brutal
attacks of the multinationals and their puppet-governments.
There is a growing movement in the world that wants to
fight the capitalist globalisation. Communists have to find
a position in this movement. We have to bring the
proletarian ideas into that movement. We have to connect
all groups and unite them on a strong anti-capitalist base.
The ideological struggle today is the most important. To
fight capitalist propaganda is our main duty.

Comrades,
The role of social-democracy, spreading illusions of class
peace and corporation between the classes, has become less
important in Europe at this moment. The European
imperialists today don't need there assistance any longer.
There position is becoming a barrier for the capitalist
projects, that's the main message of the elections in
France and the Netherlands, as it was in many other
European countries before and as it will be in Germany and
even in the United Kingdom in the near future. At the
moment there is no place for the so called Third Way after
September 11. The growing conflict of interests between the
rival imperialist blocks makes that their struggle will be
harder, without social-democrat weaknesses.

Meanwhile we have to support as much as we can the
socialist and independent states. For they show us that
resistance is effective. They show us there capability to
struggle, every day under very difficult circumstances.

Comrades,
The Netherlands made a sudden shift to the right after
September 11. This shift has two mean reasons. First: After
September 11 the interimperialist struggle between the US
and the EU became more intensive. The European imperialist
and other capitalists are becoming more nervous, but also
more brutal. So social-democracy became a brake for their
aspirations after a long period that capitalism needed
social-democracy to confuse the working class and other
sections in society depending on wages, unemployment
benefits and personal revenues. The second reason is that
the people in our country became more and more worried and
uncertain, because of ever worsening economical
developments.

A coalition of Christian-Democrats, Liberals that
participated in the outgoing government coalition of
Liberals and social-democrats) and the party called 'List
Pim Fortuyn' seems to be inevitable. Together they have an
ample majority of 93 seats in the Dutch Lower Chamber (150
seats). For the time being there is no leftist
parliamentarian option: employer's organisations and small
and medium enterprise are satisfied.

The large majority of the Dutch population has punished the
policy of the government coalition between neoliberals and
social-democrats. Voters rejected massively the
self-complacent backroom policy of the political
establishment, based on the neoliberal norms of the EU
(European Union). The coalition government did not meet the
specific needs of the people's majority. Recent years'
economic growth has benefited the big shareholders, their
representatives in top-management most. However, large
parts of the population were faced with stagnation of their
purchase-power and attacks were launched on the collective
securities. Justified anger in large strata of the
population as regards favorising policies, unrevealed
appropriation of large amounts by managers, continuous
attacks on living-standards, demolition of collective care
and fear concerning the economic stagnation, made large
parts of the people not believing anymore in the coalition
government. But the attacks on the establishment were
coming from the Right too, from the main capitalist groups
and from the smaller companies, who feel any ruling as
bothersome and superfluous. Both processes taken together
caused today's political shift. The coalition government
did not solve the problems in the healthcare sector, in
public transport and education. Feelings of unsafety and
lack of perspectives made large parts of the population
ready for the right-wing populist one-liners.

Comrades,
The losses of the PvdA (Labour Party - Social-Democrats)
arise from the disappointment of broad strata of the
population because of the fact, that of all parties it were
the social-democrats who took the initiative in many
privatisation, cuts and other worsening. The
Social-Democrats were useful for capital and were even
allowed to take the lead of the government, as long as they
managed to make the population accept the worsening of its
living-conditions. Without a powerful workers movement
social-democracy has nothing to offer to the people within
the framework of globalised capitalism. The chilly wind
blowing through Europe as a consequence of new waves of
mergers, take-overs, closings and volume-reductions makes
powerful resistance against capital necessary and not
collaboration with it. A Social-Democracy going strongly to
the right has nothing to offer to the people. Properly
abandoned by many voters, such a Social-Democracy is of
much less significance for the rich and the leaders of the
PvdA are easily put aside. A cooperation of leftist and
progressive parties and movements within, but particularly
outside the Parliament, can give a perspective to the
majority of the population.

The media have been commercialised during the last years at
high speed and thus there is no public control on them
anymore. The only thing that counts is how many people are
watching and what are the interests of sponsors and owners.
In the media-world ideals, values and norms do hardly count
anymore. Educative tasks are more or less taboo. Who pays,
has the say... The new journalist must score for his boss,
but for himself too.

Tv brings a would-be world into the living-room, a world in
which false contradictions and would-be issues play a
central role. It is easy to manipulate the voters in such a
way. Many people get the impression, that they interfere
with politics, but the real issues of power stay outside.
Such a kind of 'policy' is already common in the USA. The
consequence is, that only a third of the population
participates and votes. We know the result, named Bush.

Comrades,
The NCPN points out, that the real issues don't get a
chance in this way. The massive and sudden aversion for the
coalition between Liberals and Social-Democrats
demonstrates the gap between the picture presented by the
media and the reality in neighbourhoods and workingplaces,
as a large part of the voters experience.

The NCPN calls upon the Left to gain the confidence of the
people in the neighbourhoods and at the workingplace,
everywhere where real life and work is. On the same day
that the coalition between liberals and Social-Democrats
broke down, the population of Amsterdam choose to put an
end to the privatisation of public transport in that city.
A sound campaign at the basis led to gains. Only in such a
way the tie between the population and the leftist
political parties can be restored. However the leadership
of the Federation of Dutch Unions called just before the
elections for a moderation of wages falling into the trap
of employers and rightwing parties.

The coalition government had become an obstacle for the
continuation and the sharpening of the policy of the
liberal party (part of the government-coalition). A new
government of the Liberal Party, together with
Christian-Democrats and the populist 'List Pim
Fortuyn-party' must continue and sharpen the neoliberal
policy.

The Law on Incapacity to Work, fought for many years by the
working class, m�st be abolished. Pensionfunds m�st be
broken open. Employment m�st become much more flexible. The
roads m�st be opened for freight-traffic. Wages m�st be
reduced to face USA-competition (and Japan's). According to
those people, the level of securities should not be
feasible anymore for everybody. Only people with capital
maintain their right to good education, to good healthcare
and fast transport.

It is of extreme importance to carry out anti-capitalistic
struggle together with the anti-racist struggle. Working
people, wherever they are, should not let populist-talk
divide them. Only the common struggle against capitalist
exploitation in the Netherlands and elsewhere in the world
can change the tide into a positive direction. The Left
must put at a high place on its agenda the forging of unity
of the working-class.
The new populist party of mr. Fortuyn acted as a crowbar to
break open the Dutch political relations open, using the
feelings of bitterness of many people as a result of the
arrogant politics of the neoliberals, supported by the
social-democrats. The Fortuyn-party wants to replace this
model by a more American, even more neoliberal one.

The question seems to be, whether the 'consultationmodel',
the model of classpeace, shall be exploded completely or
whether they still leave the system unimpaired accepting
more promises by the trade-union movement. At the political
level rightwing forces have the power in their hands at the
moment. But whatever the government will be, coming out as
a result of the negotiations, globalised capital is
fighting its life and death struggle among its own forces
and therefore polarisation in the world, in Europe and my
country will increase.

Many people ask themselves how all this is possible in a
rich country like the Netherlands. The answer, generally
speaking, is simple: on the one side indeed there is
abundance. Dutch families look richer than ever. But it is
mainly paper richness, because of the high mortgages and
debts. The feelings of uncertainty became more visible
after the fall of the shares on the stockmarkets. Many
people now do not have sureness about their future life.
These feelings become stronger because of the possibility
of new wars any moment everywhere.

All this brings new possibilities for successful fights of
the working class. Class-struggle is back on top of the
agenda.