Published: Klassekampen’s International Bulletin, journal of the Workers’ Communist Party (Marxist-Leninist) of Norway
Reprinted: North America News Service, July 16-29, 1973.
Transcription, Editing and Markup: Paul Saba
Copyright: This work is in the Public Domain under the Creative Commons Common Deed. You can freely copy, distribute and display this work; as well as make derivative and commercial works. Please credit the Encyclopedia of Anti-Revisionism On-Line as your source, include the url to this work, and note any of the transcribers, editors & proofreaders above.
Two outstanding features are typical for the situation before the elections in the fall of 1973: 1) large parts of the Norwegian people are marching towards the left, and 2) the right social democrats now leading the Norwegian Labour Party are loosing their grasp on the masses. (NLP cooperates actively with the monopoly capitalists. Traditionally they have received 40-50% of the votes.) These features are mainly a result of the struggle against Norwegian membership in the EEC, where the right social-democrats entirely separated themselves from the people. As we reported in the last issue of our International Bulletin, 53.7% of the population voted against Norwegian membership in the plebiscite September 25th 1972. This was the greatest defeat that monopoly capital has seen since the last war, and A serious blow to their plans for abandoning the national independence and open the country entirely to the EEC. headed by West-German imperialism.
The struggle for Norwegian national independence is not finished however. The only thing that will prevent the monopoly capital to elaborate new schemes to subject Norway to the EEC, is active struggle by the people from the grass-roots. At the same time we acknowledge the importance of having EEC-opponents in the parliament where the formal decision on Norwegian membership would be taken.
On other issues there also is a broad mass-movement which is fighting the policy of the right social democrats. Those issues are: Abolition of indirect taxes on livelihood goods, struggle to increase the Norwegian control of its sea-territory to 50 miles (important to the fisheries), the fight for decent wage-settlements, Also on these issues it is important to have people in parliament who may support and voice the demands of the mass-movements.
The situation is, however, that the left is split in different parties and organisations. Up to now. the following parties have existed on the left side of the social democracy:
Socialist Peoples’ Party–left social democratic.
Norwegian “Communist” Party–revisionist, attempts to seem independent of the Soviet Union.
Workers Communist Party.
During the struggle against the EEC, an organised opposition emerged within the Norwegian Labour Party (NLP); The Labour Movement Information Bureau against the EEC (AIK). This opposition now have left the NLP and started an independent organisation. At the same time, large parts of the NLP youth organisation have broken their ties with the party.
This is the background on which the WCP have proposed a broad electoral united front with parties, groups and persons on the left side of the NLP, on the basis of current issues in the class-struggle. The following statement was issued from the first Congress of the WCP:
We do not believe that socialism can come through the parliament. Still we find it correct, under the present circumstances to participate in parliamentary elections and use this in the interest, of the people.
The party is prepared to enter the elections in all 19 districts of Norway. We are, however, aware of the popular wish for a progressive unity in the elections. We will therefore investigate the possibilities and make clear the basis of a united front-list in the coming elections.
Among the political issues the party will take up in the electoral campaign, we will emphasise the following:
–Continued struggle against the EEC; against giving up sovereignty in the agreement to be signed; against attempts to sneak us in “by the back door”.
–Abolish all indirect taxes on foods. Full compensation for price-and tax increases.
–Support to all workers in struggle; against all forms of arbitration. Support to the demand for secure employment; against closing up businesses.
–support the struggle of the Indochinese peoples; recognition of the PRG.
–Support to the women’s struggle against all oppression of women.
–Support to the demand of an immediate extension of the sea territory to 50 miles.
The party’s policy on these and other issues is discussed in the Working-Program which was adopted by the Congress. We will never spread the myth that the parliament ever can solve these questions. Only the struggle of the people itself can ever give results. The people need communist parliament members to unveil attempts of the authorities to evade the demands, and to hold the state responsible for its counter-popular policy in full openness.
As a party, through the electoral campaign, we will show that the interests of the workers, the peasants, the fishermen and of other groups in the people never can be secured under capitalism, but only with socialism. We also want to show that the system of parliamentarism does not give the final word to the people when the politics are worked out.
The Congress authorises the Central Committee to negotiate with other parties, groups and persons on the question of electoral unity. The aim must be to defend the people’s no to the EEC, and to give progressives a clear alternative to the NLP/NFL-leadership. If this can be agreed on, it will correspond to the need for a such unity in the people.
We are willing to enter such a front if it is fit to mobilise the large masses of the people against the monopolies and imperialism. The conditions should further be: 1) That the front agrees on some important political questions in the day-to-day struggle which gather broad support, and that takes side against monopoly capital and imperialism, 2) it must not be a strict alliance of parties, but gather “representatives” from the union-movement, from peasant and fishermen’s organisations, the women’s front and so on’ 3) The different parties and groups must get reasonable representation on the lists compared to their strength and their efforts in the struggle, 4) All parties and groups must be allowed to keep their independence and their right to their own propaganda. (End of Statement)
The efforts to establish such a unity on the elections have so far met with stubborn resistance from the leadership of the Socialist Peoples Party, which is harbouring plans of starting some kind of “united socialist party”, with one front against monopoly capital and one against the communists.
Therefore there has come party-coalition-lists in several districts with limits against the WCP.