Presentation -- German CP

Intervention by Heinz Stehr, German Communist Party

Dear Comrades,

The consequences of the manifestations of crisis of neoliberal capitalism have profoundly changed conditions in the world. This is also true for the Federal Republic of Germany, which is a highly developed capitalist country; well known for being the ‚world champion of exports‘ up to the year 2008. The crisis of banks alone took eight hundred thousand million € to secure the banks, in the final analysis to save the wealth of the rich. It is the population who has to carry the burdens of the crisis. In the first half of 2009 there were 16.650 insolvencies of companies with 254.000 destroyed places of work. For the second half of 2009 another 18.500 bankruptcies are being expected with about 300.000 affected places of work. In the winter of 2009/2010 the official unemployment figure might well rise to more than five million people. If you count in the unemployed being manipulated away from the statistics by tricks, the real number of unemployed people might well exceed six million by far.

In the public households, which include the state, the regional states and the cities, 45 thousand million € are missing in 2009. Up to 2012 the tax losses will add up to 316 thousand million €. The national debt will rise up to 1700 thousand million €. The consequences of this will be cuts in programmes for employment, in public subsidies for the rent insurance and the health insurance; the employed people alone will have to pay for the additional costs. The systems of social insurances in Germany will be changed in a negative way. The absolute impoverishment of increasing parts of the population is rising. In this rich country one of three children has to grow up under conditions of poverty. More than one third of the overall workforce must work under working conditions, which are not normal - and this tendency is increasing.

How does the consciousness of people change in this negative situation? There is resistance coming from some workforces of affected factories, administrations and branches of industry and from some parts of the affected population. But a comprehensive and united resistance is lacking up to now, especially resistance coming from the workers‘ and trade union movements. One reason for this is the extensive fear in the working and unemployed population to lose their jobs or to suffer social decline. Another reasons are anti-communism, which still guarantees that no alternative to the capitalist social system is being discussed, and the united power of the media which gets the people to believe that they are to blame and that they are responsible individually.

Anti-capitalist, socialist and communist forces are not influential enough, they have no strategy developed together to change this situation in an effective way. At least this is the situation today.

Now, after the general elections, the contradictions are sharpening. In every important issue the bourgeois right-wing government is advocating the political positions of the bourgeoisie. The development of out-of-parliament struggles will be crucial to make existing political positions effective, which reflect majority opinions of the population.

In the Federal Republic of Germany a majority of the population is convinced that things are going unfair. The majority demands an immediate end of the involvement in the war in Afghanistan. The majority also thinks that Socialism in general is a good social system; - which unfortunately cannot be realized, as shown by the experiences of the former Socialism in Europe.

Who are the forces in a position to act politically in a way which can change things? These are first of all the trade unions; with more than 7 million members they are still the biggest and decisive factor in the formation of left politics. The challenge is to develop class-orientated positions in these predominantly reformist trade unions as well as corresponding forms of struggle to achieve these demands.

The different forces of the left include left-wing reformist positions, especially advocated by the party THE LEFT, as well as positions developed on the basis of scientific socialism, which are reflected in the DKP and in other organisations. Very important are out-of-parliament orientated movements, for example the peace movement, the ecology movement, the movement for democracy; but also movements on issues like migration, international solidarity, solidarity with socialist Cuba, and other issues discussed in the general public.

One of the central challenges of the near future is to consolidate these movements, to bundle them up as demands recognized as correct by all these forces. This process is not only the formation of counter-force in the national framework but also the linking-up within the European Union and beyond to meet world-wide challenges as well.

What can from the point of view of the DKP be expected from the communist and working class movement in this situation of profound manifestations of capitalist crisis?

We need to agree on a program of action on decisive problems. We need it to develop pressure for our demands and our politics in our respective countries as well as in internationally linked campaigns. This could be campaigns

For peace, against every form of war and intervention

Common struggle against unemployment

For the rights of the migrants of this world

For ecological conditions which correspond to the living interests of the peoples.

We should, for example, agree upon a common appeal on the 1^st of May, the international fighting day of the working class. We could use the 8^th of May, the day of liberation from fascism and war, as an opportunity to come out firmly in favour of putting an end to the imperialist wars in all countries. We could exchange speakers for meetings in our respective countries. An annual international conference about issues corresponding our demands could also be a useful contribution.

Dear comrades,

Our international collaboration must be more comprehensible; it must become more easy to experience it in reality in order to attract more people to our parties by this collaboration as well. The DKP is convinced that especially this globalized world of neo-liberalism has to be confronted by proletarian internationalism. Che Guevara was right when he said: Solidarity is the tenderness of the peoples!