[Individual-members-EL] (no subject) - PS

[Francis King]

...and that is why I am in favour of a Europe-wide individual members' organisation of some kind, and against national groups of individual members, which completely defeat the object of having a European party in the first place.

I have just received and read Mike Nagler's comments - in general, I agree with his approach.

Francis
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Francis King 
  To: Mario & Alicia Gabrielli ; individual-members-el at listi.jpberlin.de 
  Sent: Wednesday, May 06, 2009 8:36 PM
  Subject: Re: [Individual-members-EL] (no subject)


  Hi all

  In response to Mario: we need to work on different levels. Some comrades are particularly focussed on local questions, some on national-level questions, and some of us are interested in the pan-European issues. On the national level, it is fine for Mario and his comrades to work in RC, even if they are doing it from Belgium. The job of RC is to intervene in Italian politics, after all. But there are also Europe-wide issues, issues which transcend national borders. Indeed, as capital becomes increasingly globalised, there are more and more of these issues. It is for these transnational issues that a genuinely pan-European left party would be useful, not to work against the national parties, but to give European-oriented leftists a framework in which to work across borders. I didn't join EL to intervene in British politics - there are better ways to do that. I joined it in the hope that it might become a genuinely international party rather than just an umbrella for a collection of national forces. Whether it can do that, and if so, how, I don't know. But I am sure there is a need for such a framework.

  in comradeship

  Francis

  ----- Original Message ----- 
    From: Mario & Alicia Gabrielli 
    To: individual-members-el at listi.jpberlin.de 
    Sent: Wednesday, May 06, 2009 6:37 PM
    Subject: Re: [Individual-members-EL] (no subject)


          Dear comrades,

          I'm Mario, an Italian-Spaniard living in Brussels, member of Rifondazione Comunista in Belgium (see www.rifondazione.be). I was following the discussion, as usual, and in this case I would like to say something on the question of EL Individual Members, organisation, claim for recognition and support, and so on.

          Sincerely, I do not understand the real meaning, and above all, the real need and utility, to have such "individual members" groups - apart when in a specific country there is no party or organisation as member or observer of the European Left Party. But in a lot of European countries, we do have at least one party, so, my question is: why create someting "new" or "different" when something already exist? Why don't give them a hand, instead of re-investing the wheel? If someone want to engage him/herself in political/social activities in the framework of the EL, why don't join a EL party somewhere?

          I hope that the idea of "individual members" groups outside the local EL parties would not mean to be "against" or "overcoming" those parties... Of course I don't think that a party is the only or exclusive way to "make politics" and to be engaged in social issues, but at the same time I don't share some negative attitudes towards political parties, which lead someone to think that only in an informal organisation it would be possible to be "free" or "independent".

          In my opinion, if we want to do something for a better Europe, as leftists (or, even better, as communists!), let's join one of the political parties members of the EL; or even one not a member, and in this case, we can try to contribute to approach positions - instead of dividing our forces and losing time, resources and efforts in defining what an "individual members" group should do or not, what representativity, what right of vote, what support, what... what?

          I take the opportunity to confirm that the Italian communists - Rifondazione Comunista and Comunisti Italiani, in the EL as member and observer respectively - partecipate together to the European elections, in the Communist and Anti-capitalist list http://www.unaltraeuropa.eu/. This is the only real Left in Italy... beware of imitations!

          Fraternally,

          Mario 




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