[Individual-members-EL] individual membership
Stephen Spence
stephen_spence at btinternet.com
Wed Oct 5 23:14:44 CEST 2011
Dear All,
Francis is right but I think it’s even worse than he has outlined.
Having talked directly to, amongst others, Helmut Scholz, MEP For Die Linke and former Head of their International department in his office in Berlin, and Jean Francoise Gau, International chief of the Parti Communist Francaise in his office in Paris along with a number of other Executive Board members over a number of years I believe it’s not that individual membership is considered a failure because they didn’t know what to do with it, I’m afraid its because too many national parties actively did not want individual membership to exist at all.
Die Linke got it in the EL constitution and supported it being moved on from its original ‘experimental’ stage, but by not giving any status or organisational structure within the party others made sure it could not advance. Even Helmut Schulz gave up after a while. I was depending on him to get a ‘friendship circle’ of UK individual members accepted by the Executive Board and he did not deliver despite assurances given at the 2nd Congress in Prague where a number of us including Mike thought about running a candidate for the Executive Board and backed off because Helmut thought there was a better, more long term way. He was worried about us alienating the national parties at that time. I can hear Uli from Germany now, who is no longer active because of this, saying we should continue because nothing would be delivered. He was right and I was wrong, but at the time it seemed correct to be reasonable. It got us no-where. Only in Italy did individual members get ‘observor’ status, because the Italian parties agreed to it, but it has not led to other sections.
The argument has been if ‘we’ want to do something ‘we’ should organise it rather than expect ‘them’ to but when ‘we’ did organise a little network in the UK, ‘they’ ignored it.
Mike is also right but I don’t believe the National Parties will change and allow it. At the Founding Congress in Rome I was refused permission to speak, I couldn’t get to Athens for the 1st Congress, in Prague for the 2nd I was allowed to speak because Helmut Scholz authorised it, in Paris for the 3rd I was first of all told no, then told yes, and was eventually allowed to as almost the last act in the Congress.
I am simply an individual citizen but I have been active on the left for 30 years, I have held senior trade union positions, I have been an elected representative at the City Council level. EL has not for some time been interested in encouraging me, or indeed any of us, to participate in the Party.
I don’t think the letter will work.
I’m sorry but I think that is the truth.
Best
Stephen
_____
From: individual-members-el-bounces at listi.jpberlin.de [mailto:individual-members-el-bounces at listi.jpberlin.de] On Behalf Of Mike Nagler
Sent: 05 October 2011 13:48
To: Indiv. Members EL
Subject: Re: [Individual-members-EL] individual membership
Dear francis, der all,
but this is not what it should to continue... We dont need lots of left national parties that only work together on a bureaucratic level. Its not a good idea to give up the idea of a united european left, because its needed. We should work on it, even if the national party elites dont see the need.
Best,
Mike
----- Original Message -----
From: francis at socialisthistorysociety.co.uk
To: Indiv. Members EL <mailto:individual-members-el at listi.jpberlin.de> ; brunislav.matasovic at chem.pmf.hr
Sent: Wednesday, October 05, 2011 12:08 PM
Subject: [Individual-members-EL] individual membership
Hello all
The impression I get is that 1. ELP decided to introduce individual membership as a kind of experiment. 2. ELP never quite worked out why it wanted or needed individual members or what it intended to do with them. 3. The experiment is considered by ELP's higher councils to have been a failure, but 4. Nobody has bothered to tell the individual members.
That is why nobody has asked for subscription renewals. If the individual members all go away, then the problem is solved, and ELP can return to its role as an occasional flag of convenience for sundry European communist and left parties.
All the best
Francis King, individual member 2008-2009
On 05 October 2011 at 06:02 "Brunislav Matasović" <brunislav.matasovic at chem.pmf.hr> wrote:
> Dear all!
>
> I would also like to support the initiative of individual members to
> become more involved in the work of EL. It would most certainly be the
> best if we try from the bottom and not from the top, as Mike already
> said. If there is a possibility inside the EL for us to get some support
> from the national member parties on this issue, it would be even better.
> Unfortunately, there is no political party in Croatia which is the
> member of EL so I cannot ask anyone here for support. Even more,
> considering the present situation, very soon it would become dangerous
> to be true leftist - I believe that is the common issue in almost all
> eastern European countries - it is especially dangerous when the threats
> come from the minister of interior as in our case.
>
> Nevertheless, that is not an issue now, and for what is an issue (status
> of individual members), my support is here.
>
> About the membership fee. I have been told that there is no obligatory
> membership fee for individual members but that 2 €/month will be
> consider usual contribution. So I believe that simple avoidance of
> membership fee will not exclude anyone from the party membership.
>
> Best regards,
> Brunislav Matasovic
>
>
>
> Dana 4.10.2011. 11:11, Mike Nagler napisa:
> > Dear Stefano, dear all,
> > i think for the moment its the best to get in contact about it with
> > the directive/board. In case there is no reaction or no will - we
> > should go a step further and make something like an open letter inside
> > the membership of all parties to set our point on their agenda. (But
> > for that i would write it in another style than this one.)
> > Best,
> > Mike
> > ----- Original Message -----
> >
> > *From:* rainbowleft at libero.it <mailto:rainbowleft at libero.it>
> > *To:* individual-members-el at listi.jpberlin.de
> > <mailto:individual-members-el at listi.jpberlin.de>
> > *Sent:* Tuesday, October 04, 2011 10:28 AM
> > *Subject:* [Individual-members-EL] R: Re: 1.may
> >
> > Dear all,
> >
> > I'd like to sign the letter as well. It reminds more or less the
> > petition that we tried to circulate at the Paris summer University
> > of the EL.
> >
> > I have been an invidual member for years. I keep my membership
> > card in the wallet altough I haven't paid any fees in a while but
> > it was not really a choice, simply the activities were practically
> > non-existent. Last meeting we had was probably more than one year
> > ago to discuss the letter for the Congress. After we have a
> > definitive version what kind of distribution were you thinking
> > about? Would you spread it around among likely supporters or keep
> > it ibetween us and the directive?
> >
> > By the way, have a look to what other left-wing european parties
> > are doing maybe they have a couple of recyclable ideas.
> >
> > European Activists of the Socialists
> > http://www.pes.org/en/pes-activists
> > Individual supporters network of the Greens
> > http://www.greenyourope.eu/
> >
> > A note for the revision: I think that in English the title of
> > Pierre Laurent is "President" more than "Chairman" of the EL.
> >
> > http://www.european-left.org/english/home/news_archive/news_archive/zurueck/news-archive/artikel/message-of-el-president-pierre-laurent-the-spanish-movement-is-a-great-hope-1/
> >
> >
> > Thank for the effort.
> >
> > Stefano Panozzo
> >
> > ----Messaggio originale----
> > Da: norberthagemann at web.de
> > Data: 03/10/2011 18.26
> > A: "Indiv. Members
> > EL"<individual-members-el at listi.jpberlin.de>, "asbjørn
> > andersen"<asander at online.no>, <arthur.lindbom at yahoo.com>,
> > <EPirelli at t-online.de>, <laurarey at online.no>
> > Ogg: Re: [Individual-members-EL] 1.may
> >
> > Dear Mike, dear Stephen, dear Luke, dear Individuals :-)
> > attached you can find the letter to Laurant translated by me
> > into English. I think Stephen and / or you Luke you should
> > please be so kind and check and correct this translation
> > otherwise Laurant will get a worst translation into frensh and
> > please let's avoid a situation that he can not understand due
> > to language reasons.
> > Afterwards the question is, who finally will sign, I saw a
> > feedback only from Mike, Stephen and Luke or ... ?
> > Let's try to have it ready till Thursday and then to
> > distribute the letter via the EL office in Brussels (as a Mail
> > or a letter ...?)
> >
> > kind regards
> >
> > Norbert
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > *Von:* "Norbert Hagemann" <norberthagemann at web.de>
> > *Gesendet:* 24-Sep-2011 19:03:51
> > *An:* "Indiv. Members EL"
> > <individual-members-el at listi.jpberlin.de>, "asbjørn
> > andersen" <asander at online.no>, arthur.lindbom at yahoo.com,
> > EPirelli at t-online.de, laurarey at online.no
> > *Betreff:* Re: [Individual-members-EL] 1.may
> >
> > Dear all,
> > I'm using this mail to go in contact with you. Hopefully
> > this will work.
> > I would like to ask you all to give me a feedback on the
> > following idea.
> >
> > Next days there will be a meeting of the Ex-Board (?) in
> > Paris. This meeting will take place roughly 9 months after
> > the Paris Party Congress. Since this congress the board
> > had a lot of meetings around the globe during which never
> > ever was the discussed the issue of our rights, the rights
> > as Individual members in the Party. So finally (after
> > being for years – since Athens - a member without any
> > rights) I would ask you to send a letter from our side to
> > the Board meeting asking to find urgently a solution and
> > to involve us in this process / decision how the solutions
> > should looks like. I personally stopped 9 months ago to
> > pay my Party contribution (no rights - no obligations) but
> > nobody is caring about that.
> > Would someone be interested to write together with me this
> > letter and to sign it.
> >
> > Kind regards
> >
> > Norbert
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > *Von:* selvåg <kollung at online.no>
> > *Gesendet:* 01.05.2011 11:49:02
> > *An:* "asbjørn andersen" <asander at online.no>,
> > arthur.lindbom at yahoo.com, EPirelli at t-online.de,
> > laurarey at online.no,
> > individual-members-el at listi.jpberlin.de
> > *Betreff:* [Individual-members-EL] 1.may
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > red_flag*_workers of the world unite._*
> > *_1.may 2011._*
> > *_kollung selvåg_*
> >
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > _______________________________________________
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> > JPBerlin - Politischer Provider
> > Individual-members-EL at listi.jpberlin.de
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> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Individual-members-EL Mailingliste
> > JPBerlin - Politischer Provider
> > Individual-members-EL at listi.jpberlin.de
> > https://listi.jpberlin.de/mailman/listinfo/individual-members-el
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_____
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