the strange case of the socialdemocrats' victory

30/09/09

Here, you can find an interesting thesis: socialdemocrats are disappearing because they've won creating a welfare state and a social market system.
I think I agree, although we've to recognize almost three trends.
1) many socialdemocrats are now moving to right wing positions, like Schroeder or Bersani, in order to keep the power. This happens after a significant process of modernisation of their parties.
2) there is a (stupid) return of old-fashion left position to face the previous trend: Lafontaine and Royale are the signs of what I say. They refuse social market, whereas they are still based on the national welfare state*.
3) the new Left is driven by movement in favour of sustainability at the adequate scale. Sustainability does not mean just "environment", it means socio-economic sustainable development, plus sustainability in a temporal perspective.

If I should have to propose a 'manifesto' for a new left wing, I'd like to include also the fact that the EU is necessary as a scale for social state because, as this crisis has shown, we're so linked each other that we can't imagine to continue in this way, nation vs. nation. Usa, China, Brasil, Russia and India are our competitors, could we compete without an adequate size? Not only in terms of market, but politically. We should devolve to the EU policies like school, university and research, environment, VAT, defense, and job market.


We need to re-design a European left, recognizing that we've won in our countries (almost, where left wing gouverned). However, we could be reasonably optimistic if we recognize a general victory and that now we've to restart from zero.


*it's fuzzy the case of Spain, which is not aligned in cultural and political terms to the rest of the EU because it's the youngest democracy. However, Zapatero seems left wing only in terms of civil policy, while economically seems very similar to Aznar.

2 commenti:

Luciano Raso 2 ottobre 2009 alle ore 13:03  

If I should propose a manifesto for the new left, i would put that a left party is based on a democratic and effective governance, not on the charismatic presence of a leader. It will be the network to be charismatic. It should not be possible to distinguish who take the decision. This is the way it is in the netherlands. I am learning a new way of governing, all based on agreement and consensus. As regard this NL can give lesson to all the world. We all are happy that Barack Obama is changing the policies in USA, but the fact that some sensitive US's policies have changed after the presidential election is an indication that the president has too much power.

D21 2 ottobre 2009 alle ore 13:37  

What you say is interesting. However, is this a content for politics or the proposal for a new socio-political style?
Btw, I agree with you.

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