FELIPE Gonzalez, general secretary of Spain's Socialist Party, called the ett wing's bluff when he resigned s the party's recent congress. He hai led the move to drop all relerences to Marxism from the party's statetes When his challenge fell be resigned. leaving his opponents in dissrray.
Under Goazalez's leadershin thi Socialist Party (PSDE) has estab lished itself as the leading opposition party, but only throngh a policy of collaboration and support for the right-wing poverament on crucial questions of westerity and luw and Nevertheless, the party has ahrass formally maintained the adherence to Marxism bequeathed it by Tounder, Pahlo Iglesias, at the end of last century. The motion moved hy delegates from the mining region of Asturias, declaring the PSDE to be a class party based on Murism. came as no break with tradition.
Gonzalez'sresignation was nol, as some commentators have suggested, s maller of honor, hat a long term move to consolidate his leadership By withdrawing be has neatly exposed the political weakness of his "Marxist" opponents.
Happi enough to induige theoreticat chest beating, the left was corpicieis taken ahack when the leadership of ine party was offered it. A temporry steering committee has takee over the direction of the perly pending an extruontinary coaference within six months to elect a new Having had a few days to recover the executive members who supported to assemble a new leadership team the party's centre, But Gonzalez's retur may well be sooner rather than later.
Most ominously Enrique Tierne Galvan, the PSOE's president, has referred to the fact that the Socialist will folerale alternative to Gonzalez. The lesson should not be lost on those left-wing supporters of 'national sovereignty in the British Labour Party.
Socialist Challenge 31 May 1979 page 13
Fisher's hypocrisy AS a delegate to conference, I found it incredible to hear Alan Fisher defend the miserable pittance handed out to public sector workers as a positive gain and proof of his and egotiating, and then go on to say that available nembership had shown its unwillingsess to fighit The hypocrisy of the man was such that on the one hand he lashed out at His critics for wanting to do the Tory sedia a good turn by "washing our duty linen in public, and then went on to please the same media by a divisive attack on other public sector So he . won the conierence One renson novanced As to why he shouldn't go was that there was no-ode to renlace him! But that one's easy. There are a number of Oghting socialists who could do the and for an average worker's The way forward in NUPE now is a amited fight by all left militants in the -500 vigorously for the just demands of our members, to fight to change the uructure of the union to a fully democratic organisation with election and total recall of all officials the NUPE RIATE Icadership in the capitalist system.
support of private sector interests basis only Fancy/book-keeping service. the need to fight in personal capacity)
That hard-won right must be defended against both outright theft by the state on behalf of and petty pilfering by private practitioners.
On this principled class struggle must oppose existence of private beds in NHS hospitals and refute petty accountarguments EntE private practice subsidises the health ANDY HERRING (ASTMS grosp secretary. Hammersmith hospital— Even the SCL.V's programme can be amended at will. The founding conference accepted the policy of no rate or rent increases, but supporters of the Socialist Charter have been supporting and arguing for massive rate increases in London.
This example helps to explain the ULTEOUS moves SWAy SCLV'S programme orientation. To have come out against cate increases would have jeopardised the SCLV's relationship with certain Labour lefts such as Ted Knight and Ken Livingstone, This relationship, rather than the job of turning the Labour Party outwards, is what the SCLV has come to be all about hope that the debate there will be serious rather 'insinuation and distortion"
SCLY JON DUVEEN (SC sapporter on SCLY stering committee)
the Gay book appeal and WE are two of the authors of The Law and Sexuality recently published by Grass Roots Books, and we have been approached by a major publishing company to write a book about lesbians and gay men.
We feel that a general, positively relying on Elgar La Nazi).
THOUGH scandal, is one reason why we plan to set up Lovers Against the Nazis (ELAN) with its own badge (Pomp on Perhaps this is also the Baroque Againsı Racism concert. Anyone interested in performing or helping should contact A. Hall, c/o Socialist Challenge.
HAROLD HILL (Essex)
most readers (myself included) will not have followed the intricacies of the great Muldergate I'm sure you will have