Portugal-Eanes drops the "democratic" mask

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The faithful servant has been dismissed.

Mario Soares, the leader of Portugal's Socialist Party who for over two years has dutifully tried to make Portugal safe again for capitalism, has not been asked to form another government.

President Eanes of the Portuguese armed forces has now told Soares that in the eyes of Portuguese capitalists he has failed Eanes' decision not to ask Soares to form a new government marks a major change in tactics by the Portuguese ruling class and also a sharp increase in the political dangers faced by the Portuguese masses.

Caetano The appointment of Nobre da Costa as Prime Minister indicates that the bourgeoisie has decided to abandon its effort to rule through Soares' class collaborationist coalition.

"'Independent"

More than that-the bourgeoisie has abandoned, at least for now, its effort to rule through political parties.

Nobre da Costa is a politically "independent" capitalist.

He was chief executive of the state oil company under the fascist government of Caetano.

More recently he was the "technocratic" industry minister in both the sixth provisional government and the first Soares government after the 1976 parliamentary elections.

But the appointment of a man like Nobre da Costa doesn't mean that the bourgeoisie has decided to rule directly without the aid of political agents.

What it does mean is a big stride in the direction of military rule. d.

Nobre da Costa's power will not be based on political parties or on parliament but on the armed Nobre da Costa is the direct nominee of Eanes, who did not. ma e the appointment until had been squared with the allmilitary Council of the So the much-vaunted "democratic" constitution which was the offspring of the so-called Constituent Assembly, by which Soares set so much store, now gives Eanes the green light to re-establish military rule.

At the centre of the latest government crisis has been the question of capitalist property.

The coalition of the Socialist Party and the Christian Democrats broke up because of disagreements over the speed of handing back nationalised property to its former owners.

For the Christian Democrats this restoration of property was not happening quickly enough.

More slowly The Socialists were equally devoted to undoing these nationalisations but wanted to do it more slowly so as not to upset their own rank and file and to throw an easy catch to the waiting opportunistic hands of the Communist Party.:

But both Socialist and Communist Party leaders have as usual shown themsleves totally unwilling to defend the gains made by Portuguese workers and peasants in the 18 months which followed the overthrow of the fascist government.

The Stalinist leaders have diplomatically opposed the nomination of Nobre da Costa on the grounds that "it doesn't correspond to the characteristics needed to solve the crisis"

These 'characteristics' according to the CP leaders, would be fulfilled by an alliance of all the "democratic and patriotic torces, especially the Socialists and Communists"

But the CP doesn't call in any sense for a CP-SP Person pique As for Soares and the Socialist Party, their reactions to the new events seem to be based more on personal pique than political principle.

Soares clearly remains as dutiful as ever to his bourgeois masters.

It is typical that Soares is not concerned at the threat posed by the new government to the workers and peasants..

But he has made only the mildest complaints that the government clearly violates his own beloved bourgeois constitution.

He has promised that the Socialist Party "will not systematically place obstacles in the way of" the new *disguised military The bourgeoisie can expect no more faithful servants than this.

Nobre da Costa Soares There is now great urgency for a fight throughout the labour movement based on the demands:

Down with the Nobre da Costa/Eanes government!

For a Socialist PartyCommunist Party government.

Expel the Soares leadership from the labour movement!

Occupy to defend all nationalised property!

Dissolution of the bourgeois army!

Build workers committees and militias to defend and extend the gains of April 1974!