[The victory of the Union (UCD) in the…]

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The victory of the Union (UCD) in the Spanish elections of March 1 was a product not of the strength of the Spanish bourgeoisie, but of the treachery of the main workers' parties over the last three years since the death of Franco.

Both the Socialist Party (PSOE) and the smaller CP have collaborated with Adolfo Suarez and his "reforming" Francoists in imposing what purports to be a democratic constitution.

The working class, however, have seen clearly enough that the Socialistand Communist-bached democratic. constitution leaves intact not only the content of some of the organic laws of the Franco dictatorship but also the repressive, hated. and still omnipresent armed police and civil guard.

Untouched

These apparatuses, like Franco's army, have been completely untouched by the Suarez-Gonzales-Carrillo reforms, As Spain went to the polls, over 100 political prisoners remained in jail without being charged, striking municipal workers were drafted into the army as a strike-breaking measure, and in other disputes pickets were being arrested.

When this is the kind of state that Gonzales and Carrillo and the other PSOE and CP leaders have helped to create, it was little wonder that many workers stayed at home rather than voting for leaders whose policies seemed so little different from those of the former officials of the Franco dictatorship.

The poll in the March 1 elections was 68%-somewhat higher than in the constitutional referendum of last Dec. 15, but considerably below the first post-Franco elections in June 1977 Abstentions And the high level of abstentions this time was not the result of the influence of the Basque nationalists who (left and right) participated in these elections, but rather of some political disillusion in the country as a whole especially among the working class.

Workers have observed not only the PSOE and CP leadership helping to strengthen the "liberalised" regime still run in its essentials by Francoists, but also the persistent role of the reformist and Stalinist party and trade union bureaucrats in sabotaging struggles for higher wages, better conditions and national and other rights.

In addition they been treated to an election campaign in which both the PSOE and CP leaderships strenuously refused to fight in the name of the independent interests of the working class.

Both workers' parties ran a campaign not for the right to form a government themselves but for the right to join a government of the main. bourgeois political formation, the UCD.

In the case of the CP, this position was explicit.

Throughout the campaign CP leader Carrillo said that the country needed a "government of ' national unity" including all the "democratic forces"

Juggler This category in Carrillo's view means the CP, the PSOE, the UCD and (depending on his mood) the ever further right Democratic Coalition led by the Francoist butcher Manuel Fraga.

Carrillo, however, is a skilful juggler with words.

He managed to combine the call for this grand class collaborationist coalition with a denunciation of the PSOE for preparing to enter a coalition with the UCD Gonzalez-putting on excluding the CP and for being, therefore, "no different from the UCD".

Whether or not this line of argument had any effect, the CP did increase its parlamentary strength from 20 to 23 and its share of the vote by 2%.

Friendly

The PSOE's campaign was based first on scornfully ignoring the CP and second on more or less friendly criticism of the UCD, preparing the way for entry into a class collaborationist coalition-which its leaders were careful never to mention.

They called for a "firm government", but not in any way for a socialist government, let alone a workers' government.

The unspoken condition for entry into coalition with the UCD, however, was that the socialists should make striking gains in the Collaborationist Gonzalez and the collaborationist leaders could then argue that the UCD had been forced into coalition by the strength of the PSOE: left face for the electorate?

These plans, however, have been seriously upset if not totally destroyed by the results which were universally regarded as a stinging setback for the PSOE.

• Not, of course, that the PSOE leaders, despite their protestations, wished to obtain a majority in these The PSOE leaders in particular feared above all the prospect of returning with a majority which would produce a massive demand from the whole working class for the formation of a government 'of workers' parties to implement a programme in the interests of the working class.

Relief

At least Gonzalez and Carrillo will breathe a sigh of relief that they have not been forced to this.

The failure, however, to significantly increase their vote reduces the prestige especially of Felipe Gonzalez to such an extent as to threaten his control within the workers' movement.

So as to maintain his own position (especially a few weeks ahead of the PSOE's 28th Congress)

Gonzalez not surprisingly greeted the electoral setback with a combination of throwing the blame elsewhere and • a peevish, demagogic display of opposition to the CDU government.

The PSOE, he said, did not fulfil electoral expectations because of the "scare tactics" used by the UCD, and also because the PSOE in "the last election had already reached the 'ceiling of its votes in the' present situation!

Gonzalez publicly refused to congratulate Suarez on his victory on the grounds that he "did not congratulate liars"

"Let. them govern alone" he declared two days after the election, "the PSOE will pass into a critical' and not destructive opposition", Though this does not automatically rule out the early establishment of a coalition government, it makes it much less likely than it seemed the day before the election.

It is almost certain that after their election setback the PSOE leaders will for now be of greater use to the bourgeoisie in opposition than in government.

Only though "opposition" to the UCD can Gonzalez win back some of his lost prestige and restore his control both within the party and in the workers' movement as a whole.

Such "opposition" however, will clearly not touch on any policies of the UCD but only, as in the past, trivial questions of methods and style.

Through the campaign Gonzalez supported wage limits, called for support for the viciously repressive Forces of Public Order and rejected demands for self determination or even a serious degree of autonomy in the Basque country.

The CP leaders, however, are strongly opposed to any form of PSOE "opposition" to the bourgeoisie, however fraudulent.

They can see that this will increase pressure on the CP leaders from their own working class base to oppose the reactionary policies of the government:

After expressing satisfac tion at the CP's modest electoral gains, Stalinist leader Santiago Carrillo insisted after the elections on his demand for a coalition government with the UCD-explicitly ruling out any alliance of workers' parties.

He recognised that the_ time was "not yet ripe" for CP participation in the government though that remains his aim.

Must govern

He insists that the PSOE_ must now govern in conjunction with the UCD.

"I believe," he said at a_ press conference last week!

"that the PSOE will come off a good deal worse if it's not in the Government than if it enters it."

"We are still in a period of transition: The approval of the Constitution doesn' mean total politica stability, and there are stil some themes •be developed especially that of the regional autonomies which means the game o alternatives in politica power is not permitted.

"In today's situation in the country it would not King Juan Carlos and ( have been opportune to move towards a government of the left."

Treacherous

clearer statement of the treacherous policies of the CP would scarcely be possible.

Carrillo alludes to what every worker militant in Spain today is well aware of -the fact that basic democratic rights are very far from having been gained in Spain.

In fact, serious attempts have been made by sections of the Francoist military within the last six months to stage a coup d'etat.

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Many bitter lessons of history prove that the only possible route towards establishing democratic brights and of fighting fascism is through the independent struggle of the working class.

This requires the establishment of a united front of workers' organisations and the rejection of all forms of collaboration with the bourgeoisie and its parties.

As the founding programme of the Fourth (the Transitional makes clear:

"A merciless exposure of the theory and practice of the 'People's Front' is therefore the first condition for a revolutionary struggle against fascism...

Stalinist Santiago Carrillo and the rest of the Spanish CP leadership move in precisely the opposite direction.

Inopportune

. In the name of fighting the danger of fascism and of winning "democracy" Carrillo brands the independent struggles of . the working class "¡nopportune"

In their place, he seeks to tie the working class to the "reforming" Francoists who have instituted a policy which at every turn restricts They serve rather to restrict • democratic rights and weaken the working class in the face of the offensive of the Spanish capitalist class and the threat of renewed fascist reaction.

In face of the treacherous policies of the PSOE and CP, was there an alternative party in Spain which represented the need for unity and independence of the working class?

Candidates

In the third article n ext week, we will attempt to answer this question by examining number of campaigns.

We will analyse the positions of the Maoist parties, of the left' and "socialist' nationalists in Euskadi, and of two organisations claiming adherence to Trotskyism.

The Revolutionary Communist League (LCR), Spanish section of the USFI, presented its own candidates in 35 provinces, The smaller Communist League (LC) presented a list of candidates in five provinces under the title "Workers' Alliance" , but withdrew before the voting, calling for a critical vote to the main workers' parties in most of Spain and in Euskadi to the LCR.

An examination of these campaigns can point to some important lessons in the fight for a principled intervention in bourgeois elections 'and for the method of the Trotskyist Transitional Programme.

Extracts from the electoral programme of the PSOE:

Freedom is now in your hands.

The enormous hopes which the Spanish people had deposited in the socialists in the June 1977 elections reflected in the fact that one in rerecteo in mne tact mat one w three voters considered us their representatives.

We proposed, in the first point of our programme, the making of a Constitution which recognises and guarantees to all Spaniards their rights and freedoms through democratic and civilised forms of government.

The " Constitution was approved by the Cortes, backed by the people and sanctioned by the King.

Meanwhile we socialists have worked to make other points of our programme reality, strengthening the nascent democratic system and carrying on the work of controlling the government from a constructive opposition.

Proof of that are the laws we have proposed in the Cortesmore than all the other Parliamentary groups put together.

We carried out constant work perfecting the laws presented by the government.

Unity

Fulfilling the desire for unity felt by all, we have carried out the integration of diverse socialist currents into the mainstream of the PSOE so as to be able to confront the tasks of government from the strength of our unity, the power of the youth, the guarantee of honesty, the force of our implantațion in the whole of Spain and the experience of the 100 years of our history. A firm government.

But the peaceful path towards democracy has been criminally obstructed by terrorism and the nostalgias of yesterday which use it as a pretext to offer us magic formulas of salvation which try again to rob the people of the rights and freedoms so laboriously gained.

Also it makes more difficult the reversal of the economic crisis which in Spain has worsened as a result of the ineffectiveness of governments which haven't wanted to or haven't known how to take the precise measures in time.

In broad sections of our society there is felt the need for a new government which is able to drag the country out of stagnation.

Rights A government which carries out a firm policy of defence of the rights and freedoms recognised .in the Constitution, developing it in a progressive way.

A government which puts into operation the regional autonomies from the perspective of solidarity and the capacity for self government. gives what detail government which w ren it an undertaking 1 ulfills it has undertaken in all its Invest A government which undertakes a clear position of economic cleansing which puts an end to the discouragement of the entrepreneurs by stimulating them to invest and puts an end to the bad state of the workers by encouraging them to work more and better.

A government possessing authority to resolve tensions in some sections. of the Armed Forces and Security Forces.

A government able to create an atmosphere of understanding and solidarity with the Basque country and which uses imagination, knowledge and decision for an effective anti-terrorist New jobs A government which creates new jobs through investment in infrastructure, housing and collective works which improve the conditions of life in towns and city suburbs, which are at present more geared to create juvenile delinquency than for community life.

Which gives sufficient benefit to those who cannot find work, which ends the corruption and inefficiency of the Social Security system and is ready to provide humanised services and sufficient pensions.

We need a government finaily which makes Spain a happy, just, safe, prosperous and free country, worthy of the respect ana recognition which its history, its culture and its people deserve.