Mitterand wobbles in high wire act

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Irish workers go to the polls pamphlet on Divergence of style and policy are already beginning to show up within the ranks of Mitterand's 'government of all tendencies' within the Parti Socialiste.

While it is still too early for public disagreements to have been voiced among ministers, and while they will try to keep quiet about possible discords before the elections, there is no doubt that Mitterand's attempt to build a government out of all the different types of 'socialist' is not going to last too long.

The first reason is that the legislative elections will give a clearer picture of the mood of the people, and therefore allow Mitterand and his Prime Minister Mauroy to lean more strongly in one direction or another.

But the second reason is that the range of views and styles which they have tried to accommodate within the government is simply too broad, and cannot lead to the development of a coherent approach-and if there is one thing the French electorate loathes above all else it is incoherence.

Divisions In this week's developments, we begin to see the divisions opening up between the energetic Ieforming zeal of the left' of the party, as shown by the package of social measures announced on Thursday, and the openly Mitterand right wing militarism shown take rec Tom any to in the value or lne statutory by the new defence minister Charles Hernu in his oppos- take effect from 1 June. ition to the spread of the campaign for soldiers' rights. the 3.3% increase in prices The social measures over the last three months, enacted by the Conseil des this will leave the lowest Ministres includes a 10% rise paid some 6. % better off.

Price 60p (including posta WSL, BM Box 5277, Lo ndon Such a major lift in the SMIC is certain to trigger a wave of wage demands to After taking account of maintain differentials, and the bosses are already expressing concern about this 'knock on' effect.

The government is maintaining a cautious approach to this aspect of the wages question, and has not yet promised any further review of the SMIC, but has reminded the country of its long By the time this issue of Socialist Press is on sale voting will be almost over in the Irish elections on Thursday June 11.

Twelve candidates are standing on aplatform designed to make the question of the British imperialist presence in the North the main issue in the election.

The four Long Kesh hunger strikers, four other Long Kesh prisoners of war, and Mairead Farrell from Armagh women's gaol are all she backing an a campaign standing as balaudi mounted by the National H Block/Armagh C'ommitiee.

In addition H Block campaigner Vincent Doherty is standing against Prime Minister on behalf of the Trotskyist Peoples Democracy group.

Paddy Healy of the trotskyist League for a Workers term' intention to bring about some degree of catching up between the bottom and the middle of the national wage scales.

Firms will be partly compensated for the extra cost of the SMIC increase by a reduction in the level of social security contribution required of them in the case of the lower paid workers.

Other measures included in the social package are an Republic and also a prominent member of the National H Block C'ommittee is standing as a Trade Unionist against H Block' candidate in Dublin North East.

And Sean Kelleher, son of veteran republican leader Tom Kelleher, is standing on behalf of the H Block action group in C'ork South West.

The Irish preferential vote system, together with multi-seat constituencies, offers Irish workers the opporiunity to vote both for H Block and other candidates.

While it is not clear if they can repeat the success of Bobby Sands, they are nevertheless likely lo attract a substantial vote.

The H Block Committee has issued criteria by which to judge other candidates..

all of which revolve solely around the prisoners and the links between the bourgeois Free State and the British increase of 20% in the minimum pension, to 1700 francs per month and 25% increases in a range of family allowances, allowances to the handicapped, and rent allowances.

The last case will come as disappointment to many low paid workers who were expecting increases of up to 50%.

Further announcements repression in the North.

But there are other issues which will also be weighed in the minds of working class voters in Ireland-not least the immediate question of jobs and living standards.

With the Irish Labour Party standing for the first time in ages for election without any prior commitment to a coalition with the right wing opposition party line Gael, it is likely that many trade unionists will lend their electoral support to the party sponsored by their unions.

Such support needs to be followed through by a sustained fight against ' the politics of coalition and class collaboration.

In any event, no matter how radical' the verbal stance of Haughey's Fianna Fail or Blaney's Independent Fianna Fail on the national question it must be clear that such parties of the bourgeoisie offer no independent way forward to the working class or those fighting for the removal of British troops from the North and a united Irish workers' republic. are promised for June 10 (expected to include scheme to create 40,000 new public sector jobs and for June 17 (on reducing the cost of credit to small and medium sized firms, and an index . linked savings measure).

Weekly meetings This programme of announcements makes clever use of the system of weekly meetings of ministers each followed by press conferences, which is the way things are usually done in France, in the run up to the legislative elections.

At the same time the new ministers of housing and education have been making public statements about their own plans and programmes for improved conditions.

But as quickly as they try to peddle the image of the Parti Socialiste as a forward looking and ieforming organisation, defence minister Hernu drives furiously in the opposite direction.

In a televised interview on Tuesday he stated that it was 'inconceivable' that there should exist soldiers' committees in the French army, and that they would have to be dissolved where ever they were found.

Army committees

Inconceivable' or not, these committees exist, and not just in the French army but in several European armies.

In fact the committees have gone out of their way to avoid embarrassing the left parties in their campaign against Giscard.

They actually cancelled their planned European Congress, which was due to have taken place in Paris between the two rounds of the Presidential election.

The Parti Socialiste's programme declares itself in opposition to what it calls 'anarchic' soldiers' committees, by which it means organisations created by the soldiers themselves to represent their interests.

But it was in support of a series of democratic reforms of the present system of 'Regimental Committees' which include a minority of representatives from the ranks, and who are in any case selected by the commanders.

The PS programme promised a system of unit committees to be elected by secret bailot; Hernu seems to be in no hurry to implement this promise.

It is unlikely that the soldiers' movement will let the PS off this particular hook. Already there are fierce arguments raging about the right of officers and commanders to censor electoral literature sent to the barracks and living quarters of the soldiers.

Troubled conscience It is certain that this íssue will continue to trouble the conscience of the PS up to the last day of the election campaign and into the life of the next Assembly.

Hernu also. announced the resumption of the series of nuclear weapons tests on the pacific atoll of Mururoa, suspended since 25 May.

The decisions involved in the suspension and resumption are likely to remain shrouded in secrecy for some time yet.

There has certainly been opposition from several pacific states, notably New Lealand, to the carrying out of previous series of tests, and the suggestion has been widely circulated that the most recent series of tests have involved a neutron bomb prototype.

Obviously any public

admission of the existence of a neutron bomb testing programme would have important electoral consequences, and the whole matter is being dealt with cautiously.

It was only after a private discussion with Mitterand himself that Hernu felt able to announce the resumption of the test series.

Tendencies For Mitterand, balancing the conflicting tendencies within the PS continues to be a major headache, as the controversy over the appointment of Regis Debray to his secretariat However, this is nothing compared to the problems he is likely to encounter in the course of the election campaign.

In next week's Socialist Press we hope to have full details of the electoral pact concluded between the PS and the French Communist Party, designed to switch votes in the second round to the most successful left candidate from the first round.

At the time of writing it seems that Mitterand has succeeded in concluding such a pact without extending any promise of government positions to Communist Party members but it is highly unlikely that this can lead to a stable formation of government.

Almost certainly there has been some secret deal arranged with Marchais to the effect that the PCF will have some form of recognition of its contribution to the vote, but that the extent of this will depend on how far the election result shows a swing to the left in the country as a whole.

Break from past

All this wheeling and dealing is of course part of the fabric of French political life. It should not bliad us to the need for a serious break with the kind of political tradition which has held back the French working class since the war.

The demand now must continue to be for a joint government of the PS and the French Communist Party but without the bourgeois 'left radicals' of the MRG. Workers must demand that such a government of their mass parties govern directly in the interests of the working class and peasants.

Without this fundamental realignment it is only a matter of time until Mitterand's balancing skill fails him and leaves the country to fall back into the hands of the right wing.

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SOCIALISTPRESS, Thürsday 1l Juriè 'age ohn

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