Be must not be sectarian to the new social movements, specifi cally the European Social Forum. This is something new, with the potential to develop in different ways. It's a big place for mobilisation and led to a fantastic, anti-war united front on 15 February last year. More than in the 60s the Social Forum is a space where many ideas can be freely debated.
What happens in between each Social Forum is important. Social movements have a direct impact on the traditional labour movement, resulting in what could be called a "citizens, social labour movement."
Germany was the sleeping giant - everything had been under control for years. On November 2003, 100,000 people demonstrated, mostly workers, acting independently of the official unions. For the first time there is room for autonomous, anti-capitalist organisation inside the trade unions and politically. done many scandalous things in their history, but in the 80s they discarded the very programmes on which they were built; collective bargaining, social security, pensions and social legislation.
But at the same time as social democracy was collapsing the revolutionary left was also collapsing so there was a vacuum. Now revolutionary organisations have a fantastic opportunity to be at the head of rebuilding the social and trade union movements.
In our view anti-capitalist, pluralistic new parties are the answer. The paradox is that only revolutionary organisations are capable of building such new alliances. This needs an understanding of the new capitalism and the new working class. You don't try to hegemonize things even if you are the majority. Everyone has to feel involved.
Only non-sectarian revolutionaries who want a broad, pluralistic, free dialogue can create broad anti-capitalist parties alliances. But while building these, we have to ensure they address the real-life problems of working people with concrete answers. Alliances and parties that don't do that will fall apart.