Terry Conway from Socialist Resistance talked to Peter Drucker, a leading member of Socialist Alternative Politics (SAP), the Dutch section of the Fourth SR: What was the balance of forces between the loft and the right No In the referendum campaige PD: Well the bourgeois press says that the No campaign was dominated by the leftwing Socialist Party, the only parliamentary party which fought for a left No. And since the referendum they are the ones who have seen a real surge of support in the opinion polis.
terms of how people voted, things are also very clear.
The electoral base of the Christian Democrats voted overwhelmingly for the constitution, while that of the right-wing Liberals was pretty solidly in the same
On the other side, the electoral base of the Socialist Party was completely in support of the No campaign while the majority of those who normally vote for either the Social Democrats or the Green also voted against the treaty, against the advice of their party leaders. Far-right supporters also voted no of course, but they only have small numbers. So it was those who normally vote left who in this case voted no.
These were also voters who came from class areas, and who have lower levels of education. It was those who are the highest earners who supported the Yes camp.
What is harder to tell is what people's motivation was for how they voted. The exit polls showed people talking aDOL issues SUCH as the bureaucracy of Brussels, the expense of the proposals, the lack of consultation and the fact that Europe is going to far too tast.
If the referendum had happened last autumn
when there was a
strong upsurge in
trade union struggle,
the situation would be
very different.
None of these are clearly left-wing positions like saying "I voted no against a neo-liberal Europe" or "I voted No against militarism", but they can be interpreted • 1Д number of different ways.
For example, people knew that the European Union is pushing for the privatisation of electricity and that as a result municipal transport in the Netherlands was threatened with privatisation too. The SP ran a campaign against this which did limit some of the damage, so this was in some people's minds too.
But there is no doubt that the left No campaign was less developed, less politically sharp and had less impact on general political debate than its equivalent in France. SR: To what exient did the French campaln Impact In the MOTHERE TES PD: There is no doubt that the French result gave us a sense.of momentum. This was especially true for those on the left who were questioning the constitution but were worried that voting no could strengthen the right. SR: To what extent did the Issue of Islamaphobia and the qoeston of Turkay's accession to the EU have an Impact on the PD: These issues were not very much debated. The only force that raised the question
decisive. of Turkey was the maverick right-wing liberal Geert Wilders, for whom it was the cause celebre. But these were not key questions for most SR: What has been the Impact of the result on the government In the Netherlands?
PD: It is a contradictory situation because the government was already deeply unpopular and has slipped even further in the opinion polls. This means however that they are totally afraid of new elections and will do anything to hold their coalition together at all costs. It seems that there will be no scapegoats :even the junior minister responsible for Europe seems sate.
They always made it clear from the outset that whatever happened in the referendum would make no difference to the government.
And unfortunately it does not seem as if there is a social movement with the strength
force elections the SR: How was the Loft No campalga organised? Are Is dynamics likoły to contage? PD: The campaign was quite a small group of people from a range of radical left organisations. Its chairperson was Fourth International supporter Willem Bos. He was able to put over a clear radical message on behalf of the The spectacular victory of the No campaigns on the European Union Constitution, first in France and then in the Netherlands, pose serious problems not only for the governments of these two countries but for the project to strengthen neoliberalism across Europe. What is even more impressive is that in both cases, particularly in France, it was the strength of the left's "no" campaign that was In these three pages we carry an interview with Peter Drucker from the Netherlands and three pieces from France - an extract from a speech from Olivier Besancenot from the Ligue Comuniste Revolutionaire, French section of the Fourth International to a massive rally organised by the French Communist Party in April, and two edited statements from the LCR since the results came through.
campaign - against neo-liberalism, against militarism -in all the big national debates. There were some local committees but they organised under different banners with some being little more than local Socialist Party branches. Overall, the relationship with the Socialist Party was a little peculiar. They definitely supported the campaign and committed material and human resources to it. But their own political message was much less sharp Their message was that the LICaL would "reduce the Netherlands to a province of a European super-state" - a line which can be seen as giving ground to nationalism. Our comrades inside the Socialist Party, who have had some successes in debates with the leadership on other questions, are now pointing out in the internal balance sheet that is being discussed at the minute that this was an unnecessary concession, and one which is particularly dangerous in the context of the aura or badonansm mal per vades in Holland since the rise and fall of Pym Fortyn. To what extent the dynamics of the campaign will continue is difficult to tell. If the referendum had happened last autumn when there was a strong upsurge in trade union struggle, the situation would be very different. But after the trade union leaders signed their agreement with the government and the bosses, social calm was restored very quickly.
There is still the possibility of explosions on a sectoral basis and if these develop it will be interesting to see to what extent lessons of the European campaign are played out.
There are some struggles already taking place - doctors are taking intermittent strike action over the government's plans to hand over the healthcare system to private insurance for example.
Firefighters seem to be building links with fellow trade unionists in London -my local fire station has a banner warning the mayor of Amsterdam that if he isn't careful he will feel some of the London heat.
But the trade union leadership was solidly part of the Yes camp and there was no real organisation of the no camp in the trade unions. which means those linkages are weaker than we would Suke
Other possibilities do exist as the campaign has clearly stimulated a greater debate on European politics • than before. There is the possibility of a National Convention which can debate out what we want from Europe. This would provide a forum to deepen discussion on providing a real alternative to neoliberalism and militarism.
page 9 of the scan
Socialist
i pas celle des patrons Le 29-mai vators ta 29-main votons - mais pas celle despatrons Le 29-mdi, tutons Bringing together all those who for