Waiting for Lefty

In NR’s issue dated January 23 I discussed the democratic credo proclaimed jointly last November by Georges Marchais and Enrico Berlinguer, chiefs of the French and Italian Communist parties. This document raises both the historical problem of the nature of Communism and the derivative practical problem of nonCommunist tactics in relation to Communism. Are Communist parties the same sort of political party as the other parties—liberal, conservative, socialist, Christian Democrat, etc.—that we recognize as legitimate political formations within a democratic, pluralist regime? Is it a permissible tactic for a non-Communist democratic party to join a Communist party in a united or popular front? Is it consistent with the objective of preserving a democratic, pluralist regime that a Communist party should be in the government?

Henry Kissinger, according to Der Spiegel’s story, predicted a Marxist Western Europe within a decade. The political moves that will prove him right or wrong are going to be made a lot sooner than that—perhaps even this year, by 1977 almost certainly. In Portugal the Communist Party is already a member of the coalition government. In Italy the Communist Party is a constituent—mostly the dominant constituent—of the governments of thousands of smaller towns and every large city except Rome, and will probably win Rome this spring. The last local election showed Communists running only two percentage points behind the Christian Democrats. A new general election must come no later than next year, and may come this year. In France’s last presidential election, the United Front ran less than two percentage points behind Giscard; the next election comes in 1977. If Juan Carlos’ regime flops, the Spanish Communists expect to be part of any government that might take its place.

JB

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James Burnham

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In NR’s issue dated January 23 I discussed the democratic credo proclaimed jointly last November by Georges Marchais and Enrico Berlinguer, chiefs of the French and Italian Communist parties. This document raises both the historical problem of the nature of Communism and the derivative practical problem of nonCommunist tactics in relation to Communism. Are Communist parties the same sort of political party as the other parties—liberal, conservative, socialist, Christian Democrat, etc.—that we recognize as legitimate political formations within a democratic, pluralist regime? Is it a permissible tactic for a non-Communist democratic party to join a Communist party in a united or popular front? Is it consistent with the objective of preserving a democratic, pluralist regime that a Communist party should be in the government?

Henry Kissinger, according to Der Spiegel’s story, predicted a Marxist Western Europe within a decade. The political moves that will prove him right or wrong are going to be made a lot sooner than that—perhaps even this year, by 1977 almost certainly. In Portugal the Communist Party is already a member of the coalition government. In Italy the Communist Party is a constituent—mostly the dominant constituent—of the governments of thousands of smaller towns and every large city except Rome, and will probably win Rome this spring. The last local election showed Communists running only two percentage points behind the Christian Democrats. A new general election must come no later than next year, and may come this year. In France’s last presidential election, the United Front ran less than two percentage points behind Giscard; the next election comes in 1977. If Juan Carlos’ regime flops, the Spanish Communists expect to be part of any government that might take its place.