As the old Spanish dictator Franco continues to cling on to life, the forces of the extreme right are steadily strengthening their positions in the Government.
A recent reshuffle has seen the departure of some well-known liberals" and until the senile Generalissimo puts his second fool in the grave, one can expeet them to stay out.
RIGHT TURN Meanwhile the Secretary-Gen eral of the underground Spanish Communist Party (PCH), Santiago Carillo, has in recent months made two important decastons The first was to send a deleg ation to Moscow to repair the hreach with the Kremlin bureas crats. Both Carillo and the legend ary "Pasionaria', Dolores Iharrun, were part of the delegition, and a joint statement was issued pledging eternal friendship, mutual solidarity. helief in peaceful co-existence, cic. The resumption of friendly relations between Carillo and Moscow marks the end of the former's mild firtation with Peking. ...AND AGAIN Fresh from the impact of Moscow, and hoping for a post in a government of national unity following the death of Franco, Carillo hastened to assure the Spanish capitalists that he was prepared to collaborate with anyone and especially the "civilised right-wing' The "democratic junta be envisages would include, according to himself, working class forces, popular forces from all the regions of Spain, and also the right including the Spanish monarchists"
To underline the class nature of this alliance, Carillo then went on to stress the need to win over sections of the right such as 'the bankers and the big industrialists.
As in Italy and Portugal, so in Spain the CP imagines that by moving right wards it can prevent i victory of reaction and win some time. However moves to the right only disarme the masses against reaction, particularly when the CP cannot explain for what precise purpose they would like to 'pain more time"
REPRESSION CONTINUES As the PCE prepares itself Tur office many of the people it would collaborate with are busy repressing the left organisations, including the L.CR-FTA(VD), 3 Spanish sympalhising organisation of the Fourth International.
Recent statements by the Spanish Trotskyists have denied allegntions in the press claiming that they were anvolved in bombing actics and nians to tree prisoners by The repression being carried out by the Franco dictatorship is designed preciscly to demoralise and smash she organisations of the revolutionary left. The revolutionar: left in Spain is much larger than in Portugal, and sections of it have led imporlant mass strugeles. The aim of the repression is to paralyse them in the period of legality which everyone is expecting in the very near future What makes Carillo's reformism all the more hankrupt is the fact that the Spanish working class movement has over the last four years experienced an important tevival, Growing militancy has given rise to an impressive series of struggles which have interminded with openly political actions such as the campaign to defend the Basque militants condemned in the 1970 Burgo trials, Virtually the entire country has heen affected by the struggles over the last few years, and red flags have been out on the streets agun for the finst time since the Civil War. It is those who have marched behind them who provide us with a glimpse of the socialist future rather than the sordid mancuerrings wich Carillo and his band curry on behind the backs of the Spanish proletariat The sickest man of European capital, Italy, is not getting any better. The Italian ruling class now confronts its 36th post war governmental crisis. Beneath this instability there lurks the spectre of Italian fiscism.
Not only does Italy have the largest fascist movement in Europe (the MSI), but even more dangerous are the links which already exist between the MSI and important sections of the state apparatus. The MSI and its militants are today acting as the extra purliamentary outriders of the strong state.
PLOTTERS THICKEN The recent arrest of General Vito Miceli, who was head of Italy's Secret Service till last July, has brought matters to a head. Miceli has been arrested on charges of "political conspiracy' in December 1970.
The plot took in a whole Workers' self-defance seemed rather more sensible than an historical compromise' with the right-wing after fascists planted a bomb in a trade union rally in the town of Brescia earlier this year, killing and wounding many workers.
ALLOTE relating lo an attempted coup d'etat section of Secret Service officers as well as elements in the army and police, and one of its leaders was the fascist Prince Valerio Borghese. A number of those involved were also members of the MSl, and they carried out a series of bombings including that of a Milan bank in 1969, which was than presented as an action by 'left-wing extremists This led to the arrest of a number of revolutionary militants, while the Secret Service delberately fed the Minister of the Interior, Giulio Andreotti, with false informLast Sunday saw warrants being issued aprinst 21 other plotters, who were involved in a plan to seize and hold hostage the President, Giovanni Leone, and carry out selective sabotage throughout the country. The plan also inci aded the assassination of leading CP members and even certain elements in the leadership of the Christian Democratic Party.
It has also emerged that many fascists who were arrested in 1970 while carrying out actions in prep aration for the coup were let off by the courts because of the protection they enjoyed from the Secret Service, The details of this were published in the italian CP leader Berlinguer - offers emptin The tirst issue of Morice Diboure! (Struggle for a Socialist Mauritius a bulletin analysing both the problems confronted by Mauritian socialists at home ariel by Maurian workers is Botan nas pust boen padsnce The bulletin, which is produced by the 'Groupement Revolutionnaire de l'le wunce HaRi, begins to take up ene weaknesses or she mauritian minicant Movement which has up till now dominated the left on the island. Copies are mailable from: G.R.I.M., e/o 97 Caledonian Road, London N.I. unhappy about the election of a Labour Government in Britain. We can be sure that Kissinger, the bearer of 'goodwill, will insist that under no circumstances should the Christian Democrats accept the Italian Communist Party in the THE STRONG STATE The answer of the Italian CP to the growing threat of a strong state in Italy with army and NATO backing, is to offer a 'historic compromise to the Christian Democrats.
In other words, the CP says to the Italian ruling class: We know the crisis is severe, but we dominate the trade unions and without us you have no hope of a solution. Why not, in that case, let us share power with the Christtan Democrats and restore stability in Italy? As for socialism, we know that it is a long way away and we know what happens to those like Allende who try to go too fast.' It is a tempting proposition for the Italian capitalists, but they ulso know the risks involved. Apart from the putery from Kissinger that would greet the inclusion of CP ministers, there is aiso the problem of the army and NATO not lo mention the rising working class expectations if the CP took office, and the reaction when the CP carried on in the same old way.
The reproupment of the Iralian far left which is taking place today could then become a real pole of attraction for sections of the CP's bure THE ONLY ROAD The best way of preventing the establishment of a strong state B to prepare and mobilise the masses The CP could do tha quite easily if it wanted to, but its political line is strictly governed by its addiction lo parliamentarism and gradualism Organising the masses indep endently of the state is caly a serous proposition it you have a stratery for destroying that state The CP does not,and it will discover that however fur to the right it moses it will not be able to restore stability for long Red Weekly- 2 November 1974 Page 5