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Workers Power Global, Melbourne
That the ALP threw the election away seems to be a widely accepted fact. Even Goff Whitlam has publicly chastised the party for not sufficiently differentiating itself from the Liberals.
There is plenty of anecdotal evidence of rank and file ALP activists apologetic for their partyâs positions on the war and on refugees and of members working instead for the Socialist Alliance on polling day.
The fact that the Socialist Alliance scored some of its highest votes in the safest Labor seats and polling booths is reasonable evidence that many in Laborâs working class heartlands were not happy with the bi-partisan stance that Beazley and the parliamentary party took on the two key issues of the campaign.
If Howard won the election on the race card stirring up fear of refugees and of Muslims in particular then Beazley lost by appearing as a less convincing version of the same.
But the problem for the ALP goes deeper than losing a third election and a number of once key MPs. Already, prior to the election, some of the more militant unions were handing funds to the Green Party and there were even hidden donations to the Socialist Alliance. Now, union leaders, including in the important AMWU (Australian Metal Workers Union) and the CFMEU (Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union) are talking about disaffiliation.
If this were to happen, it would mean the loss not just of millions of dollars in donations but of the militant base of activists who can be mobilized around elections to work for the party.
At the same time and maybe it is a fit of pique with the threatened disaffiliations the party is discussing the future of its relationship with the unions. In particular, the 60/40 split of votes at the party conference. At present, the unions control block votes of 40% - a powerful lever within the party. Crean, the new party leader and ironically ex-Australian Council of Trade Unions head, is talking about revisiting this traditional link with the unions.
He is being encouraged all the way by bourgeois commentators who focus on the supposed corruption in the union movement. The Australian newspaper talks about the unions preventing the ALP from having "sensible" economic policies.
Presumably "sensible" means unfettered neo-liberalism and further attacks on union rights. These right-wing commentators blame Laborâs defeat not on its turn to the right but on its continued ties to the unions.
There is still the perception that the ALP is run by the unions and this seems to be a perception that Crean would like to change.
He is already building a new look ALP. The front bench has been almost completely replaced and while he has taken some positive moves like trying to produce more of a gender balance the idea really seems to be to dissociate the new ALP from the Beazley years and from the old Labor values at the same time.
The question is whether this will be enough to save the party.
Whilst the role of the unions in the decision making process may be being reviewed, at heart, the ALP leaders must know that they need this base. They would just like it to be a toothless and passive membership.
The party may well be in for difficult times in terms of appeasing its more militant members. But as Crean is also talking about ending the system of open factions, there may be no way for dissent to be voiced. For a long time, the Party has operated a series of factions the right, the left, the socialist left and so on. These have operated as pressure groups and often members have joined a faction rather than the party as such.
Crean has announced that he thinks the time for factions is over. This is ironic since his career has been built by his maneuverings within the right faction of the party. It is clearly a move to try to close down the democratic means within the party for debate and change to occur. It may produce a kind of false unity but at the cost of silencing any dissenting voices.
Of course, Crean is trying to head off any potential for a split in the foreseeable future. In this, he may be successful because nothing coheres the Labor party like having to stand up to a right wing government which feels it has a blank cheque to attack past working class gains.
And that is exactly what the Coalition has been given. The Liberals in particular have been able to consolidate their vote. One Nation voters have returned to the Liberal fold because, as Pauline Hanson commented, the Liberal Party has taken on all their policies! National Party voters have also moved into the Liberal party meaning that the nationals have had to give up a Cabinet position.
A third term is unusual in Australian politics. Howard clearly sees it as the opportunity to push through more attacks on the working class. He has already made it clear that the policy of sending refugees to poor Pacific neighbours will continue as will the full sale and privatization of Telstra. There will be no let up on the anti-union laws and more money will go to private schools and private medical care.
For the ALP, in some ways, this could be good news in the face of Howardâs attacks, people will flock back to it seeing it as at least some alternative to the madness of the Liberals.
For the working class in Australia though this is no solution. The next three years will be a turbulent time in Australian politics. The Socialist Alliance hopes to continue to grow out of disaffection with Labor and plans to stand in state and local council elections.
The Greens have consolidated themselves and are seen by many as the left alternative to Labor. At the same time, though redundancies continue and the number of jobless grows, there is a fight back in some industries with the number of small strikes on a slight increase.
The best way for the Alliance to grow in the next period is to put clear red water between it and the so-called left Green Party, which means building a real revolutionary alternative to the two-faced and traitorous ALP.
The full programme of Workers Power in the election (pdf file)
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Australia: race card wins election for the coalition
Australia: Howard wins third term
The full programme of Workers Power in the election (pdf file)
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Australia: let's make Mayday massive! All out on 1 May
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The Australian Labor Party’s ‘Third Way’
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