This article can also be read in German here

Across Europe conservatives, nationalists and fascists are celebrating election wins. The Social-Democratic, Socialist and Labour parties are reeling after their electoral support plummeted.

The Social Democrats in Germany scored just 21 per cent of the vote. The sense of despondency was summed up by Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the SPD foreign minister, who said: “This is a disappointing election result – there’s no talking around it.” In France the Socialist Party’s vote fell from 28 per cent to just 16 per cent.

However, despite the collapse of these so-called “centre left” parties, in a number of countries more left wing parties, which had been involved in the recent anti-capitalist struggles in the workplaces and on the streets, like the mass strikes in France and the street protests in Greece, connected with workers’ and young people’s desire for radical change and did reasonably well.

Overall, people used the European elections to punish the social democrats for governing on behalf of the rich and carrying out a series of “neoliberal reforms” like privatisation and welfare cuts. The social democratic parties were all, like Labour in the UK, created by the working class, but act in the interests of the capitalists. Their working class base has now, across the board, punished them.

There is an urgent need for new working class parties to turn the tide, as part of a genuine working class fightback against the economic crisis. Without this the next few years will see the situation deteriorate further for workers and progressive forces as the right makes gains.

The rise of the right
The massive success of some of the right wing parties was a direct result of this erosion of support for the social democrats.

In Spain, the right wing Peoples’ Party won the election, beating the governing Spanish Socialist Party. The conservatives also won 10 seats in Portugal, defeating the Social Democrats, who are also in government.

In Austria the Social Democratic Party’s (SPO) support fell to only 23.8 per cent and the far right Freedom Party massively increased its vote. This was a historic defeat in the elections for the SPO.

The governing social democratic parties have been punished for their defence of capitalism, as people moved to the right, seduced by the bosses’ claims to be more decisive, or abstained.

But it would be wrong to say that people only voted against incumbent governments as a mere protest. In countries where the Social Democracy is in opposition, the right wing still achieved spectacular results.

In Germany, which has the highest proportion of seats in the EU parliament, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats scored a stunning victory over the Social Democrats, who are participating in a coalition government with Merkel.

In France, Nicolas Sarkozy’s UMP won a significant victory, a right wing advance echoed in Italy by the corrupt Silvio Berlusconi’s party, as well as the Northern Leagues, which polled 10 per cent of the vote.

In the Netherlands, Islamophobic politician Geert Wilders’ Partij voor de Vrijheid (Party for Freedom) came second in the election with 17 per cent. In Hungary the fascist party Jobbik, which openly parades around in uniforms under the slogan “Hungary belongs to the Hungarians”, had three MEPs elected. Its paramilitary Hungarian Guard has staged provocative demonstrations in Roma villages, and the head of the police trade union was one of its main candidates.

In Belgium the centre right won out over the left and the far right, with the fascist Vlaams Bloc suffering significant losses. The leader Filip Dewinter consoled himself by saying: “Flanders has lurched to the right. The left is losing.”

What about the radical left?
The votes of the Europe’s newer left parties were mixed. In Germany the Left Party (Die Linke) got 7.5 per cent and won eight seats, a very good result. In France, the Front de Gauche (Left Front) got 6.3 per cent, giving them five seats. The Front de Gauche’s main component is the newly created Parti De Gauche (Left Party), a left wing split from the Socialist Party which was set up shortly after the launch of the radical Nouveau Parti Anticapitaliste (New Anticapitalist Party) in a blatant attempt to try and block its growth. Despite this, the NPA still got 4.9 per cent, but it was not enough for them to get anyone elected.

The vote for the Left Bloc in Portugal was significant, around 10 per cent. And the Committee for a Workers International were riding high after its Irish Section, the Socialist Party, won a big victory, getting Joe Higgins elected in Ireland. Higgins beat the ruling Fianna Fail party to secure his seat, part of a wider trend that saw FF and their coalition partners the Greens do quite badly. The shift to the left by the Irish workers was greeted by Kieran Allen from the SWP who said: “The radical left must now enter discussions to form either an alliance or broad radical left party, where different tendencies can coexist.” Such a call for a party must be welcomed by socialists, workers and youth, who should press for a new workers’ party and a democratic debate over its programme and strategy.

However, socialists must beware. The reason for the collapse of social democracy was that it ruled in partnership with the capitalists. The Parti de Gauche in France and Die Linke in Germany are left reformist parties that have refused to rule out serving in capitalist governments; in Die Linke’s case it has already pushed through neoliberal policies in Berlin, where it has served in a capitalist coalition with the SPD in the regional government. These parties will become compromised in the eyes of the working class in the same way that the traditional social democratic parties have – whether it is in one year or 10.

We need anticapitalist workers’ parties that, from the beginning, make it clear that they will not serve on behalf of the capitalists or in coalition governments with capitalist parties, but which fight instead for working class power, for complete independence from the capitalists, for workers’ governments based on workers’ organisations alone. The NPA is a more important development than Die Linke in this respect, having gone some way towards ruling out coalition with capitalists, and points the way forward for other such projects in Europe. In the aftermath of its disappointment at being denied seats in Strasbourg, the NPA should reject the siren call of those who would have it make an unprincipled alliance with the Parti de Gauche.

Where do we go from here?
In a time of economic crisis, wouldn’t we expect workers to vote for their own parties to defend them? The reality is that social democracy in Europe is in crisis. Its support has crumbled and it can find no way out. People are increasingly angry at the system, the growing poverty, the feeling of alienation, the hatred of the capitalist elites creaming money out of the crisis.

The problem is that, because no serious socialist alternative is being presented, one which can seriously fight back against the economic crisis, the right is surging ahead, taking advantage of the confusion caused by the social democrats’ betrayals. Social Democrats are wedded to capitalism itself, so they, along with the trade union leaders that back them, cannot pose a challenge to the system.

Millions of workers across Europe voted for parties to the left of the traditional social democratic parties. This represents an important base to build on – despite the gains of the right. Instead, we need to bring together the anticapitalist parties of Europe in a new coordination, rejecting coalition with the capitalists, hammering out a programme of action, linking resistance to the crisis with the fight for working class governments and the need for revolution. This means a new, international party, fighting for a Socialist United States of Europe.

For more on the elections please see Workers Power 336
http://www.workerspower.com/index.php?id=193,0,0,1