This article is by one of our members in the Netherlands, Papagena de Fidelio. It gives a general perspective of how communists should approach the coming period after the formation of a far-right administration led by Geert Wilders.
The Left in the Netherlands is in a very weak state today, which has resulted in a lack of effective opposition to neoliberalism. With the decline of the Socialist Party in 2020 and a fragmented trade union movement, progressive-minded people have turned to single issue organisations with short-term demands. While struggles for improved housing, a 16 euro minimum wage, or the fight against climate change have made some gains, there is not a united left-wing party with a clear programme of action. This has made it very difficult to build an effective people's movement in the Netherlands and contributed to the victory of the far-right in the last elections. What are the key tasks of the Left in the Netherlands? How can we rebuild the trade-union movement? What must be done to advance the peoples movement forward?
The Post-Election Situation and the Left
At the elections last November, Geert Wilders racist PVV won millions of votes and took 37 parliamentary seats. In the post-election situation, there has been a climate of lesser-evilism in the social movements. During the elections, the Labour-Green alliance (GroenLinks-PvdA) gained 25 seats by campaigning around 16 euros per hour, affordable housing, lower healthcare and education costs, and more humane treatment of refugees. Although GL-PvdA did well in the elections, the Left as a whole did very poorly, losing more seats than it gained. As a result, the GL-PvdA is not in a position to form a left-wing government and would have to align itself with right-wing parties to join a coalition. During televised debates, the leader of GL-PvdA Frans Timmermans constantly tried to find a basis for agreement with Pieter Omtzigt, the centre-right leader of Nieuw Sociaal Contract (NSC). Initially Omtzigt was open to a coalition with the Labour-Greens, but quickly changed his mind when it became clear that the far right would win.
NSC, which is the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) in new colours, took many votes from left-wing parties across the spectrum. Even the trade union federation (FNV) invited Omtzigt to an event it organised to discuss the theme of social security, giving the NSC a podium to spread its ideas to workers. As a result, people who were unhappy with the Socialist Party, D66, GroenLinks and the other left-wing parties voted for NSC. Many expected that the NSC would ally itself with GL-PvdA and that a centre-left administration would emerge after the elections. The NSC is part of a coalition with the far-right PVV and BBB, and conservative VVD.
We should certainly call upon the Greens and Labour to uphold what is progressive in their programme and try to fight for it in parliament. For example, their calls for an immediate 16 euro wage increase is something we should demand they fight for, along with other progressive parties such as the SP and the Animals Party (PvdD). If these parties remain in the opposition, we need to call on them to use their parliamentary position to oppose every anti-immigrant measure introduced by the government. However, we should have no illusions about the Greens, which is a bourgeois party that is committed to capitalism and never waged a serious struggle against neoliberalism. Nor should we put any faith in Labour, which is a bourgeois party that has always sided with the bosses against the unions around pension reforms, carrying out the dirty work of the VVD (i.e. increased healthcare and education costs), and opposing every independent initiative of the working class.
A left-bourgeois government, even if it succeeds in drastically improving the material conditions of the working class, does not provide a long-term solution to the contradictions created by capitalism. It is important to note that the bourgeoisie is flexible and can adjust its politics to meet popular demand. If the majority of voters are right-wing, as they are now, the bourgeois parties will side with right-wing parties. However, if there is a progressive shift to the left, the bourgeoisie may shift its support to a centre-left or social democratic party such as Labour or the Greens. In the current situation, the bourgeoisie can rule through parliament with an open fist, pushing for anti-worker, anti-immigrant and undemocratic legislation. However, if the situation changes, the bourgeoisie might put padding on the fist by making concessions to progressive forces and the labour movement.
Whether it is an authoritarian or 'democratic' bourgeois government, they both rule with the same fist because every capitalist state is an instrument for the class rule of the bourgeoisie. Revolutionary socialists stand for the revolutionary seizure of power by the working class and the establishment of the rule of the proletariat, not left-wing bourgeois governments where the organised power of capital is left intact. Wherever this has happened, the bourgeoisie has found ways to come back to power and ruthlessly crush the revolutionary forces, as was evident after Pinochet's generals overthrew Allende's left bourgeois government in 1973.
A socialist revolution involves the passage of state-power from the bourgeoisie to the working class and the establishment of the rule of the proletariat. What results is a socialist state, in which the working class rules through workers councils and a democratically planned socialist economy. Economic planning enables the socialist state to meet the material needs of society by investing in improved infrastructure, public transportation, social housing, an expanded arts and culture sector, and an environmentally sustainable utilisation of resources. Politically, the rule of the working class deprives the bourgeoisie of political power, which loses the political rights it held under capitalism. It is only the first stage of socialism in a long process towards communism. For socialism to advance, revolutions must spread around the world in order to form socialist blocs that break the power of capital. These socialist blocs–and the progressive nations aligned with them–can delink from imperialism, thereby weakening the international bourgeoisie and strengthening the working class.
In the context of the Netherlands, our policy must be to overthrow the Dutch bourgeoisie and fight for a Dutch socialist state, while upholding European-wide revolution. Furthermore, revolutionaries in the Netherlands need to agitate for working class internationalism, seeking to unite Dutch workers with the working people of all nations in an international united front against imperialism.
Build Worker Opposition to the Coming Administration
Whatever happens in the coming period, the trade unions remain tremendously important and can become the main instrument to fight back against the coming administration. At the moment, the main trade union, the FNV, has considerable strength in a few major industries such as transport, logistics, the care sector, and education. In these sectors, the union can call a strike for a better collective labour agreement (CAO) and expect a victory because most of the workers are union members. However, outside of these industries, the FNV is very weak and many people have never even been involved in a union. This includes most service jobs such as cleaning, call centres, delivery services and hospitality, which tend to be temporary, low-paid, and part-time. The FNV has made attempts to organise in these industries, but generally has not succeeded in creating workplace organisations as exist in the unionised transport sector. Its research department is conducting work into the service industry and working with unions like the SEIU in the United States to develop better strategies for building union power in the service sector. The fragmentation of the Dutch trade union movement is not unique to the Netherlands, but is a trend that can be seen across Europe, the United States, Canada, and Australia.
In the coming period, revolutionary socialists in the Netherlands need to become active in the FNV and show that they are the best organisers. They need to help strengthen existing union organisation in the traditional industries, and join campaigns to help build new union branches. Whereas the union leaders tend to view the union in a bureaucratic way, prioritising membership but concentrating power in the hands of cadres, revolutionary socialists need to encourage the growth of rank-and-file union power. This requires a united front tactic, in which socialists actively fight to build workplace committees that transfer power from the union bureaucracy to union members. We must agitate against attempts of the union bureaucracy to pacify members and advocate for a more member-led union, demonstrating in practice how this creates a qualitative transformation of the union. Revolutionary socialists can transform the union from a bureaucratic organisation into an instrument to wage class struggle against the bosses. Through a strengthened union, working people in the Netherlands will be able to fight back against the coming administration, while also being in a position to make political demands.
We must bring the working class to the forefront of every social struggle. The coming administration is going to attack migrants and refugees by threatening them with deportation and attacking their culture. The new administration will make racists feel more comfortable with being openly racist, and there will be more incidents of violence. The trade unions must organise migrants and support them when they take action against oppression. Revolutionary socialists should try to transform every anti-racist campaign into a larger struggle to build organs of workers power. This will place socialists at the forefront of the workers struggle, and demonstrate to migrants, national minorities, and other oppressed people that they are the best fighters against oppression.
As Wilders and the PVV are very close allies of Netanyahu and the Likud Party, it is likely that the coming administration will attack Palestine solidarity activists and provide stronger material support to the Zionist regime in Israel. As in many countries in Europe, Palestine activism in the Netherlands is dominated by religious and human-rights organisations who are able to mobilise large numbers but provide little more than moral support to the Palestinians. At Palestine rallies, revolutionary socialists need to call for workers' solidarity with Palestine and encourage the trade unions to participate in Palestine marches. If the unions become more involved, it can mobilise its members to attend Palestine rallies and give the mass mobilisations a more militant character. Revolutionary socialists should call upon unionised workers to take actions in solidarity with Palestine, such as refusing to ship weapons to Israel and organising workplace actions to unite with the Palestinian resistance.
The Socialist Party and the Left in the Coming Period
In the Netherlands, the fragmented Socialist Party (SP) is very much an expression of the fragmented union movement. In the same way that the union is strong in a few isolated industries, the SP is popular in a few cities, especially in Brabant and Limburg. In cities like Breda, Oss, and Heerlen, the SP can win council elections, organise tenants unions, and wage local campaigns around pensions. Most of its supporters are white, native-born Dutch workers who have racist and nationalist tendencies. Although denouncing the racism of Wilders and Baudet, the SP has its own anti-migrant standpoints and campaigned in the elections for more regulated immigration. It has not taken a strong stance against Zwarte Piet, the racist blackface ritual that happens every December, and one of its leaders even showed up to an SP meeting in full blackface. Whenever progressive SP members attempt to criticise the SP's nationalism and racist tendencies, they are either ignored or expelled if they push the matter too far. Just like the FNV, the SP leaders determine all of its policies, oppose serious debate, and take action against members who criticise the position of the party bureaucracy.
Until 2020, the SP was still an important organisation on the Left and many leftists were part of it. However, after the mass expulsions in 2020 and the complete degeneration of the party, it is not in a position to play a meaningful role in the class struggle in the Netherlands. Whether the SP is revitalised or a new workers party is built depends entirely on the workers movement and the strength of the trade unions. The members of Communist Platform who attempted to radicalise the SP failed and were ultimately expelled because there was not a strong workers movement, even in 2014 when they started their entryism tactic. While we should continue to demand of SP leaders to uphold what is progressive in their programme–16 euros per hour, free healthcare, social housing, etc.--we should prioritise the trade unions and the workers movement. Wherever working people are getting organised, we should be there and show that we are the best fighters for workers power. Only when there is a strong workers movement in the Netherlands will it be possible to build a new mass workers party.
Besides building the trade movement, revolutionary socialists in the Netherlands must build a revolutionary organisation in order to provide the proletariat with the forces needed to make revolution. There are many groups in the Netherlands calling themselves communist, but none are revolutionary. Instead of building a revolutionary organisation united around a revolutionary socialist programme, these groups advocate different varieties of reformism and opportunist tactics that do not strengthen revolutionary organisation (i.e. deep entryism, broad left parties, democratic republicanism, etc.). As a result, there is no revolutionary organisation in the Netherlands and the working class is left without a revolutionary vanguard.
Revolutionary socialists in the Netherlands should work in the trade unions and the social movements in order to locate people open to revolutionary ideas. We must come together, study Marxist theory together, and learn about the traditions of the revolutionary socialist movement. A revolutionary group, which takes the complex ideas of Marxism and distributes them to a small number of potential revolutionaries, is urgently needed. Such a group needs to have discussions, build trust between comrades, attend mass actions together, conduct research, and produce a communist programme for the Netherlands. Once a revolutionary group has consolidated a strong leadership with a clear vision and programme of action, it can begin the difficult work of struggling to win the workers movement to a revolutionary programme. Creating a revolutionary group does not mean that we do not participate in mass actions, but that our involvement in these actions connects with the advanced elements in them. By doing this, we can create the revolutionary forces needed to make a socialist revolution in the Netherlands and bring down the Dutch bourgeoisie. If this work is neglected and endless action is prioritised over party building, we will get no further than the dozens of already existing leftist groups.
The key tasks of the labour movement consist in building dynamic trade unions that not only fight back, but also formulate their own demands. A long-term goal should be the creation of a mass workers party organised on the basis of a communist programme designed to mobilise millions of working people. When workers break from the bourgeoisie and regain a class struggle mindset, they will be a powerful force that can radically transform society. Revolutionary socialists need to prioritise the labour movement and recruit new militants to its organisation from the working class. Only by creating a revolutionary vanguard party, armed with a revolutionary socialist programme and rooted in the working class, will it be possible for the working class to make a socialist revolution and bring down the bourgeoisie.
For a strong workers movement in the Netherlands!
Create militant, rank-and-file trade unions to fight back against the coming administration!
For a united movement against racism, xenophobia and all forms of oppression!
Build the revolutionary party in the Netherlands and fight for communism!
For a socialist state in the Netherlands!
For a socialist Europe!
--Papagena de Fidelio
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