gin. This, in fact, shows the basic limitation of the success achieved by the conservative forces. The elections definitively confirmed the failure of the decade-old operation of thic centre-left, one of whose main objectives was to erode the base of the Communist Party. It seems, moreover, that the most responsible leading groups of the bourgeoisie, whose favourite political vehicle is the Christian Democratic Party, were aiming to push the PCI bad.. block the advance of the MSI, and strengthen the centre. It seems clear that they have few reasons for rejoicing, especially since it was the potential allies of the Christian Democrats. the Liberal Party, that suffered the greatest losses, while the PSI | Partito Socialista Italiano - Italian Socialist Party| stood the test better. The fact is that the political equilibrium remains uncertain and precarious just as it was before the clections, and restabilization is not in sight. (It was not unimportant that the two biggest organs of the industrial bourgeoisie. Corriere della Sera and La Stampa, entitled their editorials on May 10 "Time is Running Out" and "The Last Adjournment".) For the time being the bourgeoisie's crisis of leadership has in no way been resolved.
This means that the period ahead of us will remain one of acute social and political conflicts. The bargaining that-takes place when the contracts of the major categories of workers come up for renewal can and must be the occasion of important struggles.
The poor results achieved by the Manifesto list are undoubtedly the most negative aspect of 'the elections from the standpoint of the revolutionary left. It is logical that this has had the most serious impact on those who harbored illusions, expecting results that could never have been achieved or exaggerating the facts about the mobilizations carried out during the electoral campaign.
One of the reasons for the modest results achieved by Manifesto must certainly be seen in the atmosphere created by the propaganda campaigns orchestrated around the notable episodes of recent months (i.e., fascist provocations as well as repressive moves by the regime). In the last analysis, this provoked a reaction among sectors of the working class and the radicalized petty bourgeoisie which were open to The situation in Italy after the recent elections remains much as it was before. The bourgeoisie's crisis of leadership has in no way been resolved: it has failed to erode the base of the Communist Party and is now the arguments and the initiatives of the far left.
They reacted in a defensive way, rallying around the workers' party which seemed to offer the best guarantees of holding the line. This factor was to weigh all the more heavily in the balance insofar as Manifesto lacked the time to carry out all the preparatory work that such an ambitious project would require. But over and above these objective conditions, genuine political errors played a role. Most of all, Manifesto is paying the price for the way it went about launching its project, without making any serious attempt to find common ground with at least some of the most substantial forces of the revolutionary left. Instead, it chose to centre attention on its own specific organiIn a context of persistent social and political tensions, these contradictions will inevitably tend to be reflected in frictions, conflicts, and open clashes at the most diverse levels. This process will be facilitated, however, only insofar as the revolutionary left succeeds in avoiding sterile schematism in its analyses and blind sectarianism in practice, as well as firmly rejecting all adventurist temptations. Over and above all this, the May 7 elections showed that we still face a long, hard job in building the revolutionary party, and people who hope to find any easy shortcuts are seriously deluding themselves. Progress in this work demands on a number of factors. We must have constant theoretical and political debate. No position can be arbitrarily excluded from discussion and real views must be discussed and not caricatures. In particular, there must be a repudiation of the method of resorting to slanderous misre presentations and falsification-not infrequently mixed with petty gossip-which is the price not a few groups are paying for their inability to break from Stalinism. Success in this work, it need hardly be added, depends on how effectively the revolutionary left, within the limits of its forces, can exercise a real influence in the struggles and political campaigns of the phase that is now opening.
So, we repeat the proposal that we made immediately after the elections in a communique from our national secretariat, which was also published in Manifesto. "The Fourth International thinks that the entire revolutionary left should devote a period of time to reflecting critically on the meaning of the May 7 elections. As soon as possible and setting aside all sectarian barriers, we must discuss the possibilities for common actions on the following themes: The fight for new contracts in industry, the campaign against the Fascist threat, the campaign for the release of Valpreda and all the political prisoners, mobilization against the crimes of imperialism in Vietnam. "
This article first appeared in Bandiera Rossa, newspaper of the Italian Section of the Fourth International.
such as Honeywell's must be made to feel that the war in Vietnam is international. Union branches, trades councils, local LCDTU groups must be involved in the struggle to aid Vietnam.
The Vietnam Solidarity Campaign in collaboration with other groups is planning to centralise all initiatives on Vietnam throughout the country. We appeal to all militants and especially the comrades of the I.S. to assist in building solidarity actions in Britain, for the success of the Vietnamese revolution is a victory for the working class movement throughout the world.
VICTORY TO THE NLF!
DEFEAT NIXON'S BLOCKADE! WITHDRAW ALL U.S. TROOPS NOW! UNITED FRONT TO HELP THE VIETNAMESE REVOLUTION!
Bob Braxton Clarissa Howard Note: The address of Indochina and the VSC is 182 Pentonville Road, London,N.1
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subject to increasing right - wing pressure from the neo- fascist MSI. However, the poor results achieved by the long way from posing any real alternative in the present situation.