Party crashing

AIX-EN-PROVENCE, France – I was fairly excited about going to the Communist Party meeting. After all, the French Communist Party has long held significant influence over the political environment of France, and to be honest, I’ve never really hung out with 5,500 communists before. (There was this whole Cold War thing that made communism in America fairly unpopular, I hear.)\nThese days, though, the left in France is in dire straits. Marie-George Buffet, the French Communist presidential candidate, is polling poorly, and the once solid left has become disorganized and split into multiple factions, none of which can pass the first round of presidential elections.\nAt a superficial level, the Marseille mass meeting had all the marks of the once-proud party. Talking points ranged from global class struggle to social equality for all, while red banners and flags fluttered at every denunciation of the capitalist system in a packed auditorium. The whole affair had the air of a joyous, chaotic commie carnival. \nAlas, closer inspection yielded more unfortunate truths. The demographics were undeniably skewed toward the aged, and for all the talk of winning, it seemed clear that their candidate had no chance to make a dent in national policy. While “radicalism” and “new changes” to France were bandied about, the meeting seemed more concerned with shoring up old victories rather than forcing a new revolution. \nSigns of weakness were everywhere. A sincere presentation detailed as a major victory the protection of a sugar plant in Marseille from outsourcing. Some kids carried a Communist flag in one hand and a Coca-Cola in the other. And while all the other speakers expounded upon the strength of Buffet’s programs, her own speech rendered the polite applause one expects from John Denver concerts, instead of the energetic radicalism I expected.\nI guess I received more timidity than tumidity. As a party with almost no chance, why not go out on a limb like fringe parties in America and throw out bombastic, radical ideas in florid oratory? Instead, the staid speeches roused a few instances of excited applause, but mostly hewed to a conventional dogmatic line. So much for radical change. \nThe woes of the French Communist Party demonstrate the growing weakness of the left in postindustrial countries around the globe, and particularly in Europe. The constituents the left aims to aid are still there, but its political power is in disarray. Those who have faced job loss due to outsourcing, those who are homeless, jobless or voiceless in the political system need the left to speak for them.\nInstead, the anger and desperation of the left has paradoxically led to an unadventurous campaign. For all her tough talk of a campaign of combat against the right, Buffet seemed unwilling to say anything new, going through the motions. \nNow, I’m no commie, but we need a vital, vocal left, to fight a potentially xenophobic, corporate right-wing future. We need new ideas and new blood, or the left can count on a long, flag-waving party to nowhere..