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German elections

Interview with Socialist Equality Party candidates

Germany elects a new federal parliament on September 27. The Partei für Soziale Gleichhei (Socialist Equality Party) the German Section of the Fourth International, is standing candidates in six states, containing 60 percent of the population. The WSWS interviewed two of the PSG candidates, Susanne Huber and Gunther Kohn.

Susanne Huber is from the former East Germany. She is 34 years old, married, with two children and lives in Berlin, where she is standing as a candidate for the PSG. After finishing her education and working as a secretary, she studied to become a kindergarten teacher and has been working in various kindergartens since 1988. She became a member of the Bund Sozialistischer Arbeiter, now the PSG, in 1992.

WSWS: What is the situation like for workers in East Germany ten years after reunification?

The great illusions and hopes that many had when the Wall fell have quickly vanished. The new freedoms which were then gained, such as being able to travel, can only be used by a diminishing part of the population. Unemployment is very high. The new states (the East German states added to Germany after reunification) occupy first place in the unemployment statistics. Poverty is growing rapidly. Every fourth child in East Germany grows up in poverty. That is why increasing numbers of people reject the established parties.

In the East the PDS (Party of Democratic Socialism, successor of the former ruling Stalinist SED, or Socialist Unity Party) presents itself as a left alternative, but in practice there is no difference between the PDS and the other parties as far as axing jobs and other social rights are concerned. This is the experience everyone has made in the East. Every second job in industry has been destroyed since the fall of the Wall.

The PDS tries to turn the growing anger into East German patriotism. As it did before, when it ruled East Germany as the Stalinist SED, it complains about the West being responsible for the misery in the East. The Green Party imitates this line. To increase their small electorate in the East the Greens are running a campaign at the moment with election posters on which they declare that the candidate does not come from the West: 'No imports from the West'.

Those profiting from such policies at the present are the right-wing parties like the DVU (Deutsche Volksunion: German People's Union--an extreme right-wing party) and the NPD (Nationale Partei Deutschlands: National Party of Germany--a fascist party). In Saxony-Anhalt, which has been ruled by a Red-Green coalition (i.e., social democrats and Green Party) for four years, an extreme right-wing party achieved its best election results, campaigning with openly racist slogans.

WSWS :What is the situation regarding child education?

Here as well, many teachers who hoped for new possibilities in child education were bitterly disappointed. In 1989-1990 there was a big strike movement of teachers in the kindergartens and many teachers learned, as many had already during the years of the GDR (German Democratic Republic, former East Germany), that children's needs did not come first. Instead political and economic interests had priority. The class sizes remained too large, working hours were even increased in the East from 38.5 to 40 hours a week, innumerable progressive pedagogical conceptions couldn't be realized because of the lack of money. Because of the dramatic fall in the birth rate the once overcrowded kindergartens in the East rapidly became more and more empty.

But instead of taking up the demand for a strike in 1990 the trade unions supported moving mainly young Eastern teachers to the West in order to reduce the so-called 'surplus' of staff in a 'socially tolerable way.' In order to keep their jobs, most of the teachers had to reluctantly leave their children. A result of this policy is now a very high percentage of older teachers in the East. The fear of losing one's job has still remained the number one topic in many kindergartens. High unemployment and the constantly increasing kindergarten costs, together with a deterioration in pedagogical quality, have led to a sky high number of job eliminations, especially in the after-school care centers. Now the new magic formula for saving jobs propagated by the trade unions in the entire pre- and after-school sector is part-time work. But since it is bound up with heavy wage losses, it has been barely used up to now on a voluntary basis.

WSWS: What is the situation like for older people, pensioners and those in care?

Many of them exhausted all their energy in the effort to build a better society. After the downfall of the GDR most of them had to come to realize that all their efforts had been a waste of time. The arrival of the new democracy did not bring great improvements either. On the contrary, it was above all older people who joined the long queues at the employment centers. Many felt that the government putting up the age of retirement age by two years was a particular injustice. Retirement age for women from the year 2000 on will gradually be raised from 60 to 65, for men from 63 to 65. Whoever wants to retire earlier has to accept an income cut of 3.6 percent a year until retirement age. Only a minority can afford this, of course, since pensions are far lower than in the West anyway.

Gunther Kohn, the PSG-candidate in Baden-Württemberg, is 23 years old. He studies law at Frankfurt University. He joined the Trotskyist movement as a high school student in 1993.

WSWS: What is the social situation for the youth in Germany?

Everyone can see today that the profit system cannot offer the youth a future, irrespective of whether the government is led by the Conservatives or Social Democrats. More than 10 percent of those under sixteen in West Germany grow up in poverty. In East Germany the figure is over 20 percent. Even according to the official figures, around half a million young people are unemployed. The number of apprenticeship places offered in the last five years has dropped by about 30 percent while the number of those looking for an apprenticeship has clearly increased.

The situation is particularly bad for immigrant youth: 40 percent of them don't have an apprenticeship. But even studying doesn't guarantee a job. The number of unemployed engineers has doubled in the last five years, unemployment among managers has increased by 50 percent and unemployment among lawyers by 20 percent. It doesn't look any better for doctors. In addition, at least 20,000 teachers are unemployed, although 100,000 teachers are needed in the schools according to the GEW (the teachers union).

WSWS: What did measures did the government take regarding professional training and education?

The minister for social affairs Bluem and Chancellor Kohl have regularily implored companies to train or employ more youth--something which hasn't worried the companies very much of course. At the same time training conditions have increasingly deteriorated. Qualification requirements for master craftsmen and trainees were drastically reduced, professional training time was considerably shortened while at the same time apprentices were used more and more in the companies to replace the full-time staff. A growing number of youth can only dream of a qualified and interesting apprenticeship and job. Millions of young people are prevented from the very start from achieving an independent and reasonable existence.

WSWS: What would a Red-Green (SPD-Green) government change?

The SPD promises in its program that, if elected, it will financial penalize those companies which do not train at all or do it insufficiently. This money would then be given to companies which provide training. It is probable, however, that the sums raised in this way will be so low that it won't hurt the companies at all. This has already been the case with a similar regulation for the employment of the handicapped.

What the SPD would really do in office can be seen from where it is already in power--in the state governments. It promotes low wage jobs and part-time work. Unemployed youth are taken off the streets for a few months by recruiting them for public work on low wages and giving them rudimentary qualifications. Business owners who employ them for a while for low wages are supported by the state. An SPD-led government would offer just as little future to the youth as the present one.

WSWS: What is the situation in the schools and higher education?

In the schools, the lack of teachers leads to lessons not taking place, a constant increase in class sizes and a larger burden on teaching staff. In addition hardly any new, young teachers are hired, resulting in increased stress for the older ones who often can't cope. State schools have to manage with less and less money.

Recently, schools have been entitled to make independent decisions concerning money and staff--something Social Democrats and Greens enthusiastically welcomed. Many already have to find sponsors in the business sector and, at the same time, the number of private schools is growing. The teachers trade union, the GEW, supports this development. It has already worked out a common document with the German Association of Young Entrepreneurs (BJU) in August 1996, where eight theses are outlined for the complete subordination of school education to the needs of the market. These include: 'experience enjoyment through performance,' 'encourage enterprise,' 'more management and responsibility,' and 'making the business world and work a subject for discussion.'

Privatisations and the market are also making their presence felt in higher education. The SPD and the Kohl government agree that universities should compete for state subsidies. The criteria for this is how many students are herded through a course in the shortest time and how much money flows from the sponsors. Incidentally, the GEW supported this as well in a position document in October 1997. In addition, private universities receive massive sponsorship.

The worst role is probably played by the Greens. Not only do they welcome the market economy in the education sector, they find it doesn't go far enough. While a large part of the teaching staff are permanent, the Greens want to push through the principle that whoever doesn't suit the sponsors or is simply 'too expensive' must go. While most politicians of the CDU and the SPD--with the exception of their 'educational expert' Peter Glotz--hypocritically swear they reject the notion of student fees, the Greens are demagogically posing the question why the rest of the population should pay for students' studies if only the latter benefits.

To sum up, no matter who forms the next government, high-quality education and training will be completely subordinated to the interests of business and turned into a privilege for the rich. The parties in parliament call this 'the reform of the educational sector.' The PSG is resolutely opposed to such 'reforms.'

WSWS: What is the PSG's alternative?

The PSG demands a drastic improvement of financial means and staffing for schools, higher education establishments and training workshops. We demand a non-reimbursable grant which must meet the necessities of life and enable the student to fully concentrate on studying. State training workshops must guarantee that there is a training place available for everyone.

WSWS: Has there been a high increase of crimes committed by youth or foreigners?

All the big parties agree to this so-called 'fact.' However the situation is otherwise. In reality most criminal offenses have diminished over the past years. While the media and politicians are permanently depicting horror scenarios of 'violent gangs of youth' and the like, cases of grievous bodily harm have declined and so has the incidence of violent robbery. SPD politicians call for youth to increasingly be treated like grown-ups in court and imprisoned in closed homes.

They have also spoken out in favor of deporting immigrant youth accused of a crime, even if they grew up in Germany. In fact there has been a large decline in criminal offenses committed by those without a German passport. Cases such as theft of items valued at less than 25 marks are increasing and this is obviously related to the social crisis. There is also an increase in the number of suspects, and this is a product of the growing law and order hysteria. In reality, we are dealing with a calculated buildup of the entire state apparatus.

The attacks on the rights of foreigners' and refugees' rights--for which the SPD also bears responsibility--were only the beginning. The rapid growth of social inequality is accompanied by the systematic axing of democratic rights. The PSG unconditionally stands for the defense of democratic rights and against any form of discrimination. Foreigners must obtain full political rights and asylum should be guaranteed without restriction to refugees.

WSWS: Do right-wing radicals get a hearing amongst the youth?

This is a growing problem. The SPD, the trade unions and the PDS in the East bear the main responsibility for this. These organizations not only didn't put up a fight against the destruction of jobs and social gains but they have actually helped to push them through. In those regions of Germany governed by a Red-Green coalition, whether they are supported or not by the PDS, the politicians create unemployment and cheap labor. The resulting social misery and political disorientation can then be taken advantage of by the right-wing demagogues.

The SPD has regularly supported the restrictions made in the rights of foreigners and refugees and have in this way strengthened the right-wing. All leading representatives of the SPD have already attracted attention with comments hostile to foreigners. The trade unions are real hotbeds of nationalism and xenophobia. It should therefore be a surprise to no one that a recent study stated that nearly a third of trade-union organized youth between 18 and 24 years of age contemplate voting for a right-wing extremist party, nearly double the proportion of the non-organized youth.

It would therefore be completely wrong to join those organizations which are responsible for the growth of the extreme right in the name of 'unity against the right.' Forbidding extreme right-wing organizations isn't a solution either. Such a law strengthens the state apparatus which itself is infiltrated by right-wing forces and would serve as a pretext to abolish more democratic rights. A political orientation and a social alternative must be presented which enables the working class to intervene in political matters as an independent social force. This is why the PSG is taking part in the elections.

See Also:

The 'programs of prompt action' of the Social Democrats and the Greens
[22 September 1998]

PSG election website (In German)

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