1st Text of the Theses of the CC::THE PARTY AS THE GUIDE OF THE REVOLUTIONARY LABOUR MOVEMENT, THE SOCIAL ALLIANCE, IN THE STRUGGLE FOR SOCIALISM–COMMUNISM. THE REPORT AND CONCLUSIONS ON THE ACTION OF THE CC AND THE PARTY AS A WHOLE FROM THE 20TH TO THE 21ST CONGRESS

dic 29, 2020

INTRODUCTION

1. The Party has accumulated vast experience of over 100 years in the field of ideological–political struggle and intervention in the workers’–people's struggles. This experience was more effectively and substantially crystallized in the past 30 years, when the KKE for the first time since its founding in 1918, relying on its own forces, struggled to preserve its communist identity. It had to regroup, reorganize, and further develop itself, in conditions of the complete victory of the counter-revolution in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the USSR, i.e. the first workers' state in the 20^th century. The KKE struggled for its revolutionary programmatic and organizational regroupment, the formation of militant groups and cells[1] in the labour–trade union movement and other social movements, which, had been either fully integrated into the system or dissolved.

The KKE has a strong historical legacy. The continuity of experience was preserved; the Party managed to endure, get back on its feet, and take steps forward in the study and development of theory, the elaboration of revolutionary strategy in the new ever-changing conditions of the 21^st century, studying more thoroughly and utilizing the accumulated experience of its 102 years.

It elaborated its Programme. It enriched its programmatic conceptions of socialism– communism. It studied and drew conclusions from the course of socialist construction, focusing mainly on the USSR, and identified the causes of the counter-revolutionary overthrow. It attempted and is still attempting to extend its ideological–political influence on the people. It has been developing its activity in the international communist, labour, and anti-imperialist movement, it seeks to open up new ways.

The experience of these past 30 years is valuable, in many aspects. That is why its study and integration in the daily work of the whole Party, especially today that younger generations have joined and continue to join the revolutionary class struggle, is an irreplaceable condition for the Party's vast multifaceted strengthening, at least to the extent that it bears the historical subjective responsibility for the working class and the people in our country, also marked by the impact on and the interrelation with the communist and labour movement in our region, Europe and internationally.

The existence of a vanguard Programme and elaborations, with positions that are continuously being enriched based on the contemporary developments and the experience of the revolutionary class struggle, is an important precondition for the ideological–political–organizational unity and effective strengthening of the Party. The experience from our organizational regroupment during the past 30 years has been based on the effort to creatively implement the Leninist conception of the Party of a new type, i.e. the Communist Party. It was based on its positive and negative experience from its activity in conditions of illegality or legality etc. However, it was not made possible to comprehensively combine the persistent effort for the restoration of the revolutionary character of the Party with the thorough study of issues of political guidance and the quality of the Party's ties with the workers'–people's forces under the new and, to a great extent, unprecedented conditions.

Our Programmatic and Statutory Congress in 2013, highlighted the issues of Party building and the strengthening of the Party, the leading staff, the Party Base Organizations (PBOs), and the KNE as a key issue and precondition in order for the Party to honour its commitment to its revolutionary task, to become what we called “all-weather” Party.

8 years have passed since the 19^th Congress with the new deployment of party forces, following the adoption of the new Statute, and 4 years since the 20^th Congress, where we identified issues in the political guidance work and approved proposals and a long-term planning for its enhancement. The time is enough to examine the actual situation of the Party, the progress in the achievement of our goals, and to evaluate the accumulated positive or negative experience.

[1] The term “cells” does not refer to Party Base Organizations (PBOs), but to a group consisting of party members and other workers who organize a vanguard and coordinated activity in a workplace for the development of the struggle and the strengthening of class struggle.

THE CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH THE PARTY ACTS TODAY

2. The Party, as part of the International Communist Movement (ICM), is going through one of the most difficult periods in its history. This is a period in which —30 years after the victory of the counter-revolutionary overthrow of the first historical attempt for the transition from capitalism to socialism–communism— the following major contradiction continues to exist and deepen:

On the one hand, the contradiction between the social character of labour and the capitalist appropriation of a large part of its results leading to the destruction of a significant part of productive forces, with the outbreak of a new economic crisis before the recovery phase reaches the pre-crisis productive level. Capitalist economy maintains high rates of unemployment, part time employment, and underemployment in general in the recovery phase as well. It leads to mass destruction of human and material resources, due to the lack of necessary infrastructure for protection against natural phenomena, the lack of infrastructure and other health protection measures, despite the great technological potential. Technological development, digitization, teleworking, etc., instead of leading to a general reduction in working time, are used to intensify and increase the degree of exploitation, to provide new forms of manipulation. Acute problems are created by mass refugee flows, due to the long-lasting imperialist war flashpoints and the sharpening of competition between imperialist states, while the tendency for realignments in the imperialist pyramid is now evident.

On the other hand, the retreat of the labour movement —and the communist movement as well— continues, a process which is characterised by occasional outbursts of mass reactions, often with disorienting or reactionary demands. The regroupment of the labour–trade union movement is advancing slowly at the international level, in the most important countries of the international capitalist system; likewise the revolutionary, ideological–political regroupment of the communist movement, even in countries which are faced with a long-lasting imperialist war, with sharpening problems threatening the survival of the people. At the same time, the reactionary transformation of the whole bourgeois superstructure (in education, mass information —newspapers, television, internet—, publishing and artistic intervention, etc.), which is marked by anti-communism, as well as employer manipulation, impede the development of a more distinct revolutionary, ideological–political, that is, communist vanguard.

3. Since the 20^th Congress in 2017, our Party struggled and continues to struggle to maintain its established revolutionary characteristics in very unfavourable international and domestic conditions. These conditions are constantly deteriorating also due to the pandemic, which acted as a catalyst for the new economic crisis, and due to the large influx of refugees–immigrants caused by imperialist wars and fuelled by the policy of the Turkish state. An important factor in the deterioration of the situation is the strengthening of the economic and military presence of the USA, which seeks to block the capital penetration of China–Russia in Greece as a gateway to Europe and the intention of these countries to approach Turkey as an ally. The intensification of competition and contradictions in the region with the concentration of military means in the Mediterranean and the Middle East, the intensification of Turkish claims against Greek sovereign rights, and even the questioning of the territory of the Greek islands, which are also being promoted by the NATO and EU support to Turkey, are further strengthened. It is obvious that the bourgeoisies of Greece and Turkey are seeking to upgrade, each one on its own account, their role in the region, a fact that sharpens the competition between them

WE ARE ENTERING A NEW, MORE DIFFICULT PHASE

4. We are entering a new, more complex and difficult phase. In these circumstances, the bourgeois and opportunist pressure for “national unanimity and unity” under the flag of the bourgeoisie with the aim to support its geostrategic upgrade is growing. Extreme bourgeois nationalism, especially in relation to the Turkish provocation, as well as cosmopolitanism or its opportunist expression “What do I care about their wars?”, “Let them agree on co-exploitation” are being used for this pursuit. The pandemic and the economic capitalist crisis that allegedly affects everyone —the monopoly groups, the working class, and the popular families— were also used as a pretext for “national unanimity and unity”. At the same time, especially after the sentence of the Golden Dawn as a criminal Nazi organization, the voices in the bourgeois camp saying that “after we got rid of black fascism, now is the time to get rid of red fascism” became louder. In particular, the celebration of the Polytechnic Uprising in November 2020 triggered a new wave of anti-communist offensive, the theory about activities “on the fringes of constitutional legitimacy” returned, the attack against the Party and the class-oriented labour and trade union is escalating, and state violence and repression are intensifying.

In parallel, the competition between SYRIZA and New Democracy (ND) in the alternation of government is a source of ideological–political reformist and opportunist pressure on the Party’s circle of influence, in conditions of long-term legality for the Party, the retreat of the revolutionary movement, and the overthrow of the first historical revolutionary circle of socialist construction.

At the same time, this pressure is also exerted at the level of the international movement, as it is dominated by the strategy of reforms in one form or another (“anti-neoliberal”, “anti-fascist– democratic”, or their combination), or even as a choice of another “centre”, e.g. China or Russia, overlooking their capitalist character. And all this despite the significant efforts of the Party at an international level, the struggle in the framework of the International Meetings of Communist and Workers' Parties (IMCWP), the European Communist Initiative (ECI), the International Communist Review (ICR), the regional meetings, and especially the bilateral relations.

At the same time, the conditions of COVID-19 have had a further negative effect, as a greater and more stable effort is needed to prevent mass organizations from paralysing, to maintain their operation and activity, observing scientifically substantiated public health protection measures.

Under these circumstances, the task defined by the 20^th Congress as “the comprehensive steeling of the Party and KNE” proves to be much more complex and demanding.

THE PARTY SUCCESSFULLY MET THE CHALLENGES IN THE COMPLEX CONDITIONS FROM THE 20TH CONGRESS

5. We estimate that overall our Party successfully met the challenges, under the political guidance of the Central Committee (CC) elected at the 20^th Congress and the Political Bureau (PB) that is assigned to guide it between its meetings. In this direction, the CC organized a rich ideological–political intervention focusing on the 100 years of the KKE, the 100 years of the October Revolution and the Communist International. Relevant books, collections of articles, documents, etc. were published, as well as the four volumes of the History Essay of the KKE, covering the period from its founding until the end of the Civil war and the defeat of the Democratic Army of Greece (DSE), which were discussed and approved by a Nationwide Conference (2018), based on the Resolution of the 20^th Congress.

A broad network of preserving historical memory was created, with museums and monuments for the most significant events of the class struggle in Greece and the Party's history, mostly of the 1940s and the DSE period. A series of central and local publications as well as numerous events took place, which contributed to the development of the Party's ties with new political forces and especially with descendants of the National Resistance and DSE fighters, of political refugees, regardless of their current political stance.

This activity was accompanied by seminars, the KNE–Odigitis festivals and interventions of ideological–political character, focusing on the necessity of socialism–communism, its economic– social–political content, the interpretation of its historical first attempt in the 20^th century, while at the same time its examination was continued.

As a result of political activity the level of the events was improved and the events took on a broader character serving as a basis for our work. The Scientific Conferences have been a significant and remarkable activity in terms of quality as well. However, the respective activity at regional or local level was based, to a great extent, on the intervention of the higher leading organs or at least was supported by staff of the CC, while its reproduction at the level of the PBO was limited and occasional.

The KNE has struggled manfully at the side of the Party. It further elaborated theses and goals, following its 12^th Congress in 2019, at which it specialized its comprehensive intervention to the youth by utilizing the vast experience it had gained struggling at the side of the Party for half a century.

A more intensive programme of political work was organized over these years, with visits to workplaces and districts, meetings, and rallies. We engaged in the battle for the Party's finances, with annual fund-raising campaigns, while in 2020, due to the particular circumstances, we successfully organized three fund-raising campaigns. As a result of consistent work for the 8 past years since the 19^th Congress, the Party's finances have been put in order; perennial problems have been resolved or are to be resolved. A battle was waged against the prohibitions and the reactionary laws regarding parties' finances.

At the same time, the Party, under the political guidance of the CC, engaged in important political battles, such as the triple elections (municipal–regional, European, parliamentary), organizing them with a unified content, something that was an important qualitative step forward.

It also waged important battles in phases of sharpening of the refugee issue, it revealed the causes and the culprits. It proposed solutions from the perspective of the refugees and the Greek people's needs.

6. Our party struggled for the regroupment of the labour–trade union movement and its forces sharpened the confrontation with the employer-led trade unionism forces, against phenomena of degeneration and rigging, the legal action and other repressive interventions against the trade union movement (Patras, Trikala, Panhellenic Metalworkers' Federation–OEM, Congress of the General Confederation of Greek Workers–GSEE , etc.).

In the conditions of the pandemic, which were used by the government and the state in order to strike a blow to the movement and the Party, it has been at the forefront of the struggle in order to convey the message of resistance, struggle, and “organized disobedience”, with significant interventions and mobilizations of the mass movement, such as those of the workers in healthcare and trade, in the class-oriented trade unions rallying in PAME (All Workers’ Militant Front), especially during the demonstration of the 1^st of May, the events for the 47^th anniversary of the Polytechnic Uprising, the nationwide general strike on the 26^th of November, etc.

The PB and the Secretariat made an effort to specialize the Resolutions of the CC concerning the issues of the Party's activity in the movement under these conditions. There was a rise of initiatives and planned interventions in the movement on popular problems such as in Attica, West Thessaloniki, Karditsa, Evia, and LARCO.

We did not manage to conduct the Nationwide Conference on the work in the working class, despite that the Party activity in the period from the 20^th Congress has accumulated new facts in the struggle for the change in the correlation of forces in Labour Centres and Federations, in the sharpening of the struggle to reveal the government and employer-led trade unionism in GSEE, etc. Thus, the CC decided that our work in the working class and its movement should become an object of concern and further elaboration at the 21^st Congress.

7.During these past 4 years, the Party members and cadres played a leading role in the organization of the struggles of the farmers and the urban self-employed against EU, government and employer attacks, as well as in the struggles of school and university students and the radical women's movement. In a lot of cases, they contributed to the rallying of new forces, to processes of improving the correlation of forces in trade unions, federations and Labour Centres, the farmers' movement, the school and university students' movement and less in the movement of the self-employed. They contributed to the slight increase in the forces rallying around the radical women's movement, although this is not expressed in all associations–groups or in all regions of the country, while, since the lockdown, there are visible signs of an irregular operation of associations’ boards and general assemblies.

Especially in the farmers' movement, the Party members and cadres contributed to some extent to the establishment of the Nationwide Committee of the Roadblocks (PEM) as a form of nationwide coordination, representing federations and farmers' associations.

In these past 4 years, the Nationwide Conference on the work of the Party in the urban self-employed and the Extended Plenum of the CC for the examination of the work in toiling farmers took place, in accordance with the decisions of the Congress. These bodies, as well as the preceding or following process of inner-party discussion, help to form a unified and, above all, conscious perception of the necessity to intervene in the popular and allied forces of the working class; to more accurately define them; to enrich our positions on their perspective in socialist society, on issues of current ideological–political struggle, the elaboration of a framework and objectives of struggle; the promotion of joint action in the perspective of forming a social alliance in an anti-capitalist and anti-monopoly direction.

8. Although a more detailed political analysis on the movements will be made in a separate text, we can mention a general assessment, i.e. that the Party’s prestige and influence as a vanguard and consistent force in the struggle for the acute popular problems is rising among a significant part of forces that join the struggle. In some cases, an expansion of the forces and the influence of the Party and KNE is noted. Overall there was no significant change in relation to participation in movements or a distinct rise of militant sentiments or, whenever observed, they were at least fragile and characterized by a tendency of regression. The rationale of delegating responsibilities, fatalism, and fear instead of participation in the movement and the struggles continue to prevail among the working people, even though they appreciate the Party for its struggle in defence of their interests. A part of the workers, despite participating in the struggle and recognizing the Party's activity, remains influenced by the logic that “there is no way out”, the positions of the Party are not understood as being “realistic”.

This situation is also a reflection of the fact that from the 20^th to the 21^st Congress and in honour of the 100 years of the Party, neither the Party nor the KNE have managed —given the current conditions— to significantly expand their forces and rally an as large as possible section of the working class and its allies around them. This factor, however, is decisive for a distinct rise of the workers' and people's movement in terms of mass participation and militant orientation.

The goal set by the 20^th Congress remains the consolidation of the Party at the productive ages in the industrial sector and in places where salaried employees gather. The steps taken during this period show the potential. However, the utilization of this potential on a large scale requires a more targeted effort to prepare new communist forces, with a more planned and systematic ideological, political, and organizational effort, in order to overcome the inhibitions stemming from the difficulties of everyday life, the general passive climate, the fear of unemployment, insecurity, etc.