6 fal AI

Fund ‘goodies’ sweep Lougheed home

By DAVID WALLIS
' EDMONTON — Premier Lougheed’s Tories swept
| Alberta in the November 2 election with a huge 68% vote
| which a record 80% of the electorate voted. He picked
| Up 75 of the 79 seats compared to two seats for the NDP
and two independents. :

In the weeks prior to the election some opposition to
the policies of the Lougheed Tories began to appear and
pinion polls showed that close to 40% of the electorate
Were undecided right up until election day. At public
‘orums and media phone-in shows the Tories were under
attack; yet the discontent didn’t materialize in a sig-

t number of votes for the other parties.

Over the past two years in Alberta several right-wing
litical parties and formations sprang up as the ‘‘alter-
tive’? to the Tories. None of these survived the
OVember 2 vote, nor did the Western Canada Concept
er keep his seat. The WCC did, however, manage to
fape up 12% of the vote on a platform of less govern-
Ment intervention in the economy and cuts in the Alberta
Public service, health care and education standards.

While the WCC failed to win any seats; it did represent
4Significant pressure group which pushed Alberta poli-
lcs to the right. Three other pro-big business parties —
rals, Alberta Reform Movement, and Social Credit
ty failed to win a seat or a sizable vote. Social Credit,
| Which govermed Alberta for 36 years, up to 1971, has
| en decimated as a political force in Alberta.

| 100,000 Jobless

| _ Lougheed called the election only 31% years after the

| Previous election. It was called this fall rather than next oF 7 mionanduaxhiccuiatiaa
|| ‘Pring before the economy deteriorated still further and Lote TICIOne Companies 10 cages seo ashe

| the opposition ate into Tory support. Lougheed cam- taxes; they also legislated changes that cut the amount of

| pai : paper work for small business.
i Paigned on the promise that Alberta would lead Canada Along with a handful of give-aways the Lougheed To-

| Sut of the crisis, and toward economic prosperity. This 4

| Pfomise obviously had some appeal in a province that up ane bee feuen right to recapture some of their

) Until this year had escaped the worst effects of the for NDP

| “apitalist world’s economic crisis. This promise is not of Two Seats or NI

““Ourse based on the reality of the situation where un- While the pre-election gifts were intended to buy vot-

| &mployment is close to 100,000 with more joining the _es, the election platform of the Tories will do nothing to
creat jobs, re-open the mines or re-activate the forestry

' industry in Alberta. The Lougheed platform, calling for
— . elimination of the Foreign Investment Review Agency
and the National Energy Program, are relying on the
private sector to get the economy rolling.

The New Democratic Party with a half-million dollar
campaign had hoped to make a break-through in Ed-
monton and the rural ndings. Their expectations did not
materialize yet they managed to increase their seats to
two from one by winning in one Edmonton riding, and
garnering close to 33% of the vote in that city.

The thrust of the NDP campaign was against Tory
secrecy around the slogan, “‘It’s your government not
theirs’’ and *‘make Alberta work for you’’. In addition
their candidates plugged away at promoting the idea that
the people should vote for the NDP as the opposition.
The question of wresting political and economic control
of Alberta from the hands of the monopoly oil corpora-

. tions was not raised by the NDP in this campaign. On the

question of job creation it called for more government

expenditures such as road construction and more in-

centitives to small business. .

The NDP hoped by moving to the political centre that
they would gain support. |

The Communist Party, in running eight candidates,
campaigned on a program of unity to prevent a shift to
the right and to put Alberta back to work. The Com-
munist Party also called for the nationalization of the oil
and natural gas industry under a joint federal/provincial
crown corporation.

The outcome of the election will have a devastating |
effect on the living standards and lives of working |

Alberta’s Lougheed

In preparing for the election campaign Lougheed dip-
ped into the Alberta $11-billion Heritage Trust Fund to
dish out election goodies. In September he announced a
$750-million mortgage subsidy scheme to cut interest
rates down to 12.5% up to $60,000. He also announced a
similar interest subsidy scheme for farmers and small
businesses.

While the money will give some needed assistance to
many working people it is indirectly a subsidy to the
banks and trust companies, and will apply only for a
two-year period.

In April this year the Tories gave a $17-million subsidy

people. The Tory Party in moving to the night will un-

doubtedly continue to impose anti-labor laws and regula-

tions on the Alberta public sector. The cuts in social y |

services, education and health care will continue while |

the Tories continue with give-aways to the oil

monopolies. |
Now more than before the working people need unity of

the left and democratic forces to fight the cuts, rising

unemployment, and monopoly control overthe economy

in Alberta.

PRIA eet AER ea oe ee

——

| Tanks of the unemployed daily.

| Some comment

_This past week we had a visit with an
NDP friend who wanted to know what

Ommunists have in mind when they
Urge workers to “‘unite in struggle and
Struggle to unite’. He tended to treat this

Slogan as some sort of a gimmick, but a

Useful one in these days of wage res-
traints and cutbacks in economic and so-
Clal standards. Needless to say this
Sparked a lively discussion centering

found the basic problem facing the

Workers’ movement, namely, the
Mplementation of the policy of the

} United front of the working class, as the
' €cisive element in the building of work-

Mg-class and democratic unity.
* * *
Our friend agrees that the united front
Of the working class is of the utmost
POrtance to the working-class move-

| Ment. He also agrees that the necessity .
| OF unity of action arises from, and is

on, the common interests of all
Workers be they Communists, NDPers,
OF still linger under the influence of the

- “Apitalist parties. He believes also that in

eir struggle for common aims the
Workers, taken as a class want unity.
We were in agreement that this urge to
Unity and solidarity to find expression in
tical measures and concrete actions,

“pends very much on class-conscious
ry

Workers and their organizations. How-
then We could not reach agreement on

> Way of carrying out the policy of
ty of action, especially in the sphere

°f political struggle, which is the key to
Victory,

r

unity can be carried out, providing the
class-conscious workers join that party:
This, of course, is completely at variance
with the policy of the united front. It
visualizes unity of the working class
being carried through at the expense of
the Communist Party — the party of the
most socially advanced section of the
working class. Such erroneous thinking
dismisses out of hand the fact that the
organized section of the working class is
split into two wings — a reformist wing
mainly represented by the NDP, and a
revolutionary wing represented by the
Communist Party. :

This split is based chiefly on ideologi-
cal differences. However, the Commu-
nist Party unlike the NDP, takes the posi-
tion that ideological differences need not
be an obstacle to unity in searching out
common aims and ways for common ac-
tions. In working consistently for such
unity, Communists never hide the fact
that they have no intention of renouncing
their principles, their political views nor
their independent activities as a political
party. And, they uphold the self-same
rights for their fellow-cooperating organ-

_ 2 Marxism-Leninism Today

| Alfred Dewhurst

the workers’ movement. That is why
they constantly advocate unity in action
to advance commonly held aims. For
Communists, the policy of the united
front is not a device to gain momentary
advantage. Rather, it is an expression of
a permanent political line dictated by the
vital interests and needs of the working
people.

It is in the area of unity in struggle
where the art of political leadership, tact
and patience are all-important. Commu-
nists and other socialist-minded work-
ers, in the course of working for unity in
action with their fellow workers and their
organizations and other reform-minded
Canadians, are quite naturally faced with
the necessity of making compromises on
matters of a tactical nature. The best
guide in such cases is the time-tested
method of flexibility in tactics and
firmness on principle. In other words, the
particular compromise should not
undercut the class interests of the work-
ers and their democratic allies.

ob * *

The art of political leadership lies in

the ability to single out the main issue

s on the united front policy

always interconnected, and also that they
are always tangled. Lenin likened them to
a political chain linked together by
fundamental questions and subordinate,
secondary questions. The fundamental
link in the present political chain, which
class-conscious workers must grasp with
all their might, is the policy of working-
class and democratic unity to win a
democratic alternative to the crisis poli-
cies of monopoly and government. The
solution of this vital problem will lay the
basis for the solution of secondary,
subordinate issues.
* * cd

The figlitback against the restraint and
wage-cutting program of government at
all levels, directed to bail out the big cor-
porations, covers a wide front. We can
expect the fightback in defence of living
standards, for peace and security,
democracy and the rights of the people,
to grow stronger and expand in scope.
This is especially seen in the unprec-
edented breadth of the people's resis-
tance against the imperialist drive to nu-
clear war. All of this is encouraging and
augurs well for future democratic gains.

What must be recognized, however, is
that the fightback lags in respect to cohe-
sion and unity of aims and purpose. This
results in the fightback being diffused and
consequently weakened. This must be
remedied. The economic, social and poli-
tical struggles of the people need to be
fused into a mighty front of struggle to
curb, and to finally end, monopoly’s poli-
tical and economic power over our land,

| : a scan’ oo : confronting the workers at any given thus opening the door to the socialist
" thou friend’ s position is that the NDPis izations. oe time or in any situation. It also lies in transition if the people choose to take
: | icy oo iss pio sean Lo Communists strive to heal the split in understanding that political events are that road.

rking-class
f

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—NOVEMBER 26, 1982—Page 5