WINTER OF DISCONTENT
Kramer, Steven Philip
divided in their estimate of it. Not overwhelmingly for Sadlowski, they were equally cool to both Abel and McBride. Abel remains in office until the middle of the year, and is now negotiating a...
...England's weakness was hidden by the Empire and the accumulated assets of the 19th century...
...Can a lame duck president committed to not striking haggle tough enough...
...Up till now, the "presidential" majority has always coincided with the parliamentary majority...
...His own designated successor won in his huge home Chicago district...
...his chances are not great...
...This time Abel seeks a measure of job security which will quickly benefit older workers and for which the corporations will demand concessions...
...Each country experiences the world economic slump in its own way, but the fact remains that the basic cause of their distress is the world economic crisis...
...Belgium's future is closely tied to the world economic situation...
...But if consensus prevents the fragile balance of a divided society from being upset, it also prevents vigorous action on the part of any government...
...It is hard to tell whether the French Communists are sufficiently de-Stalinized to participate loyally in a democratic regime...
...When England finally entered the Common Market, she was in a position of weakness...
...Prime Minister Callaghan has tried to shift England's attentions to the problems of modernizing production, but the government lacks much of a parliamentary majority or moral authority in the nation...
...Abel remains in office until the middle of the year, and is now negotiating a new contract with the steel corporations...
...But will the Carter administration be capable of reviving the European economy by reviving the American...
...18 March 1977:168...
...The Cold War made a popular front regime impossible...
...The postwar economic problems of England are in part caused by the expense of the welfare system created by Labor after the war...
...She chose the latter, and consequently did not share in the economic unswing experienced by the continent in the 1960s...
...In the early 1950s, England was forced to choose between membership in the Common Market and reliance on the Commonwealth and a "partnership" with the U.S...
...On the other hand, Belgium has gained from Brussels' having become a center for European business...
...Without a doubt a similar area of discontent exists in all unions but does not show because the others make challenge more difficult...
...threaten the government's survival...
...Unless work is placed back on the order of the day, and a modus vivendi reached between workers and managers, England will not have a future...
...Cm~RLES owEr~ vac~(Msgr...
...Third Force policies almost destroyed the old socialist party...
...But Wodd War II liquidated both the Empire and much of England's foreign investment...
...In the long run, there is little that a small export-oriented country can do alone...
...The recent renascence of the socialists and the "new look" of the Communists have made a change possible...
...0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 HARD TIMES IN EUROPE ' VINTER OF DISCONTENT Winter months are a somber time in Western Europe...
...Such a victory would be problematic at best, however...
...Established labor leaders from the top down were violently against Sadlowski and no wonder...
...He faces a divided union and a large mass of discontented members...
...In economic terms, Belgium is much better off...
...Charles Owen Rice, a pastor in Pittsburgh, has been close to the labor scene since the lounding ol the CIO in the mid-'3Os...
...And it is hard to believe that things will improve when the working class's response to the crisis is to turn the period from Christmas to 4 January into one big de lacto holiday...
...Lloyd McBride, the winner and new president, is said to be more liberal and militant than Abel...
...The worker is protected by excellent insurance, but continued unemployment will make the cost in taxes for unemployment and other welfare benefits a serious problem...
...The situation in these three countries is thus quite volatile (to say nothing of Spain, Portugal, or Italy...
...He is now a national figure, more prominent than 99 percent of the reigning union presidents...
...Generally speaking, moreover, Belgium is hurt by producing high-priced consumer goods for export at a time when the market is far from good...
...The political stability of the Fifth Republic may be nearing an end...
...Having industrialized first, England enjoyed temporary world supremacy in exports during the 19th century...
...Ironically Sadlowski's strong showing among the employees of those corporations strengthens Abel's hand...
...Withal, it was a famous victory, the dimensions of which surprised even the victors...
...Sadlowski's prominence and his popularity with liberals did him harm as well as good...
...The problem of the reformist programs of income redistribution of English socialism is that they assume the viability of English capitalism--i.e., the boss can always pay...
...Since the creation of the Fifth Republic, French politics have been dominated by the right...
...Are they as sophisticated as the Italians...
...They all felt threatened...
...Meanwhile, many people Commonweal: 167 blame the Common Market membership for everything that is going wrong...
...The seeds of a new and stronger Steelworker rebellion may be sown in the next few months unless Abel does very well indeed...
...Nothing has dimmed his vigor...
...Abel's first negotiations under ENA had results which were at least adequate, if not tremendous...
...Unemployment is high there...
...The Tories are captured by a female Colonel Blimp...
...While the Steelworkers were bellowing and thrashing, the slightly smaller Machinists quietly chose as their president, the very liberal William W. Winpisinger...
...Spending a month in England, Belgium and France, I sensed a widespread concern about the future...
...STEVEN PHILIP KRAMER (Steven Philip Kramer, a previous contributor, is a member of the History Department at the University of New Mexico...
...But other nations which industrialized later were beneficiaries of more advanced technology and larger-scale organization...
...Or will he try a purge...
...Unless McBride lets "slip the dogs of war," Ed can settle down in Chicago as a staffman...
...Old .timers remember with a shudder the long strike of '59, over one hundred days...
...Will he temper the wind...
...as did his image as a militant...
...What are we to make of that...
...Is he wise...
...Candidates for anything would be wise to avoid skin magazines...
...The historical reasons for the crisis of the English economy are relatively clear...
...Would a left victory lead to an economic crisis, based on fears by business or actual sabotage...
...Will he bind wounds...
...Unlike England, labor relations are excellent...
...with it he lost some Steelworkers who are not liberally inclined as a whole...
...An unfortunate interview with Penthouse produced a quote which was easily twisted and hurt Sadlowski more than lust and Playboy hurt Carter...
...If any answer to that crisis is likely to be found, it is more likely to be found in Washington than in London, Brussels, or Paris...
...It will take a long time...
...Today, it's not that simple...
...That hurt in the South and the challengers are bitter...
...Are the socialists strong enough organizationally to dominate a coalition government with the Communists...
...The sun rises late, sets early, and its rays do not suffice to warm the air or dissipate the damp...
...The fall of the pound corresponds to a loss of self-confidence...
...Finally, how would a left majority get along with a centrist president...
...Sadlowski himself can hardly be purged...
...Ironically, if World War II pulled England together, the present economic crisis pulls her apart...
...A demagogic and noisy anti-Communist crusade has begunmpresumably with "no enemies on the right...
...Former Prime Minister Chirac, kicked out by Giscard because of a conflict on how to deal with the threat of the left (Giscard wanted a course of moderate reform, Chirac direct confrontation), has transformed the gaullists (the majority in the majority) in name and spirit...
...0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 000 000 RICHARD E. MCMULLEN TRYING TO SLEEP On the lawn, the great lizard, slow as a hill, rests like a log half out of water...
...The international economic crisis takes different forms in each country...
...Even if the left does not win, Giscard may be faced with this problem, since the present "majority" is in full disarray...
...Moving slower than it grows, it will take a long time to see me, to turn its head, to reach my window...
...Wallonia like England suffers from her early industrialization...
...but the defeated battalions remain intact and will rise again...
...Recent polls show that a left-wing majority might well emerge in parliamentary elections...
...They were cool to McGovern, warm to Wallace and not too unfriendly to the Nixon of '72...
...Sadlowski has now filed an official protest, as much for the sake of some of his allies, who want to contest for their own reasons...
...There is a deep mood of pessimism in England...
...An eye flickers like a flashlight on a lake...
...Although France suffers from the economic recession, the focus of attention is currently on political developments...
...Twisting of quotes is excusable but Red-baiting is not...
...Decisions require the assent of all major groups, not a 51 percent majority in parliament...
...If not, the future of the left in Europe might be set back for another generation...
...People look much more prosperous...
...As a result of a century and a half of conflicts over religion, class and language, Belgium has arrived at an elaborate political system based on consensus...
...Without the help of liberal outsiders Ed could not have sustained the massive effort that was required...
...But there are problems...
...But it will take years for the situation to improve...
...But there is little feeling that the end is in sight...
...Not much has been done to develop an effective program of economic investment in capital goods, for example...
...the extreme left of the Labor Party and the radical wing of the T.U.C...
...If those resuits had been unsatisfactory, his designated successor would have been wiped out in the late contest...
...At a time when the survival of the nation is at stake, social polarization intensifies...
...By forcing England to modernize, the Common Market should ultimately benefit England...
...still young, he was beaten but not wiped out...
Vol. 104 • March 1977 • No. 6
