道しるべ

参院選を闘う意思を固める
第27回党大会の課題

2022/02/02


  新社会党は2月26、27の両日、第27回定期全国大会を開き、十数年ぶりに党として全国一本で参院比例区に挑戦する意思統一をする。同時に、中間選挙も含めた来年の統一自治体選の準備を進める。

  労働運動が低迷して三十数年、賃金が上がらず、低賃金と不定期雇用の非正規労働が「普通」のこととなり、労働者は日々の暮らしに不安を抱えてきた。 

  窮状を救うべき政治は自己責任を前面に負担増とサービス削減を繰り返し、憲法を踏みにじり、行政も私物化してきた。その背後には、労働運動の弱体化で自らの利益を政策に反映できる財界がある。まさに新自由主義社会そのものが日本で跋ばっ扈こ している。 

  そして国境を越え、グローバルに展開した資本を守るために米国と共に戦争も辞さない体制の進行は、平和憲法を根底から改悪する明文改憲を一気に進めようと、夏の参院選で王手をかけてくる。 

  野党の共闘と分断 

  それを阻むのが市民と野党の共闘だ。自公の悪政を阻止するため市民が仲立ちし、立憲野党が統一候補で闘うことが自公政権の足元を揺るがし始めた。市民と野党の共闘が支配層に危機感を与え、共闘の分断がマスメディアはもちろん、連合も動員してキャンペーンされることになった。

  立憲民主党の泉健太代表は参院選で改憲議席は許さないと意気込むが、立憲野党の統一候補作りは共産党も含めて進めるのかあいまいだ。 

  立憲民主と共産の間には分断の手が入りやすい。だからこそ旧社会党勢力の再興の意義と価値が高まる。支配勢力は主流労働運動の労資協調と旧社会党勢力が消滅して、護憲を掲げる左派勢力が共産だけになれば恐れるに足りないと考え、攻撃してきたことは明らかだ。 

比例名簿で共闘 

  社民党も護憲第三極の存在を高めたいと、新社会党やみどりの党に社民党の政党要件を使った共同名簿方式で参院比例選挙を闘おうと呼びかけてきた。 

  新社会党は受け止めて共同名簿に登載する候補者の擁立を決めた。応援にとどまらない全国一本で闘う選挙となる。 

挑戦なくしては 

  この運動を通して党の現状を見直し、新しい仲間を作り、勤労諸階層の希望と生活の安定を作り出す。憲法を政治の中心にすえることで社会が変わる実感を共有し、政治不信と諦めを払しょくする端緒につける。そして、中間選挙も含めた来年の統一自治体選の勝利を目ざすことも必須の課題だ。

英訳版↓

No. 1244 The 27th Party Convention

The New Socialist Party (NSP) will hold its 27th regular national congress on February 26 and 27. It has passed over a decade, when the party is to challenge the scheduled Upper House election in the proportional representation channel; it will field candidates to be supported unanimously. The decision will be shared consistently by the party members in the coming convention. Simultaneously the election campaigns are to lead to preparing for the coming 2023 local elections held throughout the country. The NSP will also fight for off-year elections.

LET’S CONSOLIDATE OUR DETERMINATION TO CHALLENGE UPPER HOUSE ELECTION!

It is over 30 years since labor movements became inactive: wages have not grown and low salaries and irregular employment conditions have prevailed as routine practices. Workers have lived with anxieties and uncertainties every day.

Politics of the nation, which has duties to tackle the plights, has not responded properly to sustain people’s lives; it has reduced public services repeatedly, imposing heavier burdens on workers, infringed the constitutional principles and dealt with politics as private property. Behind it there exist the economic and financial circles which can reflect their profits to the politics, thanks to the debilitated labor movements. Neoliberal politics has conquered the Japanese society proudly.

In parallel, the Japanese government has kept a stance not to hesitate to wage a war together with the United States in order to protect the capital that has expanded globally beyond the national borders. The economic bloc will stage deadly attacks in an explicit way during election campaigns of the House of Councilors in July. The business circle is to amend the Peace Constitution by literally revising the articles.

United power of the opposition forces versus wedges to split it

It is joint struggle of the opposition parties and civic groups that can impede the ambitions of the economic and financial camp. The constitutional opposition parties will fight together by fielding candidates unitedly in the coming election to end evil politics of the ruling bloc, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Komeito. The scheme of the opposite camp begins to erode the basis of ruling elites, who are crisis-ridden. Thus, mass media have launched campaigns to break up the unity of opposition forces, mobilizing even the Rengo, the Japan Trade Union Confederation (JATUC).

President Izumi Kenta of the Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP) says, ostensibly, that he will not agree to increase MPs who want to amend the Constitution. But his party maintains a vague position in sharing unified candidates from the opposition camp, including the Communist Party (JCP).

Probably it is easier for the ruling elites to split the CDP from the JCP. For this reason, the former Socialist Party bloc should be reconstructed; that will be significant and vital. Political elites have launched operations, believing that nothing will remain for fear if the leftist bloc to defend the Constitution becomes slender, communists being left alone. They know that the major trend of labor movements lies in a cooperative policy between the labor and the management and that the former socialist camp has been disintegrated.

Let’s struggle, supporting proportional representation candidates!

The Social-Democratic Party (SDP) has offered joint struggle to the NSP and the Greens Japan for the Upper House election; the former proposed to share its proportional representation candidate list in common as it wants to build up and foster a pole of pro-Constitution forces. The list belongs to the SDP as the party has the stipulated status by the Public Positions Election Law. (*The NSP and the Greens do not have the status.)

The NSP has replied to the SDP’s bid and decided on fielding candidates to be registered in the shared list. Thus, NSP’s members will enter a phase to struggle for the Upper House election, not being restricted to supporting candidates of other political parties.

Challenging is crucial

By way of election campaigns, the NSP will review its actual position under the today’s circumstances; we will organize new colleagues and bring hopes and stability in the livelihood of the working population.

The society will change if we place the Constitution in the core of the politics. Let’s share in common this idea in a real sense. Let’s dissolve distrusts toward politics and stop desertion.

It is crucial, too, for the NSP to work hard to win in the 2023 local elections, including off-year elections.



February 2, 2022