A-Infos (en) France, UCL AL #351 - Politics, Legislative: Elections, passive thermometer of fascism (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

Faced with the imminent possibility of the arrival of the far right in 
Matignon, the Libertarian Communist Union has chosen to call for a vote 
"without illusions or scruples" to block its path. A tactical choice, 
which does not eclipse a fundamental criticism of bourgeois democracy. 
---- The recent dissolution of the national assembly after the European 
elections has highlighted the fact that a political system can be 
profoundly undemocratic while relying on a system of universal suffrage. 
First of all, the absence of a reasonable period of time between the 
announcement of the legislative elections and their holding made any 
campaign impossible for the parties: the latter did not have the 
necessary time to train or reactivate their activist base, adapt their 
communication media or make their candidates known by associating them 
with strong elements of their programs.

A framework that favors the extreme right
This very short deadline has therefore created, in fact, a break between 
social categories having the time and tools to seek information related 
to programs (whether it concerns party projects or the criticism that 
can be made of them). ) And the others. Likewise, the debates which 
punctuate a campaign require preparation of candidates, who must be 
trained in the presentation of ideas or in opposing discussions on 
specific program points, and normally make it possible to make known the 
guidelines of the candidates. different parties to all voters.

The democratic process associated with the election must therefore allow 
them a period of reflection and discussion based on public debates, in 
order to build an opinion before the vote. In the absence of discussion 
and space for reflection, the most widespread ideologies in the social 
context benefit from a de facto advantage in the debate of ideas, since 
their implementation gives them an appearance of simplicity and "common 
sense". ". In the current context of the slow but inexorable rise of the 
far right, fascist and reactionary ideas therefore benefit from an 
advantage over those of left-wing movements, since they are the ones 
most discussed on a daily basis in the public space.

Authoritarian logics
According to a more global analysis of electoral systems, they are in 
essence vectors of militant exhaustion: elections concentrate commitment 
over very short periods, during which investment in campaigning, 
signature searches, etc. become the center of the lives of activists, 
before abruptly ending after the election. This overinvestment over 
short periods of time favors short-term logics of involvement, with 
activists being, at the end of the election, often too tired and 
sometimes too poorly trained to begin substantive work as soon as 
possible. rest of the year. The electoral mechanisms therefore favor an 
operation based on one-off commitments, with a beginning and an end, 
which do not allow effective commitment to the dissemination of 
progressive ideas, condemning the left to reaction in relation to the 
work of undermining the rights organized by the rights.

Taken among advisors, the decision to dissolve the National Assembly 
surprised even the ministers. Le Monde documented the total political 
cynicism which dictated this Macronist coup.
SOAZIG DE LA MOISSONNIÈRE
This process is accentuated by the constitution of collectives which, 
like LFI, do not constitute themselves as parties strictly speaking and 
neglect the basic training of their activists. The strong investment 
required at the time of elections also promotes emotional commitment, 
often closely associated with the personality of a candidate, which 
amplifies fatigue and maintains authoritarian logic by having a set of 
ideas embody by a personality rather than by a group. This hierarchical 
functioning between leaders and a collective which supports them does 
not ensure participatory functioning within the party itself. Activists 
have little influence on the ideas put forward by the party and its 
political lines, unless they succeed in moving up the hierarchy, a 
process which favors the most privileged people in society (white, cis, 
straight, able-bodied).

This quasi-religious commitment could be found in the calls for votes 
during the legislative campaign, during which any materialist analysis 
of the situation was rejected outright under the pretext of the urgency 
of the moment. Likewise, the reaction of collective astonishment to the 
announcement of the results of the first round is symptomatic of a lack 
of long-term collective commitment. The results of the far right are 
equivalent to those obtained during the European elections and reflect 
the reactionary social atmosphere of recent years in France where 
fascist ideas have been increasingly present since at least the 1980s, 
supported by successive governments. precisely to serve an electoral agenda.

The illusion of choice
Finally, the electoral system does not ensure the representation of 
ideas and does not constitute a mode of expression for the voting 
population, which it is not intended to do. The lack of counting of 
blank votes, first of all, makes a whole part of the opinion expressed 
inaudible. Elections therefore do not have the function of representing 
the ideas of voters since only support expressed in favor of a party is 
counted, especially since votes expressed in favor of a party are rarely 
votes of membership. The absence of a change in party lines by their 
base as well as the failure of the citizen assemblies initiatives put in 
place in recent years makes the direct expression of the population 
impossible in this framework, all the more so in a French system 
characterized by its centralism and concentration of powers. Voting, 
presented as a means of expression by the political classes and by a 
large part of the population during the recent legislative campaign, is 
therefore most often a default choice, even outside periods of union. 
facing a fascist threat.

By giving the illusion of a choice, elections, on the other hand, aim to 
maintain and stabilize the system in place by reducing as much as 
possible the gap between the opinions of the population and the 
governments. They are therefore a tool for preserving a power in place, 
which by nature favors reactionary ideas, through which a radical change 
in society is impossible. The French political system must be seen as a 
tool for legitimizing a power in place, including when it is fascist. 
The recent votes for the far right therefore illustrate the progress of 
fascist ideas in French society and this process cannot be stopped by 
the ballot box: fascist ideas are advancing on the ground and the vote 
can make it possible to postpone the deadline for their vote. came to 
power, but had no effect on their diffusion. This last struggle can only 
be waged through long-term investment in the fight against the extreme 
right.

Marco Pagot

https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Legislatives-Les-elections-thermometre-passif-du-fascisme
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