A-Infos (en) France, La Platforme: Presidential elections 2027: preparing for them (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

The 2027 presidential election will take place in less than a year. This 
deadline is the focus of political activism and journalistic commentary. 
Is this a secondary issue for libertarian communists? No! We are not in 
the habit of pretending that these deadlines don't exist or that their 
outcome has no effect on our lives. --- Certainly, we do not expect an 
improvement in living conditions. But we are aware that the outcome 
could bring real danger and a regression of social rights, particularly 
if the far right comes to power. We are convinced that only social 
movements will make it possible, on the one hand, to strengthen the 
unity of the working class, on the other hand, to halt social 
regression, and finally, to obtain new rights.

Even a victory for a progressive candidate or one claiming to be so will 
not bring about social transformation if it is not accompanied by a 
large-scale social movement, overflowing that winner and imposing itself 
on him or her.

What kind of democracy?
Furthermore, we have no illusions about the bourgeois representative 
democracy being offered to us. Certainly, it remains preferable to a 
dictatorship or any illiberal regime, if only because it guarantees a 
minimum of individual and collective freedoms.

But it is far removed from the democratic ideal championed by 
libertarian communism. Democracy is not about giving a blank check for 
years to someone who is accountable to no one. Democracy is about 
collective decisions resulting from genuine grassroots debates, allowing 
both the expression of the diversity of the working classes and serving 
as a crucible for the emergence of a common position.

This democracy must be able to take hold at all levels, within a 
federalist framework. Elected officials must engage in regular dialogue 
with those who mandated them, both to genuinely represent their 
aspirations and to provide an account of their mandate, which could lead 
to their recall.

Regardless of any personal considerations regarding the candidates, our 
interventions as libertarian communists in this period will therefore be 
guided by these two fundamental requirements: on the one hand, the 
imperative to organize the struggle for social and climate justice; and 
on the other hand, to build the social struggle as well as the political 
struggle in democratic forms.

The harmful game of parties
However, the race for nominations is upon us, and it is the outcome, and 
which candidate wins, that will be decisive. What interests us, of 
course, are the candidates claiming to represent the left. With 11 
months to go, almost everyone is a candidate or about to become one. The 
unity that prevented disaster in the last legislative elections is no 
longer on the agenda. Everyone wants to be in the starting lineup, to 
elbow their way in, even without any chance, hoping that they or their 
camp will emerge as the first among the losers.

Because the real objective of most left-wing candidates is to impose 
their organization's hegemony on the left. It's about defending their 
party's interests, regardless of the consequences for the working class. 
Yet, there will only be losers in this strategy.

The candidate who seems to be in the strongest position today is 
Jean-Luc Mélenchon. Like a true neo-Stalinist, he clings to his role as 
the party's leader. On the one hand, it must be acknowledged that La 
France Insoumise (LFI) possesses real momentum. A victory, or at least a 
very high score, for Mélenchon could trigger a social movement.

On the other hand, there are many criticisms and fears: LFI has 
significant democratic shortcomings, both in its internal functioning 
and in its program; doubts about the ability to keep the promises made 
today are real, due to the lack of structure in the LFI apparatus, with 
the risk of disappointing or even despairing.

The fundamentals of libertarian communism
It is far too early for the Libertarian Communist Platform or its 
activists to take a position. However, we will be paying close attention 
to several points:

The contribution to the unity of the working class, and therefore the 
ability to bring together the camp of social progress;
The nature of the social dynamic that the candidacy can bring. Even a 
candidate who is only left-wing in name brings a different social 
dynamic than an openly right-wing candidate;
The policy of defense, strengthening and expansion of public services, 
and even socialization of these services;
The policy of worker control over production, therefore the categorical 
rejection of privatizations, and possibly the choice to socialize 
certain companies;
The fight against global warming, against the degradation of 
biodiversity and, from a general point of view, against all pollution 
generated by industrial society must be placed at the center of our 
struggle;
Immigrant policy: This issue was largely absent from the left during the 
municipal elections, with the right to vote for foreigners in local 
elections not even being discussed. Immigration will be central to the 
presidential campaign, with a race to the bottom in xenophobia between 
the  center  , the right, and the far right. It is therefore all the 
more essential to defend clear and uncompromising positions on this issue.
All these reflections concern the first round. However, the aftermath 
must be anticipated. First, it is unfortunately very likely that the 
question of blocking the election will arise in the second round. Is 
this strategy still relevant when far-right ideology has so thoroughly 
infected the rest of the political class, particularly on the issue of 
immigration?

Next, it is plausible that a dissolution of parliament will follow the 
presidential election, with the hope that the new president will obtain 
the majority that no longer exists in the National Assembly. However, 
securing a majority is far from certain. In a fragmented political 
landscape, rife with resentment and even hatred on the left and rife 
with betrayals on the right, this "  third round of parliamentary 
elections  " could once again produce an unmanageable situation... 
within the framework of the current institutions.

https://plateformecl.org/presidentielles-2027-sy-preparer/
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