A Corbyn government

Last year, Mexicans elected a leftish leader, López Obrador, who pledged “a Robin Hood institute” (Reuters) to “return everything to the people that’s been stolen” by elites and small-time crooks (Obrador). Argentines recently rejected the creeping rightward trend in South America and also elected a leftish President, Alberto Fernández.

In the US, Presidential candidate Bernie “the bomber” Sanders is about as left as is realistically possible in the current political system. Despite suffering a heart-attack, he is continuing to fight off Elizabeth “capitalist to my bones” Warren and Creepy Joe Biden.

In the UK, a general election for a new government looms. Britons will have the chance not only to change the arithmetic in Parliament, but to elect a genuinely leftish Prime Minister, Jeremy Corbyn, and in doing so to join and reinforce the leftward shift happening in some parts of the world. Part of Corbyn’s problem is that, internal to his Labour Party, he’s a consensus-builder, not a dictator. But one cannot build consensus among those who wish to be divided.

That means that some of Labour’s core policies are muddled, with some in the Parliamentary Labour Party saying one thing (eg, Leave the EU, also Labour has a serious problem with anti-Semitism), and others saying something completely different (eg, Remain in the EU, Labour doesn’t have a serious problem with anti-Semitism). Corbyn’s consensus-building also means that things work slowly and in the endless “news” cycles, that’s a big no-no.

For example, at Conference, where the grassroots Labour Party members send delegates to vote on policies, it was hoped by the majority of Remainers and indeed Labour voters in general that Labour’s electorally-suicidal Brexit policy (ie, negotiate their own Withdrawal Agreement and then allow most Labour MPs to campaign against it in a second referendum) would be voted down in favor of a clearer Remain policy. But no.

To give another example, grassroots members au fait with modern Zionism (ie, Israel can do anything its elites wish it to do) were hoping that Corbyn–a lifelong campaigner against Israel’s annexation of Palestine and an advocate for Palestinian rights – would tell the Zionists in his party that they were not permitted to spread their bile and accuse the Party of being inherently anti-Semitic. (The Zionists include his deputy Tom Watson, Dame Margaret “it’s like 1930s’ Germany” Hodge, US spy Ruth “strictly protect” Smeeth, and John “sent a dead bird” Mann MP.) But no.

This lack of clarity on Brexit and admission of guilt for a type of racism that exists to the same extent in all other mainstream British parties (according to data by one of Labour’s accusers), has meant that Corbyn looks incredibly weak. And people don’t like weak-looking leaders.

Tory Prime Minister, Boris Johnson and his apparently adviser, Dominic Cummings (who ran the Vote Leave Brexit campaign on behalf of asset managers and hedge funds unhappy with EU regulations), took note of a recent poll which suggested that growing numbers of Britons prefer efficient authoritarian leaders to slow consensus-builders, hence the BoJo-Cummings strategy to: try to shut down parliament (ruled null and void by the Supreme Court), pretend that BoJo will disobey the law by refusing to seek an extension to delay Brexit, and send but not sign the EU extension request letter. BoJo can posture as a dictator without actually being one.

And the plan is working. A significant minority of voters enjoy BoJo’s circus act, according to survey data.

Excerpted from: 'UK General Election and the Chance to Get a Corbyn Government'.

Courtesy: Counterpunch.org