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Livingston's Bland Bureaucrats Repress ESF

H. | 02.10.2004 21:35 | European Social Forum

The organising process of the ESF will be transparent to those attending. The mass, energy and range of ideas present should transcend this process, including the choice of speakers and chairs. But there is reason to feel that this may be more difficult to do this year. Old style politicians and parties have tried to dominate the ESF, but any hold they have should prove transient as their strength continues to dwindle.

In getting the GLA to donate £400,000 to the ESF, Ken Livingston managed to get full control of the organising process by old school bureaucratic sculdugery and deceit, by his staff, many of whom are members of a tiny group called Socialist Action.

The SWP joined Ken's minion’s who, in the end, shamelessly chose themselves and political friends to chair and speak at many plenary sessions and seminars.

Ken will be happy if the event boosts his left credentials, which it should, because the old dog is a canny conventional politician.

The SWP would be happy if it raised their credibility and recruited a few new comrades, which it wont, because they haven’t got a clue. In fact the reverse will happen because that’s what’s been happening for the last 15 years. Really. Yes, it’s the long goodbye.

(The above has nothing to do with the many events around the ‘unofficial’ ESF promoted in these pages by the 'horizontals')



You can read the latest and full report on the ESF, the section of speakers and chairs, in the Workers Weekly .

 http://www.cpgb.org.uk/worker/546/esf.htm

H.

Comments

Display the following 21 comments

  1. Re: Workers Weekly — .
  2. Workers Weekly ... Trots .... Fuck Knows and Cares Little. — h
  3. sigh — Ulyanov
  4. Make Believe — H
  5. so immature — a non sectarian grown up
  6. A Hopeless Case — h
  7. Please don't feed the trolls — IMC volunteer
  8. a quick rational answer — .
  9. why is it so easy — non sectarian grown up
  10. You've Got to be Reverse Inverter. — h
  11. Its not a case of Official or Unofficial - Get that straight! — reform or destory?
  12. Full Info — repost the truth!
  13. yeah, dont even try — non sectarian grown up
  14. 'though, with only around 1,200 active members' — ..
  15. You live and learn — h
  16. . . .or freedom, fairness, trust, or death — still the non sectarian grown up
  17. What a complete load of crap. — Now fuck off.
  18. history is written by the victors — non sect
  19. another article — ns
  20. PT is nothing to do with SWP — Ian
  21. ESF, WSF, PT, background and such — ekes