Impact on Communist Parties in Western Europe

The 1989 Revolution in the Soviet Union had a profound impact on Communist parties in Western Europe. Communists in France and Italy differed significantly in their leadership responses to the Revolution. Bull identifies three possible responses: "first, remaining an unchanged 'more orthodox' communist party; second, becoming a 'refounded' communist party; and third, changing into a non-communist party of the left." French and Italian Communist parties combined represented the entire range of responses.

The seeds of division in West European communist parties were sown prior to the 1989 Soviet Revolution when Mikhail Gorbachev came to power in 1985. Gorbachev's regime changed the nature of the relationship of many West European communist parties with Moscow. Disagreement arose over the concept of perestroika and the proposed reform of the socialist system. West European communist parties who supported perestroika and Moscow no longer were considered pro-Stalinist. They could modernize their party lines without seeming disloyal to the communist cause: "Before 1985 liberalisation had gone hand in hand with detachment from Moscow; after 1985 it drew on the example and support of Moscow."

The Communist party in France is the Parti communiste francaise (PCF). The history of the PCF is characterized by "a series of alternating phases, hard-line and uncompromising phases followed by conciliatory phases." As with other Communist parties, the PCF for decades was or

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PCF decided to reorganize its party and effectively drop democratic centralism after the resignation of Secretary-General Marchais in 1993. The PCF's survival in future elections is dependent upon its ability to remain a protest party which champions the cause of the working class. According to Bull, the PCF faces stiff competition: "Protest parties now represent an inter-class mix of those most disillusioned with advanced capitalism and communist parties may find themselves competing on the same terrain as extremist parties and movements from the other end of the political spectrum." In France, the Left is represented chiefly by Socialists and Communists. During the Persian Gulf War, the pacifist Communists forged an alliance with the extreme Left: "This helped to discredit the French peace movement, which proved incapable of enrolling significant support among the population at large." The ability of the PCF to maintain inner stability and to form critical alliances with like-minded political parties are the keys to its success in future elections. The decline of support for the PCF in France is typical of the situation for other West European parties. The Eurocommunist movement reached its peak during the mid-19

Category: Foreign - I