A real political party

What change is “Hugpong ng Pagbago” seeking? This was the question of columnist Mel Libre (SunStar Cebu, Aug. 18, 2018. He answered it accurately: It is a personality-driven group of old faces. Nothing but a coalition of vested interests … keeping its members in power.

Then Mel Libre – seriously now – expounds on what in his opinion a genuine political party should have: an ideology, a constitution, a recruitment system and card-bearing members who understand what the party stands for.

Since I am one of the few people living in the Philippines who has been a member of a genuine political party, I share my experience with the gracious readers of my host country. I have been a grassroots member of the Social Democrat Party of Germany (SPD) from 1969 to 1994 when I left Germany for RP for good.

The reason for becoming a party member is to support a movement that represents one’s own interests in first line. As a salary earning civil servant I found that SPD defends best the rights of workers and middle-class people like me.

And in second line social democrats fight for social consent and peace, prosperity, justice and general progress for the whole nation.

I found that the conservative Christian democrats who also represent the middle-class but focus more on the interests of the rich are not of my liking. Even less so the Free Democrats who are the party of the entrepreneurs and capitalists.

Having been a known conservationist and nature protectionist I was repeatedly invited by the Greens to join their ranks but finally I opted for the SPD because I was attracted by the strong charismatic personality of Chancellor Willy Brandt and his peace policy or new Ost-politik that finally years later led to German reunification and the collapse of the Soviet Union and its empire.

I then studied the 13 pages of SPD’s Godesberger Programm of 1959 and whole-heartedly agreed with its principles and visions for a peaceful Europe in a more secure world.

So, decision taken I went to the SPD village chapter. A secretary gave me my red party booklet. I decided to pay 36 Deutsche Mark as my monthly contribution, not the 22 DM that factory workers pay and not 72 DM that the richer members are expected to pay.

Soon one day I found an invitation to the next monthly village session. I was introduced to the assembled 100 or so comrades and welcomed by the village chairman with a handshake. (No oath taking because members of principled parties do not need to be obligated that way to truthfulness to those few fickle party eminences in Philippine politico-electioneering clubs).

I sat down with my new comrades and had a beer like most of them because the assembly was held in a commercial beerhouse.

A cause based debate ensued. Some of the more ancient and ambitious members expounded on topics of worker-employer conflict, particularly the co-determination model, that would give workers a meaningful stake in their companies’ decision making process. (To be continued)