No.1238 Where Will Constitutional Democratic Party Go?
The presidency election of the Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP) was held and in the runoff election Mr. Izumi Kenta gained 205 votes to win, followed by Mr. Ohsaka Seiji, who obtained 128 votes. The new leadership shifts toward a further rightist position, comparing with the previous direction led by Edano Yukio. The party faces crucial tasks to counter the offensive coming from the ruling bloc of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Komeito as well as the Ishin (the Renovation Party).
WE NEED PEOPLE’S UNITED FRONT TO COUNTER RIGHTIST TREND
Four people ran for the presidency; Mr. Ogawa Jun’ya and Ms Nishimura Chinami contested along with Mr. Izumi and Mr. Ohsaka. Mr. Izumi and Mr. Ogawa joined the CDP, leaving the Kibo Party (the Party of Hopes) via the Kokumin-Minshu Party (=Democratic Party for the People). Mr. Ohsaka and Ms Nishimura are original CDP members. The runoff election meant, consequently, a race between the conservatives and the liberals inside a conservative-liberal party.
Opposition bloc will be risky
The Candidate Izumi has won, unexpectedly, not only in the balloting by parliamentary members, but also by its local organizations as well as local assembly members, party members and supporters. The party was impacted, as a whole, by the current rightist social trend.
In the general election held in late October the issues, including defending the Senkaku Islands, obtaining military capabilities to attack enemy bases and doubling of defense budget, were not contested by the opposition parties. These concepts have calmly penetrated into the mind of defenseless voters.
After the election, mass media stage campaigns like ‘to review cooperation with the Communist Party and collaboration with it outside the Cabinet’ and ‘to become a party to be a government’. Meanwhile the Kokumin-Minshu Party has left the opposition bloc, approaching to the Ishin. It demands to have meetings to debate on the constitution via the Commissions on Constitution. The Ishin has advanced in the last general election, and political forces around the ruling LDP have called again for surging the consumption tax rate. The politics of the country is rapidly moving to right.
The former CDP president Edano Yukio expressed during the election campaign to maintain the same policy line of the governments in terms of national security and diplomacy. The party could not oppose the belligerent trends of chauvinism and further militarization. A bit of success was seen as it cooperated with the Communist Party, but the new president told to review that position. Concerns arise in the opposition bloc about preparing for the scheduled election for the House of Councilors in July.
A more serious phenomenon, however, is vacillation of the CDP in its basic policy. Critical issues are raised in the current extraordinary and the consecutive ordinary sessions of the Diet; urgent operations of the Commissions on Constitution, defense policies on the Senkaku Islands and a rapid increase in the defense budget. The LDP and its followers propose again heightening the consumption tax rate. Unless the opposition parties and forces unite together with the axis of the CDP, an alliance to cope with the ruling bloc will be unsuccessful for the July election. If the LDP-Komeito coalition with the Ishin grows in the election for the House of Councilors, we can easily foresee what will happen.
Let’s fight against the LDP-Koeito-Ishin alliance!
The New Socialist Party maintains the policy of joint struggle with opposition forces for the July election, working together with civic groups. In the October general election, in the small constituencies where the CDP’s candidate was jointly fielded, almost 80% of the votes for the Communist Party were cast to the respective CDP’s candidates. Without that support, the CDP could not win in the constituencies of single candidate.
The more depends the CDP on the Rengo, the Japanese Trade Union Confederation, and the conservatives, the more ambiguous will be their policy on national security and diplomacy. That means a defense line will fade away in countering the attacks to amend the constitution.
It is no use crying, however, over criticisms on the CDP. We must fight. Civic people should raise the banner to tackle the alliance of the LDP-Komeito-Ishin in terms of national security and diplomacy, nuclear power generation, the consumption tax, gender, and etc.
The New Socialist Party is determined to play a role in the joint struggle of the opposition forces in the coming Upper House election with the restructured Social-Democratic Party, placing it in the center.
代表選に立候補した泉、逢坂、小川淳也、西村智奈美の各氏のうち、泉・小川は「希望」から国民民主経由で立民に参加。逢坂、西村は当初から立民。決選投票は結局、「保守リベラル」政党内の保守とリベラル対立の構図になった。
野党共闘に危惧
国会議員だけでなく地方組織と自治体議員と党員・サポーター票で案外泉支持が多かった。党全体として右傾化の世相に押された感じだ。 総選挙では、尖閣防衛や敵基地攻撃能力保有、防衛費倍増などが野党の反撃を受けることなく無防備な民衆に浸透していった。総選挙後、メディアは民主党に「共産党との共闘・閣外協力見直し」、「政権を任せられる党へ」とキャンペーン。国民民主は野党国対を離脱して維新と接近、憲法審査会の議論促進を主張する。維新躍進、自民党周辺の消費税増税論の再燃含め、激しく右へ動いている。
枝野幸男前代表は総選挙で「安保・外交政策は従来の政権の方針を継承」と明言、排外主義・国防強化政策の攻勢に反撃できなかった。共産党との協力で成果を上げたのが救いだが、泉代表はそれも見直すと言明し、参院選での野党共闘が危惧される。
より深刻なのは、基本政策での立民の揺らぎだ。開会中の臨時国会と来春の通常国会では憲法審査会の加速、尖閣防衛対策(海上保安庁法改悪)、防衛費急増などの案件がある。自民周辺では消費税増税論も再燃。立民を先頭に野党が結束して対抗しなければ参院選での共闘も魂が入らない。参院選で自公維の伸長を許せばその先何が起こるかは、想像できる。
自公維と対決へ
我々は野党共闘堅持の声を市民とともに上げ続ける。立民に一本化した小選挙区では共産党支持票の８割近くは立民に投じられた。この力なしに立民は参院１人区で勝てない。
連合や「保守層」に依存しようとすれば、安保・外交政策はますますあいまいになる。それは改憲攻撃への防衛線を自壊させるに等しい。
だが立民の批判をしても始まらない。市民の手で安保・外交、原発、消費税、ジェンダーなどで明快に自公維と対決する新しい旗を立てよう。新生社民党を軸に参院選にむけた共同の一翼を新社会党は担う決意だ。
英訳版↓
No.1238 Where Will Constitutional Democratic Party Go?
The presidency election of the Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP) was held and in the runoff election Mr. Izumi Kenta gained 205 votes to win, followed by Mr. Ohsaka Seiji, who obtained 128 votes. The new leadership shifts toward a further rightist position, comparing with the previous direction led by Edano Yukio. The party faces crucial tasks to counter the offensive coming from the ruling bloc of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Komeito as well as the Ishin (the Renovation Party).
WE NEED PEOPLE’S UNITED FRONT TO COUNTER RIGHTIST TREND
Four people ran for the presidency; Mr. Ogawa Jun’ya and Ms Nishimura Chinami contested along with Mr. Izumi and Mr. Ohsaka. Mr. Izumi and Mr. Ogawa joined the CDP, leaving the Kibo Party (the Party of Hopes) via the Kokumin-Minshu Party (=Democratic Party for the People). Mr. Ohsaka and Ms Nishimura are original CDP members. The runoff election meant, consequently, a race between the conservatives and the liberals inside a conservative-liberal party.
Opposition bloc will be risky
The Candidate Izumi has won, unexpectedly, not only in the balloting by parliamentary members, but also by its local organizations as well as local assembly members, party members and supporters. The party was impacted, as a whole, by the current rightist social trend.
In the general election held in late October the issues, including defending the Senkaku Islands, obtaining military capabilities to attack enemy bases and doubling of defense budget, were not contested by the opposition parties. These concepts have calmly penetrated into the mind of defenseless voters.
After the election, mass media stage campaigns like ‘to review cooperation with the Communist Party and collaboration with it outside the Cabinet’ and ‘to become a party to be a government’. Meanwhile the Kokumin-Minshu Party has left the opposition bloc, approaching to the Ishin. It demands to have meetings to debate on the constitution via the Commissions on Constitution. The Ishin has advanced in the last general election, and political forces around the ruling LDP have called again for surging the consumption tax rate. The politics of the country is rapidly moving to right.
The former CDP president Edano Yukio expressed during the election campaign to maintain the same policy line of the governments in terms of national security and diplomacy. The party could not oppose the belligerent trends of chauvinism and further militarization. A bit of success was seen as it cooperated with the Communist Party, but the new president told to review that position. Concerns arise in the opposition bloc about preparing for the scheduled election for the House of Councilors in July.
A more serious phenomenon, however, is vacillation of the CDP in its basic policy. Critical issues are raised in the current extraordinary and the consecutive ordinary sessions of the Diet; urgent operations of the Commissions on Constitution, defense policies on the Senkaku Islands and a rapid increase in the defense budget. The LDP and its followers propose again heightening the consumption tax rate. Unless the opposition parties and forces unite together with the axis of the CDP, an alliance to cope with the ruling bloc will be unsuccessful for the July election. If the LDP-Komeito coalition with the Ishin grows in the election for the House of Councilors, we can easily foresee what will happen.
Let’s fight against the LDP-Koeito-Ishin alliance!
The New Socialist Party maintains the policy of joint struggle with opposition forces for the July election, working together with civic groups. In the October general election, in the small constituencies where the CDP’s candidate was jointly fielded, almost 80% of the votes for the Communist Party were cast to the respective CDP’s candidates. Without that support, the CDP could not win in the constituencies of single candidate.
The more depends the CDP on the Rengo, the Japanese Trade Union Confederation, and the conservatives, the more ambiguous will be their policy on national security and diplomacy. That means a defense line will fade away in countering the attacks to amend the constitution.
It is no use crying, however, over criticisms on the CDP. We must fight. Civic people should raise the banner to tackle the alliance of the LDP-Komeito-Ishin in terms of national security and diplomacy, nuclear power generation, the consumption tax, gender, and etc.
The New Socialist Party is determined to play a role in the joint struggle of the opposition forces in the coming Upper House election with the restructured Social-Democratic Party, placing it in the center.
December 15, 2021