Communist Party (Switzerland) concludes 25th Congress

Image via the Communist Party (Switzerland)

25th Congress of the Communist Party concluded. Massimiliano Ay re-elected General Secretary

In the presence of 120 delegates, the 25th Congress of the Communist Party (Switzerland) concluded with full satisfaction at the Arbedo Civic Center after two days of proceedings. The sessions were opened by MP Lea Ferrari and Arbedo-Castione, social democratic municipal councillor Gabriele Del Don, as well as by a video message from the Jewish-born anti-Zionist artist Moni Ovadia and from the Kononovich brothers, young Ukrainian anti-fascists persecuted by the Kiev regime.

Ten years after the separation of the Communist Party from the Swiss Labour Party, the respective Congresses — held simultaneously in Canton Ticino and Canton Basel — were virtually united through a symbolic exchange of greetings. This was followed by greetings from the numerous foreign delegations present, including representatives of the embassies of Cuba, China, DPRK and Laos PDR accredited to the Swiss Confederation. The Congress also paid tribute, at the opening, to the Party’s founder Pietro Monetti, on the 50th anniversary of his death. In addition to comrades from various European communist parties, several organizations with governmental responsibilities attended, such as the National Regeneration Movement of Mexico and the People’s Liberation Front of Sri Lanka. The President of the Parliament of the Republic and Canton of Ticino, Fabio Schnellmann, sent a message of good wishes apologizing for his absence, and the Federal Chancellor also sent a letter to the Congress.

At the end of the first day, MP Massimiliano Ay, was unanimously re-elected as General Secretary, thus beginning his sixth term at the head of the Party. First elected in 2009, Ay has given the Party a new direction, defeating Eurocommunist tendencies and adapting Marxism-Leninism to Swiss conditions in the era of multipolarity. The Party’s Central Committee increased from 20 to 30 members (with an average age of around 30), following the growth in membership, especially since the Party boldly and consistently adopted a line defending the neutrality and sovereignty of the Swiss Confederation. Within the new Central Committee, Adam Barbato-Shoufani, general secretary of the Swiss Communist Youth, at 17 years old, will be its youngest member, while Marco Ferrazzini, former MP and former Deputy Mayor of Chiasso (born 1950), will serve as the “dean” of the Communist “parliament” for the next four years. The Congress also renewed the Central Control Commission, expanding its members from 3 to 5.

After an extensive discussion — which included speeches by former regional president of the UNIA industrial union Mixaris Gerosa and by Ismael Camozzi, secretary of the student union SISA — the Congress approved the resolution proposed by Alberto Togni, president of the United Front for Neutrality and Labour (www.noue-nonato.ch) and member of the Party’s Political Bureau, entitled “A Patriotic and Peaceful Left: No to the EU – No to NATO.” The Communist Party will thus support a popular vote to enshrine neutrality in the Swiss Federal Constitution, which would prevent Switzerland not only from joining NATO but also from adopting current economic sanctions against Russia.

The Communists also took a stand against the third package of bilateral agreements between Switzerland and the European Union. In this regard, criticisms were directed at the Swiss Trade Union Federation (USS/SGB), whose stance was deemed too timid. Ay, however, emphasized that the Communists’ task is to improve the unions with loyalty, because even if they are reformist, they remain today the last community bastions of the working class in an increasingly atomized and individualistic society. The regional secretaries of southern Switzerland for the Swiss Trade Union Federation, the Railway Workers’ Union SEV, the UNIA union in the secondary and tertiary private sectors, and the VPOD public and social services union all sent congratulatory messages to the Swiss Communists.

The General Secretary’s opening report lasted nearly an hour and was repeatedly interrupted by applause. Massimiliano Ay particularly condemned the pro-imperialist role of the Trotskyists, recalling that during the May Day 2022 march, they dared to bring into the trade union parade a group of Ukrainian emigrants who glorified the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion, even asking the unions to lower red flags, calling them pro-Russian. He stressed that such disgraceful acts must not be forgotten - especially today, as the Trotskyist “Movement for Socialism” seeks to convince the Social Democratic Party and the Greens to form a so-called “anti-fascist” electoral alliance that, of course, excludes the Communists. According to Ay, alarming the public about a supposed fascist drift in Switzerland - which does not actually exist - serves only to isolate anti-Atlantic and pro-peace components of the left. Swiss Trotskyists, he said, “speak of unity on the left only to divide the workers’ movement further.” Ay also criticized the public radio and television national public service, accusing it of giving too much media visibility to the Trotskyists, not out of pluralism, but because their opposition “serves the Atlantic system” and confuses workers and especially young people.

The Deputy General Secretary of the Communist Party, Alessandro Lucchini, gave an overview of the past four years, stating: “We were the first on the left to speak of neutrality, thereby preventing this important theme from remaining the exclusive domain of the nationalist right, despite fierce criticism labeling us ‘red-browns.’ For us, neutrality is a strategic line that distinguishes us from the rest of the left. We will continue consistently in this direction. The international context has never been so tense: NATO’s war against Russia, fought in Ukraine, marked a historical turning point. The climate has become decidedly hostile for those who, like us, refuse to bow to the mainstream narrative”.

The general secretary of the Swiss Communist Youth, Adam Barbato-Shoufani, closed the first day’s work with enthusiasm. In his speech, he emphasized three key points: 1) The youth section’s intention to focus on high school students, not only university students as in recent years; 2) The aim to bridge two distant worlds, that of students and that of workers; 3) The request that the Party continue to support the political education of young vanguards, concluding: “There can be no victory and no achievement without a great Communist Party — but there can be no great Communist Party without a strong Marxist-Leninist Communist Youth.” Amid enthusiasm, the attendees spontaneously began chanting several times in italian: “Gioventù Comunista Marxista Leninista!”.

On Sunday, November 9, delegates continued the Congress behind closed doors, approving the new Statute, the new general program entitled “Being Our Own Model”, and the political theses that will guide the Party’s action over the next four years. These were widely debated, and two amendments were approved: the first commits Party historians to be more active in countering anti-communist historiography; the second integrates a paragraph on Swiss health policy.

Finally, all thematic resolutions originating from the grassroots were approved: one in favor of a Marxist reading of feminism, rejecting today’s prevailing liberal and “radical-chic” views and emphasizing the history of women in socialist countries; one in support of multipolarity, inviting the International Department to strengthen relations with Africa, particularly with the revolutionary experience of Burkina Faso under Commander Ibrahim Traoré; and finally, a resolution on digital sovereignty, seen as a synonym for both national independence and class independence.