Communist Party of Belgium (1963)

Communist Party of Belgium
FounderJacques Grippa
Founded1963 (1963)
Dissolved1976
Split fromCommunist Party of Belgium
NewspaperLa Voix du Peuple
Ideology
Political positionFar-left

The Communist Party of Belgium (CPB;[a] also known as the Parti grippiste, 'Grippist Party')[1] was a Belgian anti-revisionist political party founded in 1963 by Jacques Grippa with the support of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It was the first Maoist political party in Europe, although it was eventually abandoned by the CCP over disagreements regarding the Cultural Revolution. After losing international support, the party declined and fell to factionalism.

History

The party was formed as a splinter of the Communist Party of Belgium (KPB-PCB) after a schism within the party regarding the Sino-Soviet split.[2] The anti-revisionist faction first emerged within the KPB-PCB in 1962, with Grippa expelled from the party as the faction's leader for promoting a successful anti-Soviet resolution at a local party meeting in Brussels.[3][4] Following his expulsion, Grippa and his faction established the Communist periodical La Voix du Peuple, whose third issue made clear their aim to organize a new anti-revisionist party.[5] The CPB was thus founded at a national conference in December 1963,[6] its main resolution declaring "the Communist Party of Belgium reconstituted on the national level, on the basis of Marxism–Leninism."[5]

Grippa had prior contacts with Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials during his time in the KPB-PCB, having been invited to Beijing in June 1956. He was seen as a promising leader by Kang Sheng for establishing pro-Chinese influence in Belgium, and was personally received in meetings with Liu Shaoqi and Mao Zedong.[7] Although the CPB was initially materially backed by the Chinese government,[8] Grippa maintained that the CPB was independent and eventually came to criticize the official Chinese narrative of the Cultural Revolution.[9] He furthermore condemned the attack on Liu during the revolution, which sparked the "Rittenberg case" after prominent Maoist Sidney Rittenberg censured him in a pamphlet for his defense of Liu.[10] The case soured Grippa's relations with the Chinese government under Mao[11] and the Albanian government under Enver Hoxha.[12] When Grippa returned to Beijing in the summer of 1966, he was scolded by Kang for leading his party too independently from the CCP.[13] Kang ultimately ended Chinese support for the party in September that year, and Grippa was further denied support by Hoxha.[14]

Grippa was subsequently ousted from the CPB by another faction within his party in December 1967, possibly with the involvement of the Albanian government.[15] By early 1968, the Chinese government had transferred their support to the separate Marxist–Leninist Communist Party of Belgium.[11] According to the Marxists Internet Archive, the CPB was dissolved in 1976.[16] The party succumbed to factionalism, spawning other parties which further disintegrated into divided sub-groups.[14]

Ideology

Political scientists have described the Communist Party of Belgium as a Maoist political party[17][18] with a primarily Belgian Francophone character,[19] situated on the extreme left of the political spectrum.[20] The CPB was the first Maoist party in Europe, being founded in Western Europe as Eastern Europe was under the Soviet sphere of influence.[21] According to Benjamin I. Schwartz, "Grippa (a former Stalinist) [was] committed to the party not only as a moral entity but as a Leninist structure" and he attached great importance to communist party rules and organization as opposed to what Grippa condemned as a "cult or idolatry with regard to a leader". This, according to Schwartz, alienated Grippa's standing within Beijing.[10]

Election results

Election year Votes Seats Change Ref.
Number Percentage
1965 10,590 0.20%
0 / 187
 New [22]
1968 4,947 0.10%
0 / 187
 [23]
1971 2,304 0.04%
0 / 187
 [24]

Notes

  1. ^ French: Parti communiste de Belgique; Dutch: Kommunistische Partij van België

References

  1. ^ Mary 2021, p. 2.
  2. ^ Christiaens 2013, p. 10.
  3. ^ Devlin 1964a, p. 267.
  4. ^ Devlin 1964b, p. 32.
  5. ^ a b Devlin 1964b, p. 33.
  6. ^ Barnouin 1985, p. 213.
  7. ^ Faligot & Kauffer 1989, pp. 373–374.
  8. ^ Devlin 1964b, pp. 32, 34.
  9. ^ Marku 2021, p. 151.
  10. ^ a b Schwartz 1968, p. 4.
  11. ^ a b Kun 1974, p. 40.
  12. ^ Marku 2021, p. 152.
  13. ^ Faligot & Kauffer 1989, p. 375.
  14. ^ a b Faligot & Kauffer 1989, p. 376.
  15. ^ Marku 2021, p. 153.
  16. ^ Marxists Internet Archive.
  17. ^ Cordoba & Kaixuan 2018, p. 94.
  18. ^ Horn 2005, p. 622.
  19. ^ Delwit & Sandri 2011, p. 285.
  20. ^ Naif 2003, p. 248.
  21. ^ Johansson 2017, p. 85.
  22. ^ IBZ 1965.
  23. ^ IBZ 1968.
  24. ^ IBZ 1971.

Bibliography

Further reading

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