ABSTRACT
The division on the left dampened worker militancy and resulted in a marked decrease in the level of working-class organization but did not significantly affect the level of workers' consciousness. Since the Socialist victory in fact the unions have generally sought to justify the government's slowness to act and have pleaded with workers to be patient. In 1981, unlike 1936, the working class was neither mobilized nor unified prior to the left-wing victory. The 1981 electoral victory of the left differed from past victories in that it was not followed by any marked increase in the strength of working-class organizations. It is not hard to understand what is happening: no large-scale social movement preceded, accompanied, or followed the May 1981 elections and, unlike the Socialist Party, none of the three major unions can claim to have played any role in the electoral victory.
