But what about the factionalism and bureacratism or the far-left? There are even capitalist mainstream parties that are democratic and don't have those hang-ups.
I wish 'the left' as a whole was far stronger here too just to make things more interesting. The SSP is the closest the far-left came in the last ten years to having an impact, but even they were undone by infighting.
The thing is, in Wales we have a different set of political circumstances. We have a larger working class as a proportion of our population than England does and a larger industrial base as a proportion, but no major cities. We have a separate, infant government that is more susceptible to the influence of progressive politics than the Westminster government. This is all top-down stuff, but there needs to be a left force that is concerned with linking these top-level developments such as devolution, with the need to resist the neoliberal offensive you talk about. Such a left force would have to be specifically oriented to the needs of Wales, because Wales although an imagined national community is real in the minds of the people. The SSP were succesful in achieving this in Scotland, whilst still being an internationalist party. They had their campaigning side but were also decent at fighting elections.
Why not a WSP? Ban all the small factions and say you must be a member of this party and no other. Your Respect slogan 'Another Wales is Possible' is pretty grim, most people in Wales have not heard of Respect or even George Galloway.
