ists will succeed soon, if ever, in regaining
that majority in the movement which they held for a brief moment at the
time of the St. Quentin Congress and during the first days of the Monis
Ministry.

It is now in Belgium and Italy only that "reformism" is dominant and
still threatens to fuse the Socialists with other parties. In the last
election in Italy the Socialists generally fused with the Republicans
and Radicals, while the Belgian Party has decided to allow the local
political organizations to do this wherever they please in the elections
of 1912.

In Belgium, Vandervelde, who has usually represented himself as an
advocate of compromise between the two wings in international
congresses, has now come out for a position more reformistic than that
of Jaures and only exceeded by the British "Labourites." He was one of
the movers of the Amsterdam resolution (see Chapter VII), which he now
declares merely repeated the previous one of Paris (1900) which, he
says, merely "forbids an individual Socialist to take a part in a
capitalist government without the consent of the Party." On the
contrary, this Amsterdam resolution, as Vaillant says, forbids Socialist
Parties to allow their members to become members of capitalist
ministries except under the most extraordinary and critical
circumstances.[102]

We are not surprised after this to hear Vandervelde say that the Belgian
Party has not decided whether it will take part in a future Liberal
government or not, because, though the occasion for this might occur
this year (1912), he considers it too far off in the future for present
consideration--surely a strange position for a Party that pretends to be
interested in a future society. We are also prepared to hear from him
that Socialists might be ready to accept representation in such a
ministry, not in proportion to their numerical strength, or even their
votes, but in proportion to the number of seats an unequal election law
gives them in Parliament. Whether, when the question actually presents
itself, the Party will follow Vandervelde is more than questionable.

In Italy "reformism" has reached its furthermost limit. When last year
(1911) Bissolati was offered a place in the Giolitti Ministry he
hesitated for weeks and was openly urged by a number of other Socialist
deputies to accept. After consultations with Giolitti and the king he
finally refused, giving as a pretext that, as minister, he would be
forced to give so