taken an uncompromising stance, creating large-scale graphic materials to identify causes in street demonstra-
tions, developing tactics to occupy urban spaces both visually and physically, pushing slower-moving associations
to more audacity, and upping the stakes of political content in collaborations with left-wing (mostly Communist) mu-
nicipalities; the group is currently developing a newsletter with the Apeis, and maintains regular contacts with a
network of supporters (contact: BP 3, 94201 Ivry Cedex, France; tel: 33 1 45 21 00 26, fax: 46 72 42 54).
Another bunch of activists has been the journal “Les Périphériques Vous Parlent", associated with the performance
group Generation Chaos. They grew out of student movements at Saint-Denis university in 1993-94, linked up with
other European student collectives through the “Université d'urgence" developed with Isabelle Stengers, have
organised several large meetings on social and economic issues, and are now preparing protest events around the
upcoming G7 summit this June (Engl website at http://www.globenet.org/periph/de/enhp.htm!). For a long time
France hasn't been the place to look for tactical media; however, social resistance is re-emerging out of dire need
and these days new and old media are being used and proving useful.

hanks to Brian Holmes for suggestions and precision

CHANCE 2000:

VOTE YOURSELF! JUST DO IT! -
A GERMAN ANTI-PARTY

suey Xoly

Germany 1998: 2 years before the New Millennium a new form of Political Party came into existence: CHANCE 2000
- The Party of the Last Chance. In the midst of an election that was one of the most important in post-fascist Germany
an artist jumped into the political arena to "make politics more aesthetic and aesthetics more political”. The film-
and theatremaker and talk show host Christoph Schlingensief started the Campagne: "VOTE YOURSELF!" In Berlin he
started the project with an “Election Circus". Together with a famous circus-family from former East Germany and
with his crew of actors and his family of handicapped performers he founded "CHANCE 2000 - Party of the Last
Chance" in a circus tent in Berlin/ Prenzlauer Berg. The message for the Republic was: "Vote Yourself, we know how
to do it!" Every citizen was asked to become an independent candidate for the new Bundestag. Manuals were sent
out how to become a direct candidate. And many different people realised their chance to “prove that they exist" by
bringing their name on the ballot sheet: "Chance Meier", "Chance Mueller", “Chance Schmidt’. If you managed to
collect 200 signatures of support in your political region you were part of the game and you could vote yourself.
Why not voting somebody you know by heart, you trust and love?

Parallell to these Directdemocrats CHANCE 2000 developed into a network of different party subgroups in many
German regions. In every Bundesiand the party had to collect 2000 support signatures in order to be accepted as a
normal party. The main political demand was that unemployment must be accepted as a profession. To be unem-
ployed means to have a heavy job! 6 Million unemployed are made invisible. They have to start making a picture of
themselves again. The most important goal is to make them visible and activate them: "Doing, doing, doing!" Just do
it. Don't hesitate, just do something with your life, no matter what, the most important thing is to start doing some-
thing, e.g. vote yourself. Go out and get your support from your neighbours and prove your existence. And we called

Y4 th tt tt tot td tot ot he