a thought experiment.

[mlgb]

suppose you are elected president(or whatever the head of state in your location is called). bright eyed revolutionary that you are, you didn't run a campaign, but word of mouth and broad write-in support coupled with record low turnout allows you to snatch the election by the skin of your teeth. similarly, the seats in congress that were up for vote were a sweep for your party(or like-minded people if you don't believe in parties) and you claimed many seats.(though still by far a minority.) now what do you do? implement what reforms you can and try to build revolutionary potential? declare a workers state and launch the revolution with what support you have? refuse the office? something else that i haven't thought of?

i think there could be some interesting answers.

[RedRise]

I would slowly introduce the idea of a revolution rather than confront everybody with it. I would spend time gaining support and making sure no *ahem* other countries suspected me of having nuclear weapons. Once I had stronger support I'd set up a workers state and then try to coax the rest of the world into a revolution. Gently.

[black_tambourine]

I would brace myself for a coup. There is very, very little else that can happen in such a scenario, if your popular support consists mostly of spontaneous acclamation rather than an organized mass movement (and even then, things would be very iffy). The bourgeoisie and their rank-and-file shills would not care how benevolent and democratic your methods are, or how limited your program is. The only fact that would matter is that they are well-coordinated and have abundant resources at their disposal; you, likely, do not. I would go so far as to say that this highly abstract method of taking power would be worse for the left than not taking power at all.