Defeat of French socialists: move towards centre ends in disaster For the third consecutive time, the left has lost the presidential elections in France. Their programme did not have one single measure to seriously improve the lot of the victims of capitalism, through which they could have been enthused. This is the editorial of this month’s Marxist paper La Riposte.
Ireland - Class struggle is the only option The armed struggle is over. Class struggle is the only option. Those who ignore the class question and stand alone on their “republican principles†stand condemned to remain in splendid isolation. We now live in different times and the old certainties now no longer hold. We all on the left need to forget our petty differences and become relevant to the lives of the working classes in Ireland while keeping alive our vision of socialism.
Britain: Sectarianism, the elections and the demise of the SSP While the Blairites are licking their wounds after last week's elections results, the results of the Scottish Socialist Party and Solidarity in Scotland and the Socialist Party in England should leave no doubt in anyone's mind that sectarian politics is a dead end.
Britain: Labour’s electoral setback - Time to Change Course! Last week’s elections confirmed the damage that Blairism has done to the Labour Party. Far from being the man who “wins elections” as the Blairites boasted in the past, Blair has become a liability. After ten years he has thrown away the 1997 victory. Now is the time to draw lessons from this whole experience and fight to change the leadership of the Labour Party.
Mayday in Vienna: “Fight don’t topple” May Day in Austria was a bit different this year. Participation was lower than usual, and the mood was distinctly different. Many came to demonstrate their anger at the behaviour of the Social Democratic Party in the coalition government, and expressed their solidarity with the comrades recently expelled from the Socialist Youth.
British local elections – Blair more unpopular than Thatcher! Tony Blair is now more unpopular than the much-despised Margaret Thatcher, an amazing achievement, considering how hated she was. The latest polls put Labour on 29%, the lowest support for the Labour Party for 25 years! Today we will see how close these figures are to reality once the results are out.
Scotland: Labour fear a drubbing in today's Scottish Elections Support for nationalism in Scotland is an indictment of the widespread disdain towards the agenda of New Labour. And yet a recent poll revealed that while 88% of Scots want more power for the Scottish parliament, only 27% want full independence. Rather than independence, the workers of Scotland want an end to cuts, privatisation and all the other Tory policies Blair has continued to apply.
Scottish Elections 2007 Today Scotland goes to the polls. With capitalism red in tooth and claw and public services cut to the bone, people's needs are at odds with parliamentarians' actions. What developments can we expect? A grim reminder of the ultimate failure of Blairism and the policies it represents.
Stop the witch-hunt against Marxists in the Socialist Youth of Austria! After great successes in the Socialist Youth organisation of the Social Democratic Party of Austria, supporters of Der Funke have come under attack inside the youth organisation. The bureaucracy of the party as well as the youth organisation have employed the worst bureaucratic methods to attack the Marxists, in an attempt to stop the spread of Marxist ideas. Please support our campaign against expulsions by sending letters of protest.
Merger of two left parties in Germany In mid-June the WASG and the Linkspartei.PDS will come together and form a new left-wing party, Die Linke. Hans-Gerd-Öfinger looks at the significance of this development and the perspectives for this new political formation.
The death of Yeltsin: the end of an epoch and the birth of a new one Yeltsin was a symbol for the capitalist system that emerged following the capitalist counter-revolution he headed. The fact that his death yesterday was met with indifference in Moscow shows just how weak support for capitalism is in the capital, a city where unlike in the provinces a layer of the population is better off than in Soviet times.
French Presidential elections: “reformism without reforms” gives advantage to Sarkozy Greg Oxley analyses the first round of the presidential elections in France, and explains the reasons for the generally poorer performance of the left candidates.
Total success of the Spanish Student Union’s public meeting against Delphi closure Over 600 workers, women and youth attended an historical event organised by the Students’ Union in Puerto Real against the closure of Delphi and for its nationalisation under workers’ control.
No to attacks on Communists in the Czech Republic! The period of illusions in the “market economy” in the Czech Republic is coming to an end. The realisation that struggle is the only road to defend their interests is seeping into the consciousness of Czech workers. Marxism has a role to play in this process. The new bourgeois elite is trying to stop the activities of the Czech communists, in particular of the Czech Young Communists. These young comrades need the help of workers and youth around the world.
Croatia - Imperialism and the case of general Zagorec This article was sent to us by Nikola Vukobratović, who is the Chairman of the Socialist Youth of Croatia, the youth organisation of the Socialist Workers' Party of Croatia. Since most of our readers will not be familiar with the corruption scandals mentioned in the article, we provide here a short introduction.
