Europe

The recent European elections reveal one common feature: the defeat of whoever is in power (apart from Greece and Spain where this had already happened in elections earlier this year). The workers of Europe voted against the same policies. They are fed up of cuts in pensions, healthcare, education and a general worsening of their living standards. The elections are a clear indication of the mood developing in society.

In an earlier article we reported on the tremendous struggle of the FIAT Melfi workers. Since then the workers have gone back, having gained some important victories, but nowhere near to what they could have won had the trade union leadership reflected the same level of militancy as the workers.

Only a month ago Tony Blair pledged to resign if he became an electoral liability to Labour. The results of the triple elections held on Thursday June 10 confirm him, and more importantly his policies, as just that. In not one, not two, but three elections on the same day Blair was given his marching orders. Labour suffered their worst electoral defeats ever.

The 2004 elections to the European Parliament, London Assembly, and local councils were a historic defeat for Blair and the Labour leaders. Phil Mitchinson looks at the rise of the UK Independence Party, and the lessons of Britain's Super Thursday elections.

Bush's war in Iraq split the European Union and NATO into two. Now after Aznar lost his job as Spanish Prime Minister, and Berlusconi has been dramatically weakened does this mean that the European powers can find a common ground? In reality they all hang together because divided they could not survive in the world market, but there are still deep divisions. By Claudio Bellotti, Originally published in FalceMartello number 176, May 27, 2004.

Militarily, politically, economically, and socially, the war in Yugoslavia will undoubtedly have a lasting effect on the Balkans. But what are some of the other possible consequences of this military action? If the past sheds any light on the present situation, the use of high-tech weapons by the NATO alliance may have some serious, lasting environmental and health effects on the people of the Balkans.

The German economy is the largest in Europe. Since the recession of 2001, the German government has been claiming an economic upswing is imminent. But are these predictions realistic? Christoph Mürdter analyses the real direction of the German economy.

The celebrations of May Day this year was another show of strength of the working-class in Austria. In Vienna more than 100.000 militants of the Social-Democratic Party and the unions joined the march. In other industrial centres thousands more joined the rallies, often in their work clothes, like the Fire Brigades in Vienna or the steelworkers of the Voest in Linz.

The "Hands off Venezuela" Italy campaign, after a very good start in Milan, on Friday, April 30, went to Pavia. There we had a meeting with 20 people organised by the Marxist magazine FalceMartello.

The traditional Easter Marches of the peace movement took place over the past week in Germany. Demonstrators met and called for the withdrawal of German troops from Afghanistan, for Germany’s exit from NATO, and against the Agenda 2010. There were 12 speakers at the demonstration in Wiesbaden, one of which was Hans-Gerd Öffinger, vice regional Chairman of the trade union Ver.di, and editor of the Marxist journal Der Funke who spoke on the situation in Venezuela.

In 1905, one hundred years ago, when Sweden looked set to go to war to stop Norway breaking away, the anti-war campaign was organised by the labour movement and the war was stopped. The Swedish labour movement directed its struggle against the Swedish establishment. The methods used were effective and would work today.

On April 1, 2004 around 200 workers of the Slovenian company Comet, the main producer of wet stones in Slovenia, went on strike. They have now been striking for one week and it seems that the strike will not come to an end if the workers do not get what they demand. In the recent period there has been an ascent in the class struggle in the Slovenian industrial sector. Following the workers' strike in Unior company, which produces all kinds of tools from screwdrivers, spanners, tongs etc., this has been the fourth strike in the industrial sector this year.

Has British capitalism finally overcome what used to be called the British disease: slower growth, higher inflation, continual currency crises and a falling behind in living standards compared with the US, Europe and Japan? Growth figures actually disguise a far more diseased system that the media would like us to see.

On February 15th 1999, Miron Cozma, the leader of the Romanian miners, was tried in absentia by the Romanian Supreme Court and sentenced to 18 years of prison. Two days later he was arrested by special anti-terrorist police while leading a procession of about 5,000 followers in buses and cars from the Jiu valley to Bucharest in protest against the sentence of the Supreme Court. The miners' protest was violently broken up by a force of 1,000 riot police which intercepted the miners' march.