Europe


On January 18, the Danish Prime Minister of the right-wing government, Anders Fogh, announced that parliamentary elections will be held on February 8. Although the established press is very confident that Fogh and his right-wing government will be re-elected, it is not at all ruled out that the Social Democrats may win by a small margin as a result of their demands for measures against unemployment. But if the problems of the Danish working class are to be solved, it is not enough simply to kick the right-wing government out of office.

In the last parliamentary election in 2001 the Danish People’s Party became the third largest party in the Danish parliament. We asked Marie Frederiksen from Socialistisk Standpunkt where the support for the far right comes from and what is the nature of this party.

The “orange revolution” in the Ukraine was given quite a lot of coverage in the western media. The truth of the matter is that this so-called “revolution” was nothing of the kind. It was used to facilitate the passage of power from one wing of the ex-bureaucracy to the more openly pro-imperialist elements within the ruling elite. Goran M. from Belgrade looks at the situation basing himself on a similar experience in Serbia. These events are possible because there is no clear working class alternative being presented to the masses.


A remarkable document written by a Republican Socialist, Ta Power, while in gaol in Ireland in the mid-Eighties. The significance of the conclusions drawn by this young thinker and fighter, who made a careful study of Marxism whilst imprisoned, will not be lost on our readers. Above all the demand that politics and ideology must play the central role in the struggle for national liberation and socialism, in the building of a revolutionary party of the working class, will come as a surprise to many, especially knowing the period and the circumstances in which this document was written. With an introduction by Gerry Ruddy.

A remarkable document written by a Republican Socialist, Ta Power, while in gaol in Ireland in the mid-Eighties. The significance of the conclusions drawn by this young thinker and fighter, who made a careful study of Marxism whilst imprisoned, will not be lost on our readers. Above all the demand that politics and ideology must play the central role in the struggle for national liberation and socialism, in the building of a revolutionary party of the working class, will come as a surprise to many, especially knowing the period and the circumstances in which this document was written. With an introduction by Gerry Ruddy.

The slaughterhouse-workers in Denmark are faced with wage-reductions in spite of the big profits of Danish Crown (the company)!

Fight against all the employers’ demands for wage reductions through the extension of the strike!

NNF (food and allied workers’ union) must support the strike and open up the strike funds! The LO (Danish TUC) must call for solidarity action if no concessions are given!

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Last month, the far right Vlaams Blok changed its name to Vlaams Belang, supposedly to be a “nicer” and “more polished up” version of its former ultra right image. They want to present themselves as a strong conservative party, a “respectable” alternative on which the ruling class can rely to carry out its attacks on the working class. Even in small and peaceful Belgium, all the contradictions are piling up, waiting to explode in one way or another.

The bosses proposed wage cuts, speed ups and longer hours in exchange for not closing the plant. The union leaders called off the strike action, but the workers have overwhelmingly voted to reject the deal with the bosses. Denmark cannot escape the growing mood of militancy spreading throughout the European labour movement.

Voters in the north of Ireland have delivered their verdict on the Stormont Assembly. As we have consistently explained the Good Friday Agreement, and the institutions of devolution associated with it, could never begin to solve the problems facing ordinary working people no matter what their background. Indeed the divide between Catholics and Protestants has never been wider. The election result itself demonstrates a further polarisation in the shape of Paisley's DUP becoming the main Unionist Party, while Sinn Fein overtook the SDLP as the main Nationalist party.

Elections can provide us with a snapshot of the political mood of society at a given moment. Yet if we restrict ourselves to who won and who lost they can teach us very little. This is the editorial from the current issue of the British Socialist Appeal.

Thousands of workers gathered in Coventry (UK) at the end of November to protest against the closure of the Jaguar plant in Brown’s Lane with a projected loss of 1150 jobs. From the December issue of Socialist Appeal.

The ongoing conflict between the management of An Post (the Irish state run postal services) and the Communication Worker’s Union (CWU) may end up with 1,450 workers losing their jobs, the reduction of workers’ incomes, and the subcontracting of deliveries of mail in rural areas, if the CWU doesn’t stand up against these attacks.

Germany has entered a new period of unrest and instability as the Schröder government is pursuing attack after attack - on the welfare state, the working class, the unemployed, the poor, the sick, old age pensioners. This is against the interests of the working class, the majority of the population and especially those who secured a narrow re-election of chancellor Gerhard Schröder's coalition just 14 months ago.

The Scottish Socialist Party, once heralded by many on the left as the most successful socialist experiment in recent times, is in the process of tearing itself apart after sacking its founder and leader Tommy Sheridan as the party’s convener. Officially he is now simply a “backbencher”.