Europe

On Thursday, July 14, a group of Young Socialists and representatives of the Editorial Board of Der Funke organised a picket in front of the Brazilian embassy to protest against the threatened repression of the Cipla and Interfibra workers who have occupied their factories to defend their jobs.

The Houses of Parliament cleaners made history by staging their first walk-out on the morning of 20th July. At 10 am the strikers assembled outside St. Stephens’ entrance together with some MPs, parliamentary staff and the media to publicise their demands. The strikers were chanting slogans like “Low Pay, No Way” while some of them were brandishing placards and mops.

Despite clashing with both the RISE festival and the traditional Tollpuddle Rally, the main hall at the TUC’s Congress House was largely full for this year’s AGM and rally of the Labour Representation Committee (LRC), the main new umbrella grouping for Left activists inside the Labour Party. Amongst others, a number of the platform speakers from the trade union movement, including Jeremy Dear (NUJ), Mark Serwotka (PCS) and Paul Mackney (NATFHE) took time to outline the ongoing process of attacks against the public sector being carried out by the government.

Schröder has dissolved the Bundestag and has called early elections for September 18. Polls show a drastic fall in the SPD vote and the most likely outcome seems a victory of the right wing Christian Democrats. But on the left a new formation is emerging, the Left Alliance, made up of the PDS (former Communist Party of East Germany) and the WASG, a left split of disenchanted social democrats and trade unionists, and the former leader of the left of the SPD, Oskar Lafontaine, is preparing to be its main leader. The crisis of German capitalism is preparing the ground for greater instability and a polarization of German society.

Our readers will recall that The Economist called on its readers to vote Marx off the top of the list of the most revered philosophers. We appealed to our readers to vote for Marx and keep him at the top. In spite of The Economist’s best attempts Marx won! This comes as no surprise to us. We await The Economist's explanation with interest.

Radical changes in consciousness often spring from arbitrary collective experiences. Last week’s bombings in London are no exception. On the surface, the story being broadcast and repeated by the journalists, politicians, and purveyors of “objective information” appears to be true. But there is more to it than that.

After playing for time before last year’s Olympic games, the Greek ruling class is preparing an all-out attack on the workers of Greece. The Greek economy is beginning to slow down and this is adding to the problems of the ruling class. A recent wave of strikes and general strikes indicates that Greece is clearly moving towards a period of renewed class conflict.

The recurring theme of today’s mass media coverage can be summed up in three words: “Business as usual.” After all, life goes on for most Londoners. This indomitable spirit of the ordinary people is something that Tony Blair and the Establishment are seeking to exploit. One thing is clear: if the imperialist bullying continues, the epidemic of terrorism will continue to spread uncontrollably, a terrible expression of the impasse of the capitalist system on a global scale.

Whoever was responsible for today’s terrorist attacks in Central London showed no mercy to the innocent victims of their actions. Such activities are utterly repugnant to anybody who defends the cause of socialism and the working class. This kind of action serves only to bolster the forces of reaction. It must be condemned outright.

This article was written before today's terrorist attacks on Central London. However, today's events will undoubtedly be used to strengthen Blair's attempt to introduce ID cards in Britain, with the excuse that they will help "fight terrorism". They exist in the rest of Europe, so “what’s the big deal?” many may think. The point is they will not be mere ID cards. The legislation that is being prepared will allow the government to have detailed files on the activities of every person living in this country.

House price increases are slowing down in Britain. In June in London prices actually fell. This is the beginning of the end of the house price bubble and it will be very painful for many families who have borrowed on the basis of the increased equity in their property. It will have a knock-on effect on the whole economy as spending is already slowing.

“Attending this conference and its fringe meetings has indicated a change in mood. Derek Simpson has said that he wants to return Amicus to where it belongs that is in the hands of the membership, not as an extended hand of the multinationals. Activists in the union have to make sure that this is carried out in practice.”

After reading the recent report of the visit to the Basque country by leading members of the Irish Republican Socialist Party, and the introduction contributed to Alan Woods’ book Republicanism and Revolution by the IRSP’s Gerry Ruddy, there is a widespread interest in finding out more about the political ideas of the IRSP. Therefore we are publishing the following speech, delivered by IRSP member John Murtagh to a gathering of 200 members of the Republican Socialist Movement at Bodenstown, the burial place of the founding father of Irish Republicanism, Wolfe Tone.

The new Health Minister Patricia Hewitt has just announced that the government is to stump up £3 billion extra for operations. Good news? Not entirely – the entire wad is to be passed over to the private sector.