Southern Europe
Spain: CUP supports a pro-austerity, separatist Catalan government
By Alejandro López, 12 January 2016
The Popular Unity Candidacy and the pro-austerity separatist parties of the Together for Yes coalition have joined to elect a new Catalan premier.
Podemos considers forming government with Spanish social democrats
By James Lerner and Alejandro López, 11 January 2016
The purpose of such a government, like Syriza in Greece, would be to enforce more unpopular austerity measures on working people and the entire population.
Spain: Elections anticipated after CUP refuses to back Catalan government
By Alejandro López, 6 January 2016
The petty-bourgeois Candidatures of Popular Unity have refused to invest Catalan President Artur Mas, whose party they have backed in parliament.
Portugal’s new Socialist Party government bails out another bank
By Paul Mitchell, 29 December 2015
The bailout of Banif was only possible because of the actions of the Left Bloc and the Communist Party, whose support brought the minority PS government to power last month.
Spanish political system in turmoil over hung parliament
By Paul Mitchell, 23 December 2015
Sunday’s elections resulted in a historic collapse of the two-party system that has dominated Spanish politics since the fascist Franco dictatorship fell in 1977.
Spanish political establishment shifts to right in run-up to general election
By Alejandro López and Paul Mitchell, 19 December 2015
While the Podemos and Citizens parties have emerged to rebrand parts of Spain’s discredited ruling establishment, neither speaks to workers’ social aspirations.
Murder trial implicates leadership of fascist Golden Dawn in Greece
By Robert Stevens, 13 October 2015
Nikos Michaloliakos and other Golden Dawn officials are accused of being part of a criminal organisation.
Varoufakis documents Syriza's political treachery
By Robert Stevens, 24 August 2015
Varoufakis’ documentation of the reactionary, anti-socialist perspective of Syriza exposes the lies of the Left Platform and pseudo-left groups the world over.
In bid to ram through austerity package, Tsipras calls snap elections in Greece
By Alex Lantier, 21 August 2015
The snap election is a cynical attempt to boost Syriza’s vote before the austerity policies go into effect, in anticipation of a confrontation with the working class.
German parliament votes by a large majority for Greek austerity plan
By Peter Schwarz, 20 August 2015
The surrender by the Syriza government in Greece has clearly strengthened the Merkel government in Germany and the drive for austerity policies throughout Europe.
European parliaments move to back austerity measures for Greece
By Peter Schwarz, 19 August 2015
There is no serious opposition in a single European parliament to the brutal cuts being imposed on Greece, which mean untold misery for millions of workers and youth.
Syriza agrees to full list of EU austerity demands in new bailout plan
By Robert Stevens, 12 August 2015
The proposed deal, which accepts all the main demands of the "troika," will have catastrophic consequences for Greece’s already impoverished population.
Italian pseudo-left supports Syriza’s betrayal
By Marianne Arens, 11 August 2015
Italian pseudo-left politician Nichi Vendola is dissolving his SEL organisation and preparing to establish a new “political subject” modelled on Syriza.
International Viewpoint, Syriza and the fraud of Greece’s “Truth Committee” on debt
By Robert Stevens, 4 August 2015
Syriza’s initial support for a debt audit was merely a diversion to prevent any mobilisation of the working class against the EU and the Greek ruling class.
Syriza’s fraudulent capital controls
By Nick Beams, 30 June 2015
Billions of euros have been taken out of Greece by wealthy individuals and corporations in order to make a financial killing if the country goes back to the drachma.
Political issues in the Greek debt crisis
By Alex Lantier, 26 June 2015
Having built its entire policy around denying the possibility of socialist revolution, Syriza is proposing ever deeper attacks on the working class under the EU’s direction.
Syriza offers last-ditch concessions prior to EU summit on Greek debt
By Robert Stevens, 22 June 2015
Greek Prime Minister Tsipras heads to the summit under the threat of a deliberately imposed economic catastrophe and expulsion from the eurozone.
In Brussels talks, Greece moves closer to austerity deal with EU
By Robert Stevens and Alex Lantier, 4 June 2015
The Syriza-led government is trying to work out the details of its capitulation to the austerity program demanded by the European Union and the banks.
Mass abstention in Italian regional elections
By Marianne Arens, 4 June 2015
The right-wing Lega Nord was the main beneficiary as Italy’s governing Democratic Party lost significant support amid low voter turnout.
EU steps up police and military operations against refugees after special summit
By Johannes Stern, 24 April 2015
The special summit of the European Union yesterday in Brussels was dedicated to the construction of “Fortress Europe” and the efforts of the European powers to recolonize Africa.
Another 400 refugees feared dead in latest Mediterranean Sea disaster
By Stefan Steinberg, 16 April 2015
As desperate migrants increasingly seek refuge in Europe, the EU is transforming the Mediterranean into a no-go zone, resulting in a string of horrific tragedies.
Syriza leader issues nationalist appeal in speech to Greek parliament
By Nick Beams, 9 February 2015
British Chancellor George Osborne has indicated the UK government has made preparations for the Greek exit from the euro zone.
Tsipras rushes to reassure EU, banks on Greek debt
By Robert Stevens, 2 February 2015
If Greece fails to reach an agreement with its creditors on €3.5 billion due in February and March, funding could be withdrawn from its banks.
Thousands march against water charges in Dublin and other Irish cities
By our reporters, 2 February 2015
The water charges are supported by the Dublin government as part of the multi-billion euro bailout programme concluded with the Troika in 2010.
The election in Greece and the political tasks of the working class
By Peter Schwarz, 24 January 2015
Despite its left-wing facade, Syriza is a bourgeois party that rests on affluent layers of the middle class.
Greek election: SYRIZA leader calls for “new patriotic alliance”
By our reporters, 24 January 2015
Alexis Tsipras promised that, should his party come to power, it would guarantee the existing political and social order.
SYRIZA’s “anti-oligarch” policy: A call to global finance to raid Greece
By Robert Stevens, 16 January 2015
The Financial Times is trumpeting SYRIZA’s policy because it offers rich pickings for the global financial oligarchy
The collapse of the Greek government
By Alex Lantier, 31 December 2014
With all of the principal parties of bourgeois rule deeply discredited, the ruling class is turning to SYRIZA, the “Coalition of the Radical Left,” in an effort to head off a revolutionary crisis.
Greek presidential election goes to third round
By Robert Stevens, 24 December 2014
If parliament fails to elect a head of state on December 29, general elections will be triggered.
UN agency calls Mediterranean Sea deadliest route for refugees
By Martin Kreickenbaum, 13 December 2014
In the first eleven months of the year, 207,000 refugees have sought to reach Europe across the Mediterranean Sea. Over 3,400 have died in the process.
Low turnout in Italian regional elections
By Marc Wells and Marianne Arens, 2 December 2014
In regional elections in Emilia-Romagna and Calabria, nearly two thirds of the electorate abstained from voting.
Greek riot police attack protesters
By John Vassilopulos, 22 November 2014
Athens was placed on virtual lockdown by an enormous police presence just days after tens of thousands gathered to mark the military junta’s crushing of a student uprising 41 years ago.
Catalan independence poll mobilises core nationalist vote
By Paul Mitchell, 11 November 2014
Turnout for a poll that was heralded as decisive for the future of Catalonia was just 37 percent.
Students occupy hundreds of schools throughout Greece
By John Vassilopulos, 11 November 2014
Students protested a new testing regime that pits schools and students against one another in competition for education resources.
One million protest in Rome against Renzi’s labor “reforms”
By Stefan Steinberg, 28 October 2014
Saturday’s mass demonstration was called by the trade unions to preempt any effective action against the government and cover up the role of the unions in developing the new legislation.
Brutal police provocation at Greek protest over fascist murder of rapper
By John Vassilopoulos, 24 September 2014
Greek police carried out mass arrests and attacked demonstrators at a protest marking the first anniversary since the killing of rapper Pavlos Fyssas by a fascist Golden Dawn member.
The European election in Greece
By Christoph Dreier, 29 May 2014
The results of the election for the European Parliament in Greece reflect the population’s hostility to the government and the EU’s austerity policies.
The Balkan floods and the break-up of Yugoslavia
By Paul Mitchell, 20 May 2014
The severity of the floods has been compounded by the fall-out from the break-up of the former Yugoslavia, the Bosnian War (1991-95) and the NATO bombardment of Serbia in 1999.
Greek ruling coalition takes losses in local elections
By Stefan Steinberg, 20 May 2014
The central government in Athens suffered a blow in central populated areas of Greece in the regional and municipal elections held on Sunday.
On eve of Merkel visit, massive anti-austerity strike in Greece
By Patrick Martin, 10 April 2014
The strike call was widely observed, but few workers attended rallies called by the two main union confederations, which have helped implement deep social cuts.
The rightward gallop of the Bosnian pseudo-left
By Ognjen Markovic, 5 April 2014
The pseudo-left in Bosnia treat major historical issues with contempt and associate with forces with longstanding counterrevolutionary records.
Greek students face prosecution for protests
By Katerina Selin, 13 March 2014
Students in Greece protesting for the right to an education are facing prosecution and possible imprisonment.
Rome at risk of Detroit-style bankruptcy
By Marc Wells, 4 March 2014
Italy’s new premier, Matteo Renzi, has approved a decree that prepares the framework for an unprecedented assault on public workers and services as well as the selloff of cultural assets.
US seeks to hijack Bosnia protests
By Ognjen Markovic and Paul Mitchell, 27 February 2014
Washington has grown increasingly dissatisfied with the intransigence of local politicians and the EU’s failure to resolve the quagmire.
European Union demands more austerity in Greece
By Robert Stevens, 29 January 2014
Demands for further austerity come after the Council of State ruled previous wage cuts to the armed forces, police, coast guard and firemen unconstitutional.
Survivors say Greek policy caused deaths of 12 migrants in Aegean Sea
By Robert Stevens, 25 January 2014
Afghan and Syrian refugees were allegedly “pushed back” towards Turkey.
Trade unions pave way for job and wage cuts at Spain’s largest bakery
By Alejandro López and Paul Mitchell, 26 October 2013
Spain’s largest bakery, Panrico, is preparing to sack nearly 50 percent of its 4,000 employees and cut wages by 30 percent, with the collusion of the trade unions.
Greece: Thousands protest attack on KKE by fascist Golden Dawn
By John Vassilopoulos, 16 September 2013
Thousands protested in Greece after Golden Dawn supporters attacked Greek Communist Party (KKE) members, wounding nine.
Euro zone hatches plan to wring further billions from Greece
By Robert Stevens, 6 September 2013
According to a report, the EU, ECB and IMF sent an email to the Greek government “insisting on liquidating state enterprises and dismissing their employees without compensation.”
Fascist Golden Dawn makes visit to Greek shipyards
By John Vassilopoulos, 14 August 2013
The visit by Greece’s fascist Golden Dawn party to Perama shipyard workers is an indictment of the trade union bureaucracy.
Protests at Greek detention camp highlight state violence against immigrants in Europe
By Stefan Steinberg, 13 August 2013
The EU’s agency for the protection of European borders, Frontex, has worked with the Greek state to set up centres that are characterized by subhuman conditions.
Obama, Greek premier stress close military and intelligence ties
By Christoph Dreier, 12 August 2013
During Antonis Samaras’ trip to Washington last week, Obama made clear that the US is prepared to back military repression to deal with increasing social opposition in Greece.
Berlusconi’s party threatens to bring down Italian government
By Marianne Arens, 5 August 2013
Following the conviction of Silvio Berlusconi, his People of Freedom party is threatening to pull its ministers out of the coalition government led by the Democratic Party.
Tens of thousands protest closure of public television in Greece
By Christoph Dreier, 14 June 2013
Tens of thousands of workers protested the closure of the Greek public broadcaster on Thursday, defying threats of arrest.
Alter-Summit in Athens: A pseudo-left response to growing social opposition in Europe
By Christoph Dreier, 11 June 2013
Trade unions and pseudo-left groups organized a so-called Alter-Summit in Athens, backing the European Union institutions that impose austerity throughout Europe.
Spanish Popular Party government seeks to turn back the clock on abortion rights
By Alejandro López, 4 June 2013
The right-wing Popular Party government is seeking to reform abortion laws, returning them to a state similar to that which existed under the fascist regime of General Franco.
Greek government divided over “anti-racist” law
By Christoph Dreier, 30 May 2013
Tensions have risen in the Greek government over draft legislation against racist incitement and state financing of the fascist party Golden Dawn.
Spanish government imposes more austerity measures
By Alejandro López, 30 May 2013
Spain’s Popular Party government has announced another raft of measures aimed at slashing the budget deficit to the European Union’s 3 percent target by 2016.
Spain’s Popular Party faces wave of strikes and demonstrations
By Alejandro López, 21 May 2013
A social explosion is brewing in Spain, where there have been at least 27 demonstrations since the beginning of the year.
Greek protests against ban on strikes
By Christoph Dreier, 14 May 2013
Greek police served 88,000 high school teachers with civil mobilization orders on Monday.
No retreat from austerity in Italy
By Chris Marsden, 2 May 2013
Enrico Letta heads a coalition tasked with continuing the savage austerity measures begun under Mario Monti.
Greek unions hold one-day general strike
By Robert Stevens, 2 May 2013
Public transport ground to a halt in the capital Athens, with no train or ferry services operating.
More mass layoffs in Greece
By Christoph Dreier, 30 April 2013
The Greek parliament has voted to dismiss 15,500 public service workers and slash the minimum wage.
Spain: Polls show support for all parties, unions and monarchy at record low
By Alejandro López, 24 April 2013
The huge decline in support for the political parties, trade unions, and the monarchy can only mean huge social struggles are on the horizon.
Official opposition protests Montenegro presidential election result
By Ognjen Markovic, 24 April 2013
Both candidates in the recent presidential election in Montenegro support the austerity policies of the European Union.
Mass evictions continue in Spain
By Franci Vier and Paul Mitchell, 23 April 2013
None of the main demands of the anti-evictions petition launched by the Mortgage Victims Platform have been included in a new law by the Popular Party.
The Cypriot bailout marks a new stage in the euro crisis
By Christoph Dreier, 11 April 2013
Fifty-five years after the founding of the European Economic Community, the project of unifying Europe on a capitalist basis has been irrevocably shattered by the global economic crisis.
European Union imposes austerity bailout on Cyprus
By Robert Stevens, 9 April 2013
The terms dictated to Cyprus by the European Union in exchange for a bailout are predicated on the destruction of the pay and conditions of the working class.
As government crisis drags on
Italian president appoints expert commissions
By Marianne Arens, 4 April 2013
The ruling class in Italy is desperately seeking to override the election result of February 25 and develop a political mechanism to continue the austerity policies that were decisively rejected by the electorate.
SYRIZA makes political pact with the nationalist right
By Christoph Dreier, 4 April 2013
The alliance with right-wing nationalists clearly shows SYRIZA’s class character.
Greek parliament overturns right to free, universal education
By Robert Stevens, 2 April 2013
The cynically-named Athena Plan, calling for mass closures of universities and technical institutions, was passed in flagrant violation of the Greek constitution.
Reports reveal rapid pauperisation of the Spanish working class
By Alejandro López, 2 April 2013
Recent statistical surveys attest to the massive drop in working class living standards in Spain since the onset of the global financial crisis.
After Cyprus, more austerity in Greece
By Robert Stevens, 30 March 2013
Fresh from its financial looting of Cyprus, the European bourgeoisie is threatening to withhold funds from Greece unless it complies with mass sackings in the public sector.
Attempts to form Italian government collapse
By Marianne Arens, 28 March 2013
A month after Italian elections produced a hung parliament, the latest attempts to form a government have collapsed amid mass opposition to austerity.
More evidence emerges of torture by Spanish troops in Iraq
By Alejandro López, 28 March 2013
A video posted by the daily El País provides more evidence of the involvement of Spanish soldiers in mistreatment of detainees during the Iraq war.
Europe in crisis as Cyprus faces national bankruptcy
By Jordan Shilton and Chris Marsden, 21 March 2013
The collapse of Cyprus’s financial system is being avoided only by the continued closure of the banks, which may be kept shut until next Tuesday.
Cyprus banks close as bailout terms spark Europe-wide crisis
By Jordan Shilton and Chris Marsden, 19 March 2013
Terms attached to the European Union bailout for Cypriot banks triggered heavy losses on financial markets.
Italy: Bridgestone wants to close plant in Bari
By Marianne Arens, 19 March 2013
Tyre manufacturer Bridgestone is responding to the declining European tyre market by cutting jobs in southern Italy.
Spain’s Iberia airline strike betrayed by unions
By Alejandro López, 14 March 2013
The five unions representing the majority of workers at Spanish airline Iberia have accepted a deal to end the three-month dispute.
Corruption scandals engulf Spain’s monarchy
By Vicky Short, 12 March 2013
The Urdangarin scandal has raised questions over the future of the monarchy in Spain.
Initial results indicate stalemate in Italian election
By Peter Schwarz, 26 February 2013
The Italian election result presages fierce social conflicts and political upheavals.
Cyprus poses danger for euro zone stability
By Jordan Shilton, 26 February 2013
As the new Cypriot government of Nikos Anastasiades pledges further austerity, the financial crisis gripping the island threatens the stability of the euro zone.
Workers mount 24-hour national strike against social attacks in Greece
By Christoph Dreier, 21 February 2013
Tens of thousands of Greek workers went on strike on Wednesday to protest government austerity measures and attacks on the right to strike.
SYRIZA censures deputy for questioning Greek claims of disputed islands
By Christoph Dreier, 21 February 2013
The Greek Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) has expelled one of its members from a parliamentary committee after he distanced himself from anti-Turkish chauvinism and the Greek army.
In the Italian elections, Rifondazione Comunista emerges as a bourgeois party
By Marc Wells, 12 February 2013
Rifondazione is joining the Citizens’ Revolution alliance of prosecutor Antonio Ingroia, completing its transformation into a bourgeois party.
Greek government imposes martial law on ferry strikers
By Christoph Dreier, 7 February 2013
The criminalization of striking workers harks back to the police state conditions that prevailed under the fascist regime of the Greek colonels some 40 years ago.
Greek government threatens striking ferry workers with martial law
By Christoph Dreier, 5 February 2013
The Greek government has announced that it intends to ban a strike by ferry workers against wage cuts and sackings and place the workers under martial law.
The human cost of Italian austerity
By Paul Bond, 29 January 2013
As the social catastrophe deepens, all parties in Italy’s general election have agreed to impose further austerity measures.
Striking Athens subway workers defy court ruling
By Robert Stevens, 24 January 2013
The strike by Athens subway workers continued into its seventh day yesterday in defiance of a court ruling declaring the work action illegal.
Italy: Beppe Grillo’s inexorable move to the right
By Marianne Arens and Peter Schwarz, 24 January 2013
The Five-Star Movement led by comedian Beppe Grillo is regarded as the protest organisation with the best chance of success in the Italian elections.
The political economy of the Spanish bank bailout
By Nick Beams, 11 December 2012
The initial measures are widely regarded as the prelude to a full-scale bailout of the Spanish state and the establishment of a financial dictatorship of the kind now in place in Greece.
Italian Prime Minister Monti resigns
By Peter Schwarz, 11 December 2012
Monti resigned for tactical reasons. He is attempting to secure a long-term and stable parliamentary majority for his increasingly unpopular austerity measures.
Croatian war criminals released after appeal by Western military chiefs
By Paul Mitchell, 11 December 2012
The International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia Appeals Court overturned the convictions of Croatian general Ante Gotovina and Assistant Interior Minister Mladen Markac.
Protests against Slovenian government
By Markus Salzmann, 10 December 2012
On December 3, tens of thousands took to the streets in Slovenia to demonstrate against the austerity measures of Prime Minister Janez Janša’s right-wing government.
The destruction of health care in Greece
By Ernst Wolf, 8 December 2012
Five austerity packages within the space of two and a half years have reduced the health system in Greece to the level of a developing country.
Spanish bank bailout paves way for new attacks on working class
By Alex Lantier, 7 December 2012
On Monday night euro zone finance ministers approved a bailout requested for Spain’s banking sector.
Spanish government prepares repressive measures against social opposition
By Vicky Short and Alejandro López, 6 December 2012
Mariano Rajoy’s Popular Party government is preparing to impose €90 billion in budget cuts over the next two years.
Italian steel workers fight for jobs
By Marianne Arens, 5 December 2012
Employees of the Ilva steel group carried out demonstrations throughout Italy last week to protest against the closure of the company’s main plant in Taranto.
Demands for restructuring of public sector follow approval of Portuguese budget
By Paul Mitchell, 3 December 2012
Portugal’s National Assembly last week approved the country’s harshest-ever budget.
Protests grow against evictions in Spain
By Francisca Vier, 1 December 2012
Three suicides related to evictions within a month have highlighted the brutality of the government and banks in Spain.
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