Belgium
Belgium: Fight steel closures
The management of steel company Arcelor announced the closure of part of Cockerill Sambre in Liège by 2005. This would mean a loss of 2,500 jobs. Added to those jobs, there are about 5,000 jobs […]
Europe
Austria
Austria: No change at the top?
Following the breakdown of the coalition between the conservative People’s Party and Haider’s far right Freedom Party last September, Austria held new elections in November that resulted in gains for the conservatives and a disaster […]
Germany
Germany: Governing SPD routed in federal elections
Federal (regional) state elections took place in Hessen and Lower Saxony, last Sunday. In Hessen the right wing Christian Democrats (CDU) went up by 5.4% to 48.8%, the best result for the Christian Democrats in […]
Ireland Republic
Ireland Republic: Joe Higgins, socialist MP denounces war in Parliament
Last Wednesday and Thursday the Irish parliament (the Dáil) debated a motion on Iraq. The motion was instigated by Joe Higgins and signed by him and a number of independent TD’s, Tony Gregory, Seamus Healy, […]
Czech Republic
Czech Republic: Tram drivers strike – picket lines attacked by police and thugs
Prague – The independent federation of tram drivers (FRT) organised a one day strike on February 4 over wage claims. The main demand is that tram drivers wages would be equalized with the wages of […]
Ireland North
Ireland: British 1972 Cabinet Papers reveal brutal repartition plan
Under the repartition proposal scheme, 300,000 Catholics would be moved west of the River Bann and 200,000 Protestants in the opposite direction. If necessary, force would be used against those who refused to move.
Europe
Europe: Crisis for major euro economies
The run up to the Swedish referendum on the euro, 14 September, is coinciding with a crisis for the major economies within the currency union. This Spring can see a show down over the EMU’s […]
Netherlands
Netherlands: Dutch general elections – a lost opportunity for the Socialist Party
The Dutch general election results (22 January) were a bitter disappointment for many members and supporters of the Socialist Party, a broad Left party, which had been tipped to make a historic electoral breakthrough. Instead […]
Scotland
Scotland: No change to poverty under New Labour
It’s official. Six years of a New Labour government and four years of the Scottish Parliament has made little or no difference to the lives of millions of working class people in Scotland.
Scotland
Scotland: Big opportunities for socialists in May poll
The second elections to the Scottish Parliament take place on May 1st 2003. May Day is the traditional day of celebration and commemoration for the international workers and socialist movement. But the first four years […]