By Joe Collins
Following Ken Livingstone’s defeat in the mayoral contest in London there have been a range of attacks on him from the usual quarters claiming that he underperformed the Labour Party and that on this basis that with ‘any other candidate’ Labour might have won.
The aim of the attacks is to discredit the progressive strand of politics that Ken Livingstone stood for, and to present any attempt to stand up to the offensive of the Tory-led government and its media backers as electorally suicidal.
By Nicky Dempsey
The outcome of the Greek elections represents a decisive popular break with the politics of austerity. Persistent mass mobilisations over several years since the crisis began have resulted in a crushing defeat for the traditionally dominant parties in Greek politics. Parties who in different ways claimed to be opposed to the terms of the Greek bailout won a majority. After a prolonged period in Europe in which ruling parties carrying out cuts have been dumped at the first electoral opportunity, this is the first time since the crisis began that any country has registered a majority vote for parties against austerity.
The aim of Ken Livingstone’s campaign in London was straightforward. It was to try to win the ability to use the resources of a powerful institution, that of the Mayor, to defend the living standards of ordinary people in London. As such it was inevitably going to face the most ferocious attack by capital.
The project of capitalism in Europe and this country at present is totally clear. Having led the continent into the deepest economic crisis for eighty years its aim is to try to overcome its own crisis through a huge transfer of wealth from the poorest members of society to the richest. That is the sole objective of the ‘austerity’ policies throughout Europe, as it is of those of the Tory led coalition here.
Tomás Borge Martínez, the historic Nicaraguan revolutionary leader, died on 30 April aged 81. Borge had been a consistent and leading fighter at the centre of Nicaraguans’ struggles against dictatorship and imperialism for decades. He was an intellectual driving force of the revolutionary socialist movement and was revered by the left in Nicaragua.
by Marie Dupont
The campaign for the 1st round of the presidential elections in France were marked by an unusually high level of volatility and instability as regards voting intentions. Polls showed trends which kept crossing and recrossing each other between Sarkozy and Hollande, as well as ‘third’ candidates. They also showed a high percentage of people not knowing how they would vote several days before the elections. Also 25% of peopled changed their minds on who to vote during the course of the campaign. Polls also indicated a high a level of expected abstention (30%) but in the end this was 20%.
The Front de Gauche (Left Front), an electoral coalition on the left, made a strong showing in the French Presidential election first round on Sunday 22 April. It secured 11.1 per cent of the vote, with more than 3.9 million votes. Its candidate, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, led a dynamic campaign which drew large enthusiastic crowds to its rallies. He issued the following statement (on 23 April) following the announcement of the results.
This excellent - and enjoyable - article in the Economist sets out how the demographics of who got a place in the Titanic lifeboats and reveals how the rich trample over children, women and the poor to ensure the survival of the wealthiest.
The article can be read here:
That sinking feeling
By Stephen MacAvoy
George Osborne’s latest budget launched another assault on living standards of millions of people whilst defending narrow interests and further entrenched the policies that are creating economic stagnation. Only a clear break with these policies will prevent a detrimental impact on the living standards of the majority and years of slow growth.
Speaking at a Respect Foundation public meeting at SOAS on 12 February George Galloway explained why we must oppose imperialist intervention in Syria. His speech can be watched in the videos below.
Support for Sinn Féin continues to grow in the southern Irish state. In a poll commissioned for the Irish edition of The Sunday Times Sinn Féin is now standing at 25%, making it the second most popular party, with Gerry Adams now the most popular party leader in the country.
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