This is a weekly round-up of news, comment and analysis from Revolting Europe blog, plus our selection of the stories, photos and videos on the web. Click here A Week in Europe – Archive 2013 Friday May 10 Friday May 3 Friday April 26 Friday April 19 Friday April 12 Friday April 5 … Continue reading
French President Francois Hollande wants us to believe that further European integration would fix the crisis. This is a bad strategy, for there’s no social dimension to Europe, just neo-liberalism. Eric and Guillaume Etievant Coquerel of the Left Party say France must stand up to Germany to change the future direction of the Old Continent. Francois … Continue reading
Reform, reform! Yes, now it’s France, back in recession for the third time in four years, which is being lectured on the need to submit to the rigours of neo-liberal change. Read in the Morning Star newspaper
More than 60,000 health workers and citizens turned out in the streets of Madrid in the fifth mass protest against the privatisation of the capital’s health services since the start of the year. Unions CCOO and UGT and the radical United Left party formed part of the ‘white tide’ rising against the plans of the … Continue reading
“Enough. We can not wait any longer.” This was slogan behind which tens of thousands of workers, students, pensioners and radical left activists were marching in Rome Saturday in the first major protest against Italy’s new centre-left-right government. Led by metalworkers’ union Fiom, thousands of people marched to the beat of drums and whistles in … Continue reading
One of the great weaknesses of Spain’s indignados movement, which this week celebrated its second birthday, has been its failure to pursue a strategy that turns power in the streets into the real power needed to change the world. In the November 2011 general elections, six months after Spaniards occupied town squares across the country, … Continue reading
Despite an infusion of tens of billions of euros funded by citizens now left with huge debts and a downsized welfare state, Spain’s nationalised banks are providing fewer loans to the credit-starved economy than private lenders. It’s all a very bad joke, says Vicente Clavero If something clearly reflects the huge bad joke being played … Continue reading
Over 900,000 Madrileños have rejected plans to privatise state hospitals. In a popular consultation 99% of those who voted ((or 929,903) said No to proposals by the regional Popular Party government to hand over six hospitals and 27 health centres to privateers. The organizers of the petition, which closed Friday, are members of the ‘White Tide’ of health workers who … Continue reading
Unemployment is the greatest emergency facing Italy. But new jobs cannot be achieved simply by tax reductions or incentives to companies to hire. You need a plan that will radically change the allocation of resources to the different parts of the economy, says Luciano Gallino Italy’s new government has said it is 100% committed to … Continue reading
Prices rises affect different income groups differently new figures for Italy show. One more argument for wage hikes for middle and low incomes New figures show how inflation has hit the worst-off hardest in Italy. Official data released for the seven years between 2005 and 2012 showed that those with lowest average spending saw it … Continue reading
By Nacho Goberna Spain is no country for old men. Maybe it was before, when today’s older generation were young, when shoulder to shoulder, with hope, they participated in building this society that we now share with them, or perhaps it will be again in the future when the time comes to leave behind the … Continue reading
Unions say up to 70% of Spanish teachers followed a national strike Thursday over cuts, according to El Pais and other Spanish newspapers. Classes in Spain – from kindergarten to university - have been affected by this general strike in education, which is the second in a year, against budget cuts amounting to 6,700 million euros since … Continue reading
According to legend, the bailouts of countries of Europe’s south have been costly for Germany and other northern countries such as Finland, Austria and Holland. Hence their obsession with policies of ‘rigor’ and deficit reduction. The truth is that they have earned tens of billions of euro from the south. Maurizio Ricci shows how. Someone – possibly Angela Merkel … Continue reading
As French radicals march in Paris Sunday against the austerity policies of Socialist President Hollande, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, co-leader of the Left Party and last year’s Presidential election candidate for the radical Left Front, argues for a broad popular front of resistance. Interview by French Communist daily Humanite: Francois Hollande’s poll rating is very low. How do … Continue reading
Privatisation has benefitted the very few, leading to massive job losses, delivering a bad deal for consumers and sowing the seeds of today’s financial and economic crisis, and yet the process goes on, says Marco Bersani. In an extract from his new book, Bersani surveys the case of Italy, home of one the world’s largest public … Continue reading