The victory of the right in the regional and municipal elections has caused a political earthquake in Spain that has resulted in Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez calling early elections for Sunday 23 July. What are the perspectives at this junction?

Whatever its scale, the 14th “day of action” against Macron’s rotten pension reform, scheduled for 6 June, will have no more effect on the government than did the 13th. Even if Macron did not really obtain the ‘appeasement’ he was hoping for, he can conclude that, on the pension reform, he has undoubtedly won the battle, at least temporarily. However, from the point of view of the French bourgeoisie, it is a Pyrrhic victory in which the winner emerges much weaker, overall, than the loser.

On 7 March, the bosses of the Delhaize Group – Belgium’s largest supermarket chain – announced a plan to franchise their 128 stores across the country. As a consequence, 6,500 out of the company’s 10,000 workers risk losing their jobs. The remaining workers will see their wages seriously reduced (by up to a quarter), be robbed of other hard-won benefits, and stripped of union representation. The existing collective bargaining agreement will be unilaterally torn apart. In response, thousands of Delhaize workers have begun an exemplary fight to save their jobs and working conditions. 

The result of the May 21 national election saw victory for the traditional party of the Greek ruling class, New Democracy (ND), and a crushing defeat for SYRIZA, the main party of the left over the last decade. 

With the party’s electoral prospects languishing, the Tories are once again tearing themselves to pieces. The headbangers are looking to ‘take back control’, just as the establishment is seeking stability. Explosive events are being prepared.

In recent days, a series of public announcements have been made about Russian investments in Cuba. "They are giving us preferential treatment, the path is clear," declared Boris Titov, the head of the Russian delegation at the closing of the Cuba-Russia Business Economic Forum. The conditions offered to Russian capitalists are very favourable to them: 30-year land concessions – longer than those that have been in place until now – tax exemptions on machinery imports, and the repatriation of profits.

Our Brazilian organisation (Esquerda Marxista) recently sat down for a discussion with Jérôme Métellus, leading member of Révolution (the IMT in France), about the powerful movement of strikes and protests that rocked French society starting in January. This struggle, triggered by Macron attempting to hike the retirement age, has entered into a phase of stagnation, but the situation in France is more polarised and enraged than ever.

The nauseating nationalism surrounding the coronation celebrations in Britain was accompanied by a swathe of anti-monarchy arrests. The ruling class are gearing up for the battles ahead. Workers and youth must fight back with militant class struggle.

The Tories have received a trouncing at the recent local elections in Britain. Yet there is no enthusiasm for Starmers’ Labour, which will be unable to solve any of the crises facing workers and youth. The ground is being prepared for a social explosion.

With the working class facing an onslaught of attacks on pay, conditions, and services, the garish carnival of the coronation is being met with apathy and revulsion. Socialist Appeal stands for the total abolition of the monarchy, and for a socialist republic of Britain!

A major political crisis unfolded this week in Portugal. A scandal over the nationalisation of TAP airline spiralled out of control, and has caused an open conflict between the presidency and the government. António Costa’s Socialist Party was swept into power with an absolute majority in January 2022. Little over a year later, it is racked by scandal and division.

This year’s May Day celebrations are taking place against a backdrop of bitter strikes and struggles, with teachers, nurses, and civil servants all walking out in the coming days. To win, the working class needs a revolutionary leadership. This article was originally published by Socialist Appeal on 27 April.

On 23 April, 152 comrades of der Funke/l'étincelle (the Spark) – the Swiss section of the International Marxist Tendency – met in Bern to discuss the crisis of capitalism and clarify the tasks of Marxists.

In his inaugural speech as President of France in 2017, Emmanuel Macron said that he wanted to “convince our compatriots that France’s power is not declining, but that we are on the threshold of an extraordinary renaissance”. Since then, the decline of French imperialism has accelerated, both economically, geopolitically and militarily. This is particularly the case in Africa.

During his televised speech on 17 April, French President Emmanuel Macron tried to move on from the uproar surrounding the recent pension reform by promising the Earth to all those who, since 19 January, have mobilised in the streets and have been on strike against this bill.