Europe

In what to many may seem an amazing transformation, the bulk of the old Italian Communist Party, the biggest Communist Party in the West, has fused with a bourgeois party known as the Margherita, to form the Democratic Party. Here we provide the background to how this came about.

Comrade Phil Lloyd has died in Swansea at the age of 74. He joined the tendency led by Ted Grant back in the 1950s. He was a pioneer of the Marxist tendency and played a key role in its development. Alan Woods was one of the youth that that Phil Lloyd helped to recruit and educate. Here Alan remembers the man and fighter.

The crisis of capitalism is even shaking countries like Switzerland. The heartland of international finance, wealth, “neutrality” and social peace has been rocked by a series of strike actions on the part of building workers. With a growing radicalisation of the Swiss working class and increasing intransigence on the part of the bosses, the stage has been set for serious class battles.

Some 130,000 postal workers in the Communication Workers Union were due to return to work yesterday after taking successful strike action in defence of terms and conditions. However, many workers were scandalized to discover that management had imposed new attendance times without their consent.

Last week speculation reached fever pitch in the press over whether or not Brown would call a snap General Election after only three months as prime minister. The Tories were languishing in the polls and the young Turks of New Labour's front bench were keen to launch an election. Then new polls showed a different picture. However, there is little enthusiasm amongst traditional Labour supporters and there are dangers of an economic crisis.

British postal workers have just finished finished four days of industrial action (5/6 October and 8/9 October) over a bitter row over pay and conditions. This will be followed by a rolling programme of strikes until the dispute is resolved. This article, written just before the dispute started, comments on the situation.

50 years ago on 4 October 1957, the Soviet Union launched the world's first artificial satellite into space - Sputnik 1. The launch came as a complete surprise, even to the US intelligence community which was caught completely unawares. The launching of the satellite not only shocked the world, it completely changed it by ushering in a new age - the Space Age.

For the third time in one and half years over 100,000 people have come out to the streets in Denmark to protest against cuts to the welfare state. The Danish working class, particularly the public sector workers, have had enough. But mobilisations are not enough. What is needed is a bold leadership that can lead the movement to victory.

We are making available to our readers an appeal by the Labour Representation Committee on the issue of internal party democracy. On Sunday Labour Party conference kicks off. If Brown’s proposals are accepted it appears that from next year CLPs and affiliates will no longer have the right to take resolutions to Party conference.

Over the past 15 years production has risen at about 3% a year in the OECD countries, while money supply, mortgage and company debt, personal borrowing and the massive so-called derivatives market based on this credit has increased at over 25% a year! Result? A huge bubble which is now bursting, starting with Northern Rock.

The Belgian Socialist Party has been dominated by a right-wing bureaucracy for some time now, but something has been brewing in the ranks lately. This has now suddenly erupted and come to the surface with the Antwerp branch nominating Erik De Bruyn, a known Marxist and promoter of the left of the Party, “SP.a Rood”. An apparently small incident has provoked an earthquake within the party.

Michael Collins was a great Irish revolutionary and nationalist who more than any one person may be considered to have created modern Ireland. His political tragedy, like other well-meaning nationalists in the age of imperialism was to attempt the impossible; to try to achieve meaningful national independence, in Ireland's case uniting both Catholics and Protestants, without breaking free from the binds of capitalism.

The collapse of Metronet , the consortium entrusted with upgrading the London tube, spells the collapse of the whole notion of 'Public Private Partnership', otherwise known as the Private Finance Initiative.