On Sunday 20th December 2015, Spanish people went to the polls in a tightly contested general election. The results have produced an extremely fragmented parliament, reflecting the class polarisation and radicalisation that has been taking place in Spanish society in recent years.
On Sunday 20th December, Spaniards are called to the polls in what is set to be a momentous election. Arturo Rodriguez analyses the background to these elections – possibly the most important since the fall of the Franco dictatorship in 1975, and a test for PODEMOS.
On 10th November, the 11-day old government of the right-wing coalition in Portugal was ousted by the left-wing parties in parliament. The scene is set for a period of political and social turbulence and struggle in Portugal. Nina Christou reports from Lisbon.
Portuguese politics have become very interesting in recent weeks. The parliamentary elections of October 4th saw a shift to the left in society that reflects the discontent and radicalisation sowed by the crisis of capitalism in one of the countries that has been hardest hit by it.
Yesterday, Sunday 20th September, SYRIZA won the Greek elections. Tsipras claims this victory gives him a mandate to continue on the road of austerity dictated by the Troika. But the governing coalition has lost a total of 416,000 compared to the vote in January. The period ahead is one of continued economic, social, and political instability.
Tomorrow, on Sunday 20th September, Greece goes to the elections once again, following the resignation of Tsipras and the split of SYRIZA. The outcome will be determined by several factors, an important one being the sense of betrayal and disappointment among many of the SYRIZA voters. But there is also a process of radicalisation taking place on the left.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras last week announced he will step down. He has lost his parliamentary majority and Syriza is split, with left leader Lafazanis announcing the formation of a new party, Popular Unity. Alan Woods analyses the latest events in the Greek crisis and highlights the failure of reformism that these demonstrate.
Last week, Greek Prime Minister Alexi Tsipras called for new elections on 20 September. At the same time the Left Platform within Syriza has announced the setting up of a new party which will run in these elections. We publish here a statement from the Greek Marxists in the Communist Tendency of Syriza about these latest developments.
It was after midnight on July 15 when the Greek parliament finally approved the deal demanded by the Troika. The vote was met with strike action, demonstrations, a rebellion by 38 Syriza MPs and the opposition of the majority of the party’s Central Committee members. Tsipras – and Greece – now faces an extremely politcally turbulent period ahead.
The deal imposed on Greece in the early hours of July 13 after an all-night Euro summit can only be described as a humiliating capitulation. Greece has basically given up sovereignty to the Troika. This deal will not work, but will create further political and economic instability, whilst exposing deep rifts within the European Union.
The victory of the OXI in the referendum is being quickly turned into its opposite. The government has sent a proposal to the Troika which in essence represents accepting what people rejected in the referendum on Sunday. Opposition is growing in the ranks of Syriza and beyond, among the Greek working masses aroused by their victory in the referendum.
Greek voters have decisively rejected the terms of an international bailout. Sunday’s referendum was a slap in the face for the bankers and capitalists of the Eurozone. The “OXI” victory marks another turning point in the development of the European revolution.