February 11 saw 300,000 people march
in the Portuguese capital Lisbon against the reform of the labour law
and the austerity measures proposed by the government as part of the
bailout agreed with the troika. The CGTP trade union, which
organised the demonstration under the slogan of “no to exploitation,
inequality and impoverishment”, described it as the largest in 30 years.

The Greek crisis has now reached the point of a pre-revolutionary
situation. On Sunday we saw the biggest demonstration in the history of
Greece. Hundreds of thousands of people gathered to protest the
reactionary deal before the Athens parliament. Here was the real face of
the Greek people: workers and students, pensioners and shopkeepers,
young and old, came onto the streets to express their rage.

Saturday February 11 marks the one year
anniversary of the fall of Mubarak. Summer, Autumn and Winter have
passed since the beginning of the “Arab spring”, and the Egyptian masses
are still taking to the streets. Despite all that has happened over the
past 12 months, nothing has fundamentally changed for the majority of
ordinary Egyptians. There have been a series of victories and defeats
for the workers and youth of Egypt, but now, with the anniversary of the
Revolution, the movement is entering a new phase.