“A spectre is haunting Europe – the spectre of communism.”
This famous opening line of the Communist Manifesto was written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels on the eve of a revolutionary wave that swept across the continent in 1848.
Today, as radical protests break out in France, Spain, and Germany, many commentators have remarked that there is a “whiff of ‘68” in the air across the Channel – a reference to the student demonstrations and factory occupations that gripped Paris and other French cities in May 1968. But it may not be long before comparisons are being made with the revolutionary events of ‘48.
More importantly, the spectre that currently haunts the capitalists and their representatives in Europe could soon be arriving on the UK’s shores – striking fear and terror into the hearts of the British establishment.
Both for those in Westminster and for us as communists, Europe is a mirror to our future; a harbinger of the titanic events that lie ahead.
We must therefore build our forces with a sense of urgency – and prepare for the social explosions and revolutionary upheavals that are sure to come.
Bond markets and barricades
In Greek mythology, the chimera was a monstrous, hybrid beast, composed of one part lion, one part goat, and one part dragon.
Britain today could equally be said to be chimerical – only lacking the fire-breathing ferocity of this fabled creature.
The crisis facing British capitalism and its lackeys contains elements of all the crises that have provoked the ongoing mass movements in the three aforementioned European countries.
Start with the situation in France, where militant protests of the youth are growing and spreading. These began as a struggle by school students against the attacks they and their teachers face in education. But, aided by the brutal repression of the French police, they have since developed into a powerful and defiant mobilisation against the hated Macron government.
The backdrop to this movement is the deep crisis of French capitalism, and the paralysis of all those who seek in vain to uphold this crumbling edifice.
A recent headline in the Financial Times aptly summarised the dilemma facing the French ruling class. France’s political leaders, this big-business mouthpiece outlined, are caught “between the bond market and the barricades”; “between the protesters on the street calling for more funds from the government and ‘bond vigilantes’ in the markets who punish perceived fiscal irresponsibility by betting against the country’s debt”.
Reading such words might induce a certain sense of familiarity for those in Downing Street.
The UK Treasury is due to announce its latest Autumn Budget on Wednesday 28 October. And like Macron’s ministers in France, PM Andy Burnham and Chancellor John Healey will find themselves squeezed and ground between twin conflicting forces: the demands of the bankers and billionaires for austerity to ‘balance the books’, on one side; and the needs of workers, the poor, and the youth on the other.
Burnham will no doubt try to find some sort of fudge to avoid making any ‘difficult decisions’ that might ruin the honeymoon he has enjoyed since taking over from Keir Starmer in Number 10. But any balancing act that the government attempts will be extremely precarious and unstable, and will not last long.
It is only a matter of time before the wheels start coming off for the ‘good vibes’ Labour leader; for the mask to slip, allowing voters to see the true cold, callous face of Britain’s latest prime minister. And when this happens, the so-called ‘Burnham bounce’ will give way to an almighty fall.
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Guns or butter
In addition to this economic quandary, Burnham also faces the same problem as his German counterpart, Friedrich Merz: that of ramping up rearmament and militarism, in order to defend the interests of European and British imperialism in a world of heightened geopolitical tensions and conflicts.
In Germany, this has meant not only a commitment to hundreds of billions of euros in increased military spending, but also moves to bring in conscription.
This has provoked intense opposition from below, including an energetic movement of the youth. Large numbers have taken to the streets of Berlin and other cities. Teenage students have walked out of their schools. And class-based slogans that get to the nub of the matter have been raised and shouted by activists: “The rich want war – the youth want a future!”
Like his predecessor as PM, Burnham has also been a champion of increased militarism. Despite a few tokenistic gestures and words in relation to Palestine, he and his ministers continue to be a government of war: pledging to hike expenditure on ‘defence’; sending aid and arms to the corrupt Zelensky regime in Ukraine; offering support to the Saudis in their ongoing campaign against the Houthis in Yemen.
The difference between Burnham and Merz, however, is that the latter has a certain room for manoeuvre when it comes to the question of arms spending, with German national debts at a far lower level – at around 63 percent of GDP – than Britain’s, which stand at over 100 percent of UK GDP.
This adds another dimension to the pressures bearing down on Burnham’s government. Any backing for warfare will necessarily mean cuts to welfare and healthcare; a prioritisation of guns over butter.
And young people in Britain are likely to respond to any such proposals in a similar vein to the youth in Germany: by telling the imperialist establishment to stick their bombs and missiles where the sun don’t shine.
Culture war vs class war
Finally there is the situation in Spain, which similarly offers a glimpse of our future, in Britain and internationally.
Starting in Madrid, but quickly spreading to other cities across the country, a huge social movement has erupted into the streets and squares of Spain over the question of housing.
The initial spark for this was the eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal. Maricarmen was thrown out of her flat in the Spanish capital, where she had lived for almost all her life, after her entire apartment block was bought up by an investment fund, which hiked the rent on its newly purchased asset from €500 to €2,650 a month.
She passed away in hospital two weeks later. The immense stress of being dragged from her home was likely a factor in her death. In essence, she was killed by the capitalist system.
Hundreds of thousands have come out in support of Maricarmen, and against the property speculators and riot police who evicted her. They are raising radical demands for a 50 percent cut in rents, a ban on evictions, and the expropriation of the ‘vulture funds’. And they are putting pressure on the trade unions, which have been forced to call a general strike.
Notably, these protestors and their demands have gained widespread support amongst the Spanish public. This even includes a large majority of those who typically vote for the right-wing People’s Party and the far-right Vox.
Only weeks before, these same parties had been leading the charge in whipping up racism against migrants, after tens of thousands crossed the Moroccan border into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta.
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For weeks, reactionary politicians dominated the airwaves with their vicious propaganda campaign around the Ceuta crisis. This included attempts to blame immigrants for Spain’s housing crisis, accompanied by racist attacks and intimidation on the ground against Moroccan and sub-Saharan migrants.
Chauvinistic right-wingers opportunistically banged the drum about the need for Pedro Sánchez’s government to ‘put Spaniards first’. Yet now, an elderly, vulnerable Spanish lady has been forced out of her lifelong home – not by immigrants, but by callous capitalists and their state goons.
This single episode has had a rapid impact on ordinary people’s minds, giving them a concrete target for all their accumulated anger. Suddenly, workers and youth are marching en masse against the exploiters, muting the migrant-bashers in the process.
This shows how consciousness can be transformed almost overnight; how the cacophony of racist rhetoric – blaring into our ears from the top of society – can be silenced by class struggle.
Those wanting to fight racism and cut across the culture war in Britain should take note.
And so should Andy Burnham. The Labour leader is effectively the British Sánchez: a wily political opportunist and careerist chameleon, who will say anything to anyone if it helps him climb – and remain atop – the greasy pole.
Workers and youth, in Britain and Spain, should have no trust in these wolves in sheep’s clothing.
World revolution
There is a final feature common to the movements in France, Germany, and Spain that should be highlighted: the radicalisation of the youth, and the support for communist ideas.
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In France, hammer-and-sickle flags can be seen on demonstrations, alongside other symbols of recent protest, such as yellow vests and Palestine flags. And workers and young people are explicitly referencing the country’s revolutionary traditions: from the Great French Revolution of 1789, to the 1871 Paris Commune, to the events of May ‘68.
A sea of red flags is also visible on Spanish demos, accompanied by chants of ‘socialism or barbarism’ and demands for a general strike – that is, for mass direct action by the organised working class. And, as discussed, clear class slogans are being raised by the youth in Germany.
As I write, meanwhile, similar protests and movements are erupting across the continent, in Italy, Belgium, Albania, Portugal, and elsewhere. This follows the inspiring example of the Italian workers a year ago, in October 2025, when millions participated in a general strike to ‘block everything for Palestine’.
The real picture in society is becoming increasingly clear. Yes, the warmongers, billionaires, and racists are inflicting genocide, climate catastrophe, and far-right violence upon the world.
But alongside this, a countervailing tendency is developing and crystallising. It is still in its early stages, but a process of world revolution is unfolding before our eyes.
The Gen Z revolutions – which began in the former colonial countries, where the pressures of capitalism and imperialism are most acute – have arrived in Europe. And Britain could be next in line.
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All the same combustible material that we see in Europe exists in Britain also. Explosive developments will therefore soon be on the order of the day here too.
We need to prepare for this perspective by assembling the key missing ingredient that is required to bring matters to a successful conclusion: a revolutionary party that can act as a catalyst for consciousness; that can channel the energy and dynamism of the working class; that can turn the burning indignation of the masses into a power capable of transforming society.
That is the task before us as communists. We urge you to join us in this endeavour. We have no time to waste.
