As we write these lines the Papandreou government is staggering towards
collapse. In a matter of days the whole situation has been thrown into
turmoil. Only
last week, eurozone leaders were congratulating each other on agreeing a
100bn-euro loan to Athens and a 50% write-off of its mountain of debt.
Governments cheered. Stock exchanges rose on the announcement of the
deal. And politicians breathed a sigh of relief. A few days later and
everything turned into its opposite.

Last Thursday’s by election in Dublin
West came down to a three horse race between Councillor Patrick Nulty of
Labour who won and Councillor Ruth Coppinger of the Socialist Party who
came third, while Fianna Fáil (FF) squeezed into second place after a
tie for second and third place – on the basis that they had more first
preference votes.

As Europe teeters once more, staring
financial collapse and slump in the face, we provide an analysis of what
happened in Iceland, the first country to go under as a result of the
global crisis of capitalism.