Europe

War in Ukraine, war in the Middle East and a huge global pro-Palestine movement: there is no shortage of reasons to overthrow imperialism, and no lack of willingness to do so. But, as the last year has taught us, this is anything but easy. Defeating the imperialists requires absolute political clarity and concrete perspectives.

On Saturday, 340 communists from all over Austria, as well as guests from neighbouring countries, came together in Vienna for the founding of the Revolutionary Communist Party (RKP). The purpose of this new party is to overthrow capitalism and build a society without exploitation, misery and oppression.

On Thursday 7 November, Maccabi Tel Aviv played away from home against Ajax Amsterdam in the UEFA Europa League. The fans of Maccabi, the second most popular team in Israel, have also been found to have the second-most racist fans in the country, outdone only by those of Beitar Jerusalem in this respect.

The German government has fallen. The dispute over the draft budget for 2025 was the coup de grâce. For months, the ruling coalition of social democrats (SPD), Greens and liberals (FDP) struggled to find a solution to the economic crisis, as Germany faces its second consecutive year of recession. Despite this, the government was unable to unite and decide on an approach. Those in power are divided over the question of whether the time is right for a general attack on the working class and the poor.

Starmer has recently brushed off criticism of British imperialism’s bloody history, and its role in the transatlantic slave trade. This article, from a new RCP booklet, explains how these horrific crimes laid the basis for Britain to rule the waves.

Closely following our special episode with Alan Woods covering Trump’s victory in the US election, Against the Stream went live again this week for another discussion. This time, Hamid Alizadeh and Fred Weston from the International Secretariat of the Revolutionary Communist International met to talk about the devastating floods in Spain and the resulting rage of the masses against the ruling class, the abrupt collapse of the German government, and more on the implications of Trump’s victory.

Six days after the flash floods which have left 214 people dead mainly in Valencia, an official visit by the head of state, the Spanish King, his wife, Queen Leticia, Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez and Valencia regional president Mazón was organised to several of the worst affected areas. As they arrived in Paiporta, outside Valencia, they were met by angry local residents who pelted them with mud and chased them away. These unprecedented scenes were an open expression of the class rage that had been building up for days.

British Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced her much-anticipated Budget today, promising to “restore economic stability” and “fix the foundations” of British capitalism. But with shocks raining down on the global economy, such hopes will soon turn to dust.

German industry has been in crisis since 2018. Since then, the policies pursued during the pandemic, the energy crisis brought about by western governments’ support for the Ukraine war, and global trade wars have turned this crisis into a rapid decline of German capitalism.

We are now in the third year of the war in Ukraine. The success of the Russian army’s advance on Pokrovsk and the meagre effect of the Ukrainian offensive in Kursk Oblast have filled the ‘statesmen’ of western capitalism with trepidation. ‘This is not how it was supposed to be, Friends!’ resounds in Washington and Kiev.