Trotsky wrote in ‘The Tragedy of Spain’ (1939) that, despite the Spanish proletariat’s revolutionary heroism, they were “brought to ruin by petty, despicable, and utterly corrupted ‘leaders.’” In this episode, we chart the great triumphs and tragic demise of the Spanish Revolution in a complete timeline.

Last week’s Dutch elections ended in a neck-and-neck race between Rob Jetten’s liberal party D66, and the right-wing PVV of Geert Wilders. In the end, by just a few thousand votes, D66 became the biggest party. Liberal newspapers and politicians around Europe have hailed these results as the return of the ‘centre-ground’ and a defeat for ‘populism’. But is this really the case?

Expert vulcanologists commenting on Italy's Mount Vesuvius have pointed out that ­it isn't a question of if it will erupt but when. Before an actual full-blown eruption there are the telltale signs: the magma begins to build up beneath the surface, there are increased tremors, and changes in gas emissions or steam activity. Minor lava flows can take place before a major eruption.

A year has passed since the canopy collapsed in Novi Sad, killing 16 innocent people and maiming a young mother. Despite the time that has passed, justice is still nowhere in sight. The courts are barely reporting on the trials of the suspects of a crime that deeply shook Serbia. 

‘Mr. Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.’ The deposed Prince’s new name has that same empty, quotidian ring to it as ‘Charles Stuart’, ‘Nicholas Romanov’, or ‘Citizen Louis Capet’. No more ‘Duke’ this or ‘Earl’ that, and certainly no more ‘His Royal Highness’. Just plain-old, common-as-muck ‘Andy’.

Left-wing independent Catherine Connolly was elected the tenth president of Ireland with a thumping majority of 63 percent of the valid votes cast – the highest share of first preferences a presidential candidate has ever received. The votes were at least as much a means of giving the government a kicking as they were votes for her as an individual candidate.

This article was originally published on 8 October in Swedish at marxist.se. It explains the rise of the Sweden Democrats, a right-wing party that has made opposition to immigration a central plank of its policy. Meanwhile, the ‘left’ and the moderates, who have overseen a decade of austerity and become increasingly unpopular as a result, have nothing to offer but to try and mimic the anti-immigrant rhetoric of the right wing.

What is Britain’s place in the world? The British ruling class has been asking itself this question for the best part of a hundred years, as it has struggled to come to terms with its ever-deepening decline, decade after decade.

In November 2023, comrades Alyona and Leonard of the Revolutionäre Kommunistische Partei (RKP) were investigated for holding up a banner with the slogan ‘Freedom for Palestine! Intifada until victory!’ After a months-long campaign, our comrades were acquitted in the final court proceedings before the Munich Regional Court in July. The verdict is now final: the slogan ‘Intifada until victory!’ is not illegal. This victory holds important lessons for the entire Palestinian and labour movements in dealing with repression!

From being the birthplace of the industrial revolution, Europe has undergone a protracted decline. A part of this has been the erosion of its core industrial base, through a process of deindustrialisation, which gathered momentum following the 2008 crisis, and since COVID-19 has sharply accelerated.

On Monday 22 September, Copenhagen Airport was shut down for four hours. The reason? Unidentified drones were flying overhead. Two days later, it was reported that drones had been observed at other Danish airports – in Aalborg, Esbjerg and Sønderborg, as well as over Skrydstrup Air Base. The Danish Armed Forces announced that drones had been spotted circling a number of military installations. Since then, there have been several reports of unidentified drones across the country.

The period of 1980 to 1981 in Poland was marked by the most intense confrontation between the working class and the Stalinist bureaucracy in history. The working class attempted to take control over the commanding heights over the economy and purge the Stalinists, whose incompetence and betrayal of the ideals of real socialism had brought the country to ruin. It is the task of genuine Communists to retrieve the revolutionary heritage of this period from under a mountain of lies of both capitalists and Stalinists, who disregard the genuine experience of the working class in this period, and slander the revolution itself.

Last week, Sébastien Lecornu resigned as Prime Minister after an unprecedentedly brief stint in power. Just days later, he was reappointed by Macron and tasked with cobbling together a cabinet that could pass his austerity budget.

The general strike on 3 October was a historic leap forward for the Palestine movement and for the class struggle in general. A human tide poured onto streets across Italy: 300,000 in Rome, 150,000 in Milan, Naples, and Bologna, 100,000 in Florence. The list is too long for this article. In total, an estimated 2 million people took to the streets in at least 100 cities. The next day, 500,000 people flooded Rome again for the national demonstration.

Last Thursday, on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur, a British-Syrian man carried out a knife attack at a synagogue in Manchester, killing one and injuring two. The attacker, Jihad Al-Shamie, was shot dead by police on the scene.