While Boris Johnson has been elected leader of the British Conservative Party, thereby becoming prime minister of Britain, the deep crisis thrown up by Brexit continues to challenge the British ruling class
International
More than social democracy is needed
With a new Tory prime minister committed to a Brexit deal that is unlikely to win support in the House of Commons, the odds are heavily in favour of a general election that by any normal calculation would be won by the Labour Party—not just any Labour Party but one led by a left-wing social democrat.
Veiniséala ag seasamh an fhóid
Is mó seans go mbeidh ar Veiniséala idirghabháil mhíleata a fhulaingt má theipeann ar chomhchainteanna Osló, mar a thugtar orthu. B’in a bhí le tuiscint ó chuntas a thug ambasadóir Veiniséala, Rocio Maneiro, do chruinniú de lucht tacaíochta a d’eagraigh Líonra Veiniséala na hÉireann i Halla na Saoirse an mhí seo caite.
No real differences among the British ruling class
In spite of lurid headlines about his private life, Boris Johnson remains the man most likely to be Britain’s next prime minister.
Tousled hair, pompous accent, indiscreet and bullying behaviour, not to mention taking part in egregious self-promoting photo opportunities—yet nothing appears to damage his popularity among the Tory faithful. There is often, though, a perception beyond the Conservative Party membership that “Bojo,” as he is sometimes called, is something of a clown and therefore not to be taken seriously.
Any such reading would be a mistake.
Women strike in Switzerland
On 14 June women throughout Switzerland took to the streets in a national women’s strike. It took place to coincide with negotiations at the International Labour Conference in Geneva on international rules for tackling violence and harassment at work.
The new scramble for Africa
Failing to see the irony, the Government and Fianna Fáil voted—on World Refugee Day, of all days!—to send fourteen members of the army’s Ranger Wing (Ireland’s SAS) to war in Mali.
The minister for defence, Paul Kehoe, told the Dáil that the country was a victim of “terrorism,” and we must play our part.
Mali is not just some poor country plagued by “terrorism.” It’s worse: it’s a poor country plagued by imperialism.
The spoils of economic war How the United States and Saudi Arabia profit from sanctions on Venezuela and Iran
The United States has been playing the role of the world’s economic bully. So far it has imposed sanctions against Afghanistan, Belarus, Burma, Burundi, Central African Republic, China, Democratic Republic of Congo, Crimea, Cuba, Cyprus, Eritrea, Haïti, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Lebanon, Libya, Russia, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Venezuela, Yemen, and Zimbabwe.
Out of the chambers and into the communities!
All elections are but a snapshot of the degree of political or class consciousness of the mass of the people, in particular of working people. It is clear from the turnout in the recent elections, both north and south, that large numbers of people (more than half) decided not to […]
The EU tightens its grip
Over the course of the many referendums fought on the various EU treaties, the Irish establishment always sold the idea that neutrality and foreign-policy decisions would remain with the Irish state. But, as time progressed, those forces that strongly opposed these treaties and argued that there was only one direction […]
Lessons from the Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution did not begin as a socialist revolution; in fact the original Cuban communist party, the PSP (People’s Socialist Party), denounced the attack on the Moncado Barracks in 1953 as a “putsch,” and, while engaging with the rebels during the guerilla campaign, it did not fully align with […]
A victory for pro-Venezuela activists
A group of determined American activists forced Juan Guaidó’s shadow ambassador, Carlos Vecchio, to flee from a rally that was supposed to mark his triumphant entry into the Venezuelan embassy in Washington. It was supposed to be a day of triumph for the Venezuelan coup leader Juan Guaidó and his […]
Venezuela: A timeline of struggle
This is an edited version of a document supplied by the Venezuela-Ireland Network In our media the economic and political difficulties in Venezuela are usually presented as recent developments. In most reports, all blame is laid on the alleged failure of the Bolivarian Revolution. Absent from the narrative are any […]