The Socialist Party’s Lisbon Leaflet is now available online. Simply click the image above to flick through it, download a PDF of it,or print it out or email it to a friend.
At a book launch in early March Minister Pat Rabbitte apparently joked that he had spent another heavy day reducing the living standards of the Irish people! Despite being drenched in cynicism, for once he spoke the truth.
"It is an unpalatable fact, in light of the severity of the crisis, that repossessions must be expected to rise significantly." These were the chilling words uttered by the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank, Matthew Elderfield. He wasn’t speaking about luxury cars that some people may have bought and couldn’t keep up their repayments when their wages were cut or they lost their jobs. He was talking about people’s homes, the roof over their heads, the refuge where they and their families find respite when everything else – income, jobs, their children’s welfare – might be crashing around them due to the economic crisis.
Across Europe, the bosses and right-wing governments are trying to make ordinary people pay the price for their crisis. Workers and young people need to link up the many struggles taking place into co-ordinated, united action against attacks on our wages, conditions and futures. The 21-26 June will see a Europe-Wide week of Protest and Solidarity against the bosses’ onslaught with protests, pickets and public meetings being organised in Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Britain, Greece, Denmark, Cyprus, Italy & Sweden.
Bryan Dobson’s reference to peaceful protesters, live on national television, as ‘idiots’ was an absolute disgrace. Despite the fact that the interviewee didn’t seem too bothered by them, Dobson cut the interview short. It highlighted the total lack of impartiality which pervades the media and the majority of media presenters.