Limerick City: Cian Prendiville

As the sovereign debt crisis in Greece deepens, Andros Payiatsos, general secretary of Xekinima (the Socialist Party's sister section in Greece), spoke to the socialistparty.net (13 July) about its effects and what the way out is for workers and the majority in society.

Ten years ago, on 21 July, 2001, as many as 300,000 workers and young people marched angrily through the streets of Genoa. It was the culmination of a week of protest against the G8 summit held in the city and presided over by George Bush. Their numbers had been swelled by outrage against the killing on the previous day of a young protester – Carlo Giuliano – in Alimonda Square by the forces of the Italian state. This demonstration was also attacked and broken up by police using tear-gas and wielding batons indiscriminately.

Over the past few weeks speculation has intensified about the proposed property tax which we are told the government intends to introduce next year following an announcement in the Budget speech in December. There is an absence of hard information from the government but, in general, in the establishment media there is agreement that a property tax should be imposed with the rider that it should be ‘fair and equitable.’ For property tax we should substitute ‘home tax.’

Paul Murphy MEP for the Socialist Party/United Left Alliance has today demanded that any proposed changes to the Lisbon Treaty are put to a referendum in Ireland. This follows talks between Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarcozy yesterday, and ahead of their meeting with European Council president Herman Van Rompuy.