Month: April 2012
Living under Stalin’s shadow
Vasily Grossman's monumental book, Life and Fate, was written over a protracted period of time and was completed in 1960. Centred on the epic second world war battle of Stalingrad, it exposes the brutal nature of Stalinist Russia. With this 2010 edition and the serialisation by BBC Radio Four, it has been made accessible to new audiences. socialistparty.net revisits this classic work.
France: Presidential elections shows deep anger at Sarkozy’s rule
In the first round of the French presidential elections, held on 22 April, François Hollande (28.6% vote) of the social democratic Socialist Party (PS) narrowly headed incumbent president Nicolas Sarkozy (27.1%) of the right wing Union for a Popular Movement (UMP). Both candidates face a run-off second ballot on 6 May in which Hollande is predicted to beat the much despised Sarkozy.
Water charges are just paving the way for privatisation
People who walked into newsagents shops all over the country on last week might easily have staggered out in a confused and shell shocked state after glancing at the morning newspapers. A plethora of banner headlines would have leapt out at them with horror stories of a raft of new fees, charges and taxes awaiting them in the next few years if government plans are allowed to be implemented.
X Case legislation defeated – Time for a new struggle for abortion rights
Unsurprisingly, the Bill proposed by Socialist Party / United Left Alliance TD, Clare Daly to legislate for the X Case, was overwhelming defeated in the Dail. The establishment fail yet again; women suffer, and working class and economically deprived women who can’t or find it difficult to muster the money to travel to access a termination, and migrant women and women trapped in abusive relationships who have restrictions on their travel, suffer most acutely.
For a European struggle against austerity – For a socialist Europe
It is Europe’s working class and young people that have become the victims of the worst economic crisis that has gripped the continent since the end of the Second World War.
For a woman’s right to choose
The following is the text of a leaflet distributed by the Socialist Party at a recent protest demanding legislation on the X case.
Reject the Treaty, Reject Austerity!
The “Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union” is a treaty to institutionalise synchronised austerity across Europe at the expense of basic democratic rights. If implemented, it will mean a further assault on the living standards of working people and will further deepen the economic crisis.
Why I joined
I have recently joined the Socialist Party. I am a self employed wall and floor tiler and like many in the construction industry, I am finding things very difficult at the moment.
Water meters and charges would pauperise families & will be resisted
The government statement that householders would have to pay for the installation of water meters to their own homes is outrageous.
Promissory note deal – it’s a con!
Do not be conned by the promissory note deal. It represents no benefit to the ordinary people of this State; not in the short, medium or long-term. The deferral of this payment until next year is simply kicking the problem can further down the road.