Almost 180 comrades from over 25 cities gathered in Milan from 24-26 February to attend the 22nd national congress of Sinistra Classe Rivoluzione, the Italian section of the International Marxist Tendency. This was our first in-person congress since the beginning of the pandemic three years ago, which ushered in a period of intense and profound change. As a revolutionary Marxist organisation, we have sought to bring out the fundamental trends underlying this period, identifying its unique features and distinguishing between superficial characteristics and the key processes going on under the surface.

In Britain, hundreds of thousands of workers have gone on strike in recent weeks – the latest wave in Britain’s strike tsunami. Not since the 1970s has the country seen such levels of industrial action. We must learn the lessons from this period of struggle.

Yesterday, for the eleventh time in 10 months, Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne invoked article 49.3 of the French Constitution, to force through Macron’s hated pension reforms without a parliamentary vote. This, however, did not go unnoticed. In the hours following the Prime Minister's announcement, thousands of people gathered at the Place de la Concorde in Paris to denounce the manoeuvre. Spontaneous rallies took place in other cities.

Greek society has been deeply shocked by the deadly train collision at Tempi on the evening of 28 February that killed at least 57 mostly young people. The grief has turned to anger against a government that is trying to deflect from its own culpability and that of the capitalist class. The working class burst onto the scene with a general strike on 8 March. We publish below the English translation of the leaflet distributed by the comrades of the Greek section of the IMT at that strike.

We are proud to announce the publication of the first issue of the paper of the International Marxist Tendency in Ireland – the Marxist Voice! This is a landmark moment for the building of the Marxist tendency in Ireland.

The plot thickens! A month after acclaimed American journalist Seymour Hersh released a bombshell report, accusing the CIA of masterminding the bombing of the Nord Stream gas pipelines between Russia and Germany last year, two articles simultaneously appeared in major US and German news publications linking Ukraine to the attack. Not only that, but they claim western secret services knew all along! What are we to make of this?

Almost two months into the movement against Macron’s pension reform, the French masses have yet again proved their determination to fight. On Tuesday 7 March, around 3.5 million people were on the streets at 300 rallies across the country, according to the unions. This is the sixth day of action since 19 January, and brought record numbers on the streets.

Since the evening of 28 February, Greek society has been rocked by the deadliest railway accident in the history of the country, and one of the worst in European and world history. This terrible event, resulting from the negligence of the government and private rail operators, has provoked a huge outpouring of anger and protest, as well as strike action by railway workers and other sectors. A 24-hour general public sector strike has been announced for tomorrow (8 March). The tragedy has further ratcheted up the class struggle in Greece, which was already roaring back to life.

Establishment golden boy Rishi Sunak has been receiving praise in the press recently, having negotiated a deal for the North of Ireland. But any hopes of lasting peace between Britain and the EU – or within the Tory Party – will quickly fade.

The mobilisation against the pension reform in France is entering a decisive phase. All the days of action since 19 January have confirmed the extent of the opposition to the Macron government's planned attacks on pensions and, beyond that, its entire policy. But as we anticipated, these 24-hour mobilisations in and of themselves could not make Macron back down on the heart of his offensive: the postponement of the retirement age, the increase in the length of the contribution period, and the abolition of special regimes for certain sectors of the workforce. From now on, all eyes are on a new stage of the struggle, starting on 7 March.

The global crisis of capitalism, including rising inflation, the devastating consequences of the war in Ukraine, the slowdown of the global economy and the second recession in just three years, has also been felt in Cyprus. This has provoked a number of important workers’ struggles. This rising class tension and polarisation set the tone for the recent presidential elections.

On Saturday 25 February, thousands took to the streets of Lisbon to protest against rising living costs. New demonstrations have been announced for the coming weeks. At the same time, the country is being shaken by a wave of industrial action, spearheaded by school teachers. Indeed, living standards are deteriorating dramatically amidst an unprecedented housing crisis. António Costa’s Social Democratic government, with an absolute majority in parliament since January 2021, is applying pro-capitalist policies, and bears full political responsibility for the crisis.

For several months now, we have been bombarded with images about a supposedly imminent military escalation between Kosovo and Serbia. With the war in Ukraine as a backdrop, there is talk about old wounds potentially being reopened. However, in order to accurately assess the probability of such new conflicts in Southeast Europe, it is necessary to start with an analysis of the economic situation, and the interests of the ruling classes in the region, as well as the interests of imperialism. Note: this article was originally written in January 2023.

The first anniversary of the start of the Russian military invasion of Ukraine is now upon us. The Putin regime’s adventure, which was conceived as a quick operation that would lead to a big political prize at the end, turned into a protracted, exhausting war that could end up calling into question the continued existence of the regime.

As the crisis of British capitalism deepens, drama at the top is playing out alongside a rising strike wave from below. North and south of the border, the political establishment is being shaken to its core. Revolutionary explosions impend.