The crisis of European capitalism is so severe that it has driven the bourgeoisie to tear at each other’s throats in a frenzy of blame over who is responsible for the collapse of the eurozone.
Ten days ago, a document from the French government was leaked to the press which openly denounced the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, for her ‘selfish intransigence’.
Behind this unprecedented attack is the dramatic fall into economic slump of France – according to a recent European Commission report the country is heading for a negative growth of 0.1% this year and unemployment will increase to 10.9%.
President Francoise Hollande was elected one year ago on a tidal wave of support from French workers for his anti-austerity platform, since when, this support has evaporated to such an extent that he is now the most unpopular President in the history of modern France.
On election, Hollande pledged to grow the economy, tax the rich and stop the job cuts instigated by his predecessor, Nicholas Sarkozy.
At the same time, he promised the ECB and eurozone bureaucrats that he would keep the French budget deficit below 3% of GDP as they demanded.
None of this has been achieved.
Sixty billion euros are earmarked for cutting from government expenditure, while public salaries have been frozen and job cutting imposed.
Despite this, Hollande has been unable to meet the ECB-imposed target of cutting the deficit, leading to a bust up with the German government who are insisting that this target be met and that Hollande drop his pretence and get down to the real business of savagely cutting all government expenditure, taking on the trade unions and imposing mass unemployment and wage cuts.
Last week, a desperate Hollande was able to win a slight relief when the ECB agreed to give both France and Spain a two year breathing space to achieve the deficit cuts.
A delirious French finance minister, Pierre Moscovici, declared: ‘We are witnessing the end of the dogma of austerity’ as the only weapon to fight the euro crisis.
In contrast the German vice-chancellor lashed out at this deal branding it ‘irresponsible’.
Behind all the blood-letting splits between the leaders of the two most powerful economies of Europe, is the revolutionising effect the world banking crisis is having on the working class, demonstrated by massive marches across the continent on May day from Athens to Paris – where 180,000 workers and youth marched on Sunday against the Hollande government and its craven capitulation to the austerity demands of the eurozone.
This fear of the working class was expressed forcibly by no less a person than Oskar Lafontaine, the man who, as German finance minister in 1999, was responsible for the introduction of the euro single currency.
Writing last week, he called for the outright break-up of the eurozone warning that to continue would ‘lead to disaster’.
He said: ‘The economic situation is worsening from month to month and unemployment has reached levels that put democratic structures ever more in doubt’.
What cannot be doubted is the economic crisis has produced millions of workers across Europe who have no future under capitalism and who are refusing to accept a lifetime of unemployment and abject poverty as the price for keeping the banks from collapsing – it is this fear of revolution that is dominating the ruling class today and driving them to turn on one another.
The only thing that keeps this rotten bankrupt capitalist system afloat today is the refusal of the reformist and Stalinist leadership of the working class to lead any fight to bring down these weak and divided governments.
The urgent task of the hour is to build revolutionary parties of the International Committee of the Fourth International in every country to lead the working class to the victory of the European socialist revolution.
