THE working class pushing forward against the EU’s austerity programmes has thrust the Eurozone into crisis, and created the conditions for the collapse of the euro, the ending of the Union and its revolutionary replacement by the Socialist United States of Europe.
The defeat of Sarkozy in the first round of the French presidential elections, combined with the fall of the Dutch government because of its inability to impose the austerity measures proposed by the fiscal treaty, resulted in a shares crash.
The second and final round of the French elections, on May 6th, coincides with the Greek general election.
The former will result in the election of a Socialist President, Hollande, put in by the votes of millions of workers who had voted for the alternative ‘Left Front’ candidate.
Hollande has already pledged to inflate the economy instead of deflating it, and to tell the German bourgeoise that its policy of starving the rest of the EU to satisfy the requirements of German capitalism must be halted.
On the same day that he becomes President, the Greek general election is taking place with the pro-EU austerity parties reviled throughout the country.
The result of that election at best, as far as the bourgeoise is concerned, will be no government at all except except one that is either completely appointed (imposed) by the EU or dominated by the military and the police.
The ensuing crisis can only lead to a revolutionary leap in Greece.
Later on in the same month of May the Irish referendum on the fiscal treaty, which will impose austerity on the Irish people for at least two decades, will be taking place.
Two of the major trade unions in the Republic, the TEEU and Mandate, are due to move that the Irish TUC calls on workers to vote ‘no’.
In fact, the Irish people hate the bankers and the traditional ruling parties for the way that they helped to create the current crisis and then imposed its entire burden onto their backs.
They will throw out the fiscal treaty and demand action by the trade unions to put an end to the crisis.
The situation in Portugal and Spain is no different. The movement of the working class to reject the austerity programmes of the capitalist classes has now spread to all parts of Europe – north, south, east and west.
On Monday the Dutch PM in ‘conservative’ Holland, Mark Rutte, tendered his resignation to Queen Beatrix two days after budget talks broke down. His minority government collapsed over last-minute disagreements on finding the billions of euros in austerity cuts required by the fiscal treaty.
Meanwhile in the UK, the coalition is hated but remains in office because the Labour and trade union leaders are determined that the masses will not be allowed to remove it.
The Labour leaders received due warning in the Bradford by-election, as to the revolution that is developing, when the masses voted for right centrist Galloway, who received more votes than all the other parties put together.
They are ignoring that warning and, as Unite’s leadership of the tanker drivers dispute proves, are determined not to call any serious mass action that could remove the coalition.
Despite the refusal of the leaders of the Labour and trade union movement to mobilise the working class to get rid of capitalism, the revolution is, in fact, developing by leaps and bounds and its march forward will see the total collapse of the EU.
However, what is required is not just its total collapse but its removal and its replacement by the Socialist United States of Europe.
This task requires the building of sections of the International Committee of the Fourth International all over Europe to lead the European socialist revolution that is developing to its victory – as a decisive part of the world socialist revolution.
