The media is full of the sycophantic outpourings of right-wing commentators and politicians about the sudden death of Margaret Thatcher. The news is full of tributes, portraying Thatcher as some kind of champion of freedom and liberty. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. Her death is now being used to “rehabilitate” her, to paint her as a heroine. She was a champion — a champion of capitalism, the ruling class, and all it represents. For us, Thatcher represented and epitomized privilege, wealth and the inequality of class society.

Margaret Thatcher, the former British Conservative prime minister and one of the most hated figures in the history of the labour movement, died today at the age of 87. Thatcher, more than anyone, personified the brutal attacks on the working class during the 1980s — attacks that the Tory-led Coalition in Britain are continuing today. We publish here a short piece on Thatcher's death, with more in depth analysis of her legacy to follow soon.

As we take a break for the summer, we publish this special statement produced by our international sister website, In Defence of Marxism, on the Euro-crisis. The crisis of the euro resembles a long drawn-out death agony. There is one “decisive” summit after another, each proclaiming a definitive end to the euro crisis. The markets rally for a few hours or days and then fall once more. The index of the European stock markets resembles a thermometer that tracks the process of a terminally sick patient. This turbulence in the markets is an accurate reflection of the state of mind of the bourgeoisie, characterized by extreme nervousness. This in turn is a reflection of the fact that the present crisis is unparalleled in its scope. The bourgeoisie finds itself adrift in uncharted waters with no map or compass.

The Greek and international bourgeois media orchestrated a huge terror campaign, painting a picture of economic chaos and collapse if Syriza were to win the elections. Thus, by a small margin, New Democracy (ND) scraped into first place. However, the rise of Syriza, despite all this, indicates the continuing shift to the left in Greek society. Now ND will attempt to form a coalition government with the PASOK, which will be one of continued austerity. Nothing has been solved; the problem has only been postponed. All the conditions are being prepared for a victory of Syriza in the near future. Here we publish a comment on the elections, written by the Greek Marxists in the course of today.

The elections in France and Greece represent a fundamental change in the situation. The crisis of European capitalism has entered a new and turbulent stage. A mood of anger is sweeping across Europe.  Fightback (Canada) and La Riposte (Quebec) are pleased to bring Fred Weston, the managing editor of the popular In Defence of Marxism website, for a speaking tour of Montreal, Ottawa, and Toronto.  In preparation for next week's tour, we are publishing this article by Alan Woods on the European crisis, and what the recent French and Greek elections mean for the world working class.

As we write these lines the Papandreou government is staggering towards collapse. In a matter of days the whole situation has been thrown into turmoil. Only last week, eurozone leaders were congratulating each other on agreeing a €100bn loan to Athens and a 50% write-off of its mountain of debt. Governments cheered. Stock exchanges rose on the announcement of the deal. And politicians breathed a sigh of relief. A few days later and everything turned into its opposite. The Greek deal was rapidly unravelling. Markets were tumbling. Governments were cursing. And politicians were predicting imminent disaster for the euro.

On October 15 Rome saw one of the biggest demonstrations of the last few years in Italy. Up to half a million people flooded the streets of the capital. Not only was this a huge demonstration in terms of the numbers taking part, but even more significantly you could hear the most radical slogans of the last decade. The masses, inspired by Athens, Madrid and New York, chanted “we don’t want to pay the debt”, “No to austerity”, “No to the dictatorship of the ECB (European Central Bank) and the banks”, etc.

The riots in Britain are only a symptom of a general crisis of capitalism.  The Marxists will not join with the bourgeoisie and its agents in their hypocritical chorus of denunciation. Our duty is to find a road to the youth, to help them to find the right road – the revolutionary road, the road to the socialist reconstruction of society.

World public opinion has been shocked by the news of the bloody massacre in Norway. At least 91 people have been killed, including 84 members of the Labour Youth Organisation (AUF) in a summer camp.

The cables published by WikiLeaks revealing the underhand, secret dealings of imperialist diplomacy are the largest leak of state secrets in human history. They lay bare what the bourgeois state really is, what class interests it defends. That explains the undisguised rage of the bourgeois class that is now mustering all its forces in a desperate attempt to silence WikiLeaks.