International Viewpoint

Much of the commentary on the results of the Dutch elections of October 29 can be summarised as “the centre is back”. However, the fact that the centrist party D66 won significantly while Geert Wilders' far-right PVV lost 11 seats is by no means a decisive change in the political pattern of the Netherlands. With 26 out of 150 seats, the PVV now has the same number as seats as D66. And for the Dutch left, there is even less reason to celebrate.

“In his victory speech Mamdani told his supporters that as mayor, ‘We will put an end to the culture of corruption that has allowed billionaires like Trump to evade taxation and exploit tax breaks'. Directly addressing the president, he said, ‘New York will remain a city of immigrants: a city built by immigrants, powered by immigrants and, as of tonight, led by an immigrant. So, hear me, President Trump, when I say this: To get to any of us, you will have to get through all of us.'”

Filipinos in the country (and worldwide) are enraged by the devastation brought by the recent typhoon Tino, with the international name Kalmaegi (November 4, 2025).

A year after the collapse of the canopy of the Novi Sad train station, which killed 16 people, the Serbian political landscape has been radically shaken by a student social movement of an intensity not seen in decades. A delegation from the Fourth International, composed of comrades from the GA (Gauche anticapitaliste, Belgium) and the NPA-A (Nouveau Parti Anticapitaliste, France), went to meet political, trade union, associative and student activists, to build bonds of solidarity with them and to bring their words back to our countries.

The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to María Corina Machado (MCM) sparked an unusual debate on social media. However, the arguments for and against are more driven by emotion than by reason. Is it possible to approach Venezuelan reality solely in a Manichean way, from the perspective of polarization?

This brief essay analyzes the political character of the newly formed Takaichi administration and the framework of Japan's immediate political situation, situating it within the broader international political context. It also seeks to clarify the challenges and tasks facing the left.

Wednesday 22 October marked exactly three years since Giorgia Meloni took office at Palazzo Chigi, the seat of the Italian Prime Minister. Her appointment was the result of the predictable but nonetheless disastrous election results of September 2022, when the right-wing coalition (of which Fratelli d'Italia was by far the largest party) won thanks to a significant abstention rate (36%) but above all thanks to an anti-proportional representation law passed by previous centre-left governments and the deep division between the other political forces that formed the diverse opposition front in parliament.

“There must be a willingness not to instrumentalise struggles. The left has become accustomed to looking at the movement as an obstacle. The anti-racist movement is one of the essential devices that the left has to combat inequality. The anti-racist movement must not be an appendage, but a force.” Mamadou Ba, leader of SOS Racismo.

The Gabès chemical complex was created in 1972 to transform raw phosphate extracted from the Gafsa mines into manufactured chemicals, ready for use in industry and agriculture, such as "phosphoric acid", ammonite, ammonium phosphate and ammonium diphosphate fertilizer.

Dave Kellaway assesses the political situation where creeping fascism is advancing, the Labour centre is not holding but radicalisation to the left is also significant.

President Donald Trump has taken advantage of the current budget crisis, which has lasted more than a month, shutting down the federal government, to stop funding food programs that affect tens of million. Trump said the shutdown provided an opportunity to close “Democrat programs that we want to close up or we never wanted to happen.” By “Democrat programs” he means social welfare programs that provide food and education to low-income people.

When more than 50 Indonesian labour unions gathered in Jakarta on 5 October 2021 to establish the Partai Buruh (Labour Party), it appeared to mark a historic moment: workers organising their own political vehicle to challenge an oligarchic system that had stripped away their rights. Yet from its inception, the party embodied a contradiction. Led by union bureaucrats with histories of elite collaboration, the Labour Party promised working-class independence whilst its president courted the very politicians who had passed anti-worker legislation. It claimed to represent the marginalised whilst maintaining "deafening silence" on human rights abuses and democratic backsliding.

Since Venezuela's disputed 2024 elections, Nicolás Maduro's government has escalated its authoritarian turn. More than 2,000 people were detained in the days following the vote, and targeted persecution has widened to include journalists, trade unionists, academics, and human rights defenders. Human rights activist Marta Lía Grajales was disappeared for two days after denouncing the brutal beating of mothers demanding freedom for their imprisoned children. María Alejandra Díaz, a Chavista lawyer and former Constituent Assembly member, was stripped of her license and harassed after calling for transparency in the vote count. These cases illustrate a broader strategy of intimidation and criminalization.

Presentations of the Fourth International Manifesto for an ecosocialist revolution - Break with capitalist growth at a discussion for scholars and leaders, activists of social movements and political organizations, co-organized by IIRE-Philippines and Partido Manggagawa. in September 2025 by Daniel Tanuro Manifesto for an Ecosocialist Revolution: Possible consequences in the Philippines” below and Maral Jefroudi “Introduction to the Manifesto for an Ecosocialist Revolution: Work Less, Live Better”.

Presentations of the Fourth International Manifesto for an ecosocialist revolution - Break with capitalist growth at a discussion for scholars and leaders, activists of social movements and political organizations, co-organized by IIRE-Philippines and Partido Manggagawa. in September 2025 by Maral Jefroudi “Introduction to the Manifesto for an Ecosocialist Revolution: Work Less, Live Better” below and Daniel Tanuro Manifesto for an Ecosocialist Revolution: Possible consequences in the Philippines”.

For a year now, young people in Serbia have been continuing their fight for a democratic society in the face of Aleksandar Vučić's authoritarian regime. On both sides of Serbia, student marches are criss-crossing the country in the direction of Novi Sad to commemorate the collapse of the railway station, responsible for the deaths of 16 people on 1 November 2024. This tragic event triggered a political protest on an unprecedented scale.

On the night of October 13th to 14th, at 2 a.m., by order of the Dean of the National Technical University of Athens, heavily armed special police forces, unprovoked and provocatively, invaded the historic site of the Polytechnic and arrested 15 students.

While diplomatic manoeuvres take centre stage, the Ukrainian people, in an increasingly difficult context, continue to resist, including in the occupied zones.

As international pressure mounts to demand the restoration of constitutional order, young people from GenZ and workers are sketching out what the Madagascar of tomorrow could look like.

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

The Russian Federation continues its brutal, full-scale war on Ukraine. Every day, Russia launches missiles and drones at Ukrainian cities, destroying workplaces, homes, and entire communities, while imposing its criminal regime on the temporarily occupied territories.