
The Socialist 30 March 2006
Stop the NHS jobs massacre
Call for NHS demo gets support
Huddersfield trust votes for cuts - but campaign gets stronger
Save jobs and beds at the Royal Free
Britain - Over one million strike for pension rights...
'Time for a new working-class party'
France - millions march for job security
USA: Millions march for immigrant workers' rights
Ukraine's 'orange revolution' goes pear-shaped
Will ETA's strategy lead to Basque national rights?
Why socialists oppose state funding of political parties
Local council services are still worth fighting for
Council elections: Great response in Lewisham
Stoke UNISON prepares for action against cuts
Strong support for minimum wage demand
Lambeth College students launch campaign against cuts
Save chemistry - sack the vice-chancellor!
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Link to this page: https://www.socialistparty.org.uk/issue/433/5097
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Ukraine's 'orange revolution' goes pear-shaped
LAST SUNDAY'S general election in Ukraine saw pro-Western president Yushchenko's party humiliatingly beaten into third place with an expected 17% of the vote.
In the lead is the party of former president, the pro-Russian Victor Yanukovich, with 27%. It was only one year ago that Yanukovich was forced to step down as president after a fraudulent ballot led to a mass opposition movement known as the 'Orange Revolution'.
But Yushchenko's rule has been characterised by a failure to deal with endemic state corruption and to raise living standards. Yushchenko also dismissed his prime minister and one-time ally, Yulia Tymoshenko.
Now bitter rivals, Tymoshenko's party is expected to win around 24%. Significantly, there was a high abstention rate. CWI supporters in the Ukraine called for a 'no party' vote.
Much political 'horse trading' will ensue before a new government is formed. But the result is a spanner in the works for Western governments who wanted Ukraine to move closer to the EU and to join NATO.
See www.socialistworld.net for background article.
Left success in Germany
ON 26 March, there were local council elections in the German state of Hessen, where several left alliances stood in nearly all city councils.
In Kassel, a joint list of the new left party WASG, PDS, Socialist Alternative (SAV, the German section of the CWI, the international organisation to which the Socialist Party is affiliated), some immigrant organisations and individuals stood under the banner: 'Kassel Left for Work and Social Justice' with demands such as no cuts and no privatisation in the local hospital.
The Kassel Left got 6.8%, one of the best results in Hessen. Five councillors were elected, one of them Nico Weinmann, a member of SAV.
In this issue
Socialist Party NHS campaign
Call for NHS demo gets support
Huddersfield trust votes for cuts - but campaign gets stronger
Save jobs and beds at the Royal Free
Pensions
Britain - Over one million strike for pension rights...
'Time for a new working-class party'
International socialist news and analysis
France - millions march for job security
USA: Millions march for immigrant workers' rights
Ukraine's 'orange revolution' goes pear-shaped
Will ETA's strategy lead to Basque national rights?
Socialist Party review
Socialist Party campaigns
Why socialists oppose state funding of political parties
Local council services are still worth fighting for
Council elections: Great response in Lewisham
Stoke UNISON prepares for action against cuts
Strong support for minimum wage demand
Lambeth College students launch campaign against cuts
Save chemistry - sack the vice-chancellor!
Home | The Socialist 30 March 2006 | Join the Socialist Party
Related links:
TV Review: Chernobyl - Workers' heroism vs sclerotic Stalinism
Europe and the workers' movement after Brexit
York Socialist Party: Ukraine and Russia - the history
West London Socialist Party: Trotsky's 'Permanent Revolution' and its relevance today
Devon Socialist Party: Revolution and Counter-Revolution
Caerphilly and RCT Socialist Party: Revolution betrayed - What happened in the USSR?
Hackney & Islington Socialist Party: The 1917 Russian revolution
Sexual assaults in Cologne exploited by racist establishment and far right