Economists predicting renewed hardship. A resurgence in racist attacks. The resignation of a Prime Minister. The leader of the largest opposition party in the country attempting to fight off a coup attempt. This picture, more or less, sums up some of the more glaring repercussions of the British vote to leave the European Union.
There was a wide-spread sense of relief among many Europeans when on May 23, 2016 it was announced that Alexander Van der Bellen won the election for President of Austria in a razor thin victory over his far right-wing Freedom Party opponent Norbert Hofer.
Is there any way that any government is able to maintain an anti-austerity policy in the middle run, amidst the pressures that reduced government real revenues are imposing on states throughout the world? As this drama plays out in Spain, the world will be watching, reacting, and drawing lessons.
"The most important help comes from the simple solidarity movements. It is self-organized people trying to help. That is very important. There is no other initiative or motive behind this, they just want to help as fellow human beings. So there is no money, no salary, nothing – just humanity." - Yonous Muhammadi
Dublin was in lockdown on March 27th as the Easter Sunday State Commemoration was held to mark the centenary of the 1916 Rising. Surrounded by an extensive ring of steel, 5,000 state dignitaries and invited VIPs witnessed an extravagant ceremony in front of the historic site of the General Post Office--The GPO—ground zero of the insurrection one hundred years ago.
The failure of the Easter Rebellion would eventually become one of the most important events in Irish history — a “failure” that would reverberate worldwide and be mirrored by colonial uprisings almost half a century later. Ireland was a laboratory for every manner of colonial repression by the British. 100 years after the Easter Rebellion, it is once again — this time by banks.
Copyright Toward Freedom 2019