Articles

The attitude of European leaders towards the attack by the United States and Israel on Iran is shocking. Neither Ursula Von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, nor Kaja Kallas, the EU's "Foreign Minister", nor most European or Belgian leaders have condemned the attack. On the contrary, they have condemned Iran's response. A joint statement by the French, German and British governments even suggests that the Europeans would like to join this war of aggression in order to defend "their allies".

A European industry summit attended by 600 CEOs, an informal summit of heads of state devoted to "competitiveness", a declaration by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen in Davos, and repeated outings by prime minister Bart De Wever... European leaders and "captains" of industry are using the industrial crisis to impose their agenda, without even a democratic debate.

Are you an optimist? That's the question Anne Delespaul and Benjamin Pestieau - member of the direction of PVDA-PTB, were asked during the Karl Marx School organized by Comac, the PTB's student movement. "Optimism is not primarily a 'state' but a struggle,". Benjamin comes back to some of the points made.

After Venezuela, Trump, Rubio and the US government are turning to their next target: Cuba.

Thirteen days of nationwide action took place against the 'Arizona' government named after the colours of the Arizona state flag, symbolising the 5 parties in the coalition government: N-VA (Flemish right-wing nationalist party), CD&V (Flemish Christian democrat party), Vooruit (Flemish socialist party), MR (French-speaking liberal party) and Les Engagés (French-speaking Christian democrat party). At the heart of many of these mobilisations is the fight against plans to dismantle our pension scheme. Under pressure from below, the government had to review its reform. The pension malus1 and the tougher conditions for early retirement have been mitigated. As a result, the impact of these measures has been reduced by around a quarter. The figures we requested from Pensions Minister Jan Jambon clearly show that the social struggle is paying off.

Washington snatched a president from his palace - no, this didn't happen on a movie set, but in a sovereign country. A brutality that betrays both fear and weakness. Fear: they are afraid China is strengthening its control over Latin America. Weakness: those who can no longer impose their will through diplomatic measures, resort to kidnapping as a geopolitical tool.

Peter Mertens, General Secretary of the Workers’ Party of Belgium (PVDA-PTB), tells Peoples Dispatch that 2026 brings opportunities for class struggle – if the left is ready to act boldly. December 25, 2025 by Ana Vračar

Here's to a heartwarming and rebellious 2026!

ManiFiesta 2025 was: great vibes, talented musicians and artists, exciting speakers from all over the world, Belgium's biggest left-wing book fair, an international trade union village, a sparkling PioFiesta for our youngest revellers, the best food from different countries, MundoFiesta bringing together all those who stand up for international solidarity and against imperialism and also sports and games for young and old. But above all, ManiFiesta is the festival with the best festival-goers!

The civil war today tearing apart Sudan is not just a conflict between rival generals. Rather, it is the direct and tragic consequence of the plundering of the resources under the country’s soil, for the benefit of foreign powers. Only an end to outside interference, and the mobilisation of the Sudanese people to force the creation of a civilian government without military involvement, can put an end to the horror.

From November 23th to 26th, Belgium saw successful action against the austerity measures and budget cuts of the ‘Arizona’ rightist government, culminating in a general strike. The PVDA-PTB, present at 700 picket lines, had a clear message: “Listen to the workers, listen to those who keep the country running every day: Hands off our pensions, hands off the indexation of our wages or our night shift bonuses.”

On October 14th, the trade unions organised a demonstration in Brussels against the anti-social plans of the so called 'Arizona' government. It marked a turning point. 140,000 people took to the streets. That number was immediately downplayed by the right, but reveals the scale of the popular resistance. Benjamin Pestieau, deputy general secretary of the PVDA-PTB, explains the reasons for this massive mobilisation, the government's strategy of division and repression, and the essential conditions for pushing back this government of social destruction.