Spokesman Books

To Friendly Political Parties and Movements Athens, 29 June 2015 Dear Comrades and friends, As you know, following the historic victory of SYRIZA in our national elections on January 25 of this year, a government of social salvation was formed in Greece, headed by our Party President, now Prime Minister Mr Alexis Tsipras. The new government’s clear mandate from the Greek people was to end the policies of extreme austerity, to relieve the socially weaker strata and to resolve the intolerable public debt crisis through negotiations, thereby creating the conditions for economic recovery and growth. Negotiations have been going on since February between the new government and our EU partners, together with the other institutions involved in the Greek program. From the beginning, the government’s position has been that the Greek people’s mandate should be respected and that Greece should be treated as an equal partner in the EU and the Eurozone. The neg...

This window panel featuring Bertrand Russell was spotted by a contact visiting Vienna.  Russell has been designated a 'Peace Hero' by Peace Museum Vienna , alongside Immanuel Kant, Nelson Mandela, Rosa Parks, Albert Einstein, Aung San Suu Kyi, Malala Yousafzai and numerous others. The museum's project Windows for Peace , installed in and around Stephansplatz in the centre of the city, brings the good work of these heroes to public attention again. 'As a street museum, it is open twenty four hours a day and charges no admission fees!' proclaims PMV 's website. Vienna is home to a peace heroine of its own, Bertha von Suttner, who is also featured in the exhibit. Her 1889 pacifist novel Die Waffen nieder! ( Lay Down Your Arms! ) overcame opposition and rejection from publishers to eventually become a bestseller, which has been widely translated and adapted. An international pacifist journal, over which she presided as editor between 1892-1899, was name...

Forum for Alternatives – eyewitness in Paris Tom Unterrainer Five thousand activists, politicians, trade unionists and intellectuals from Europe and beyond converged on Paris over the weekend of 30-31 May to lay the foundations for a continent-wide ‘Alliance Against Austerity’. Coordinated by the Party of the European Left (EL), the ‘Forum for Alternatives’ covered many themes but the issues of Greece, Austerity, Europe and the financial crisis took centre stage. Alliance Against Austerity Pierre Laurent, President of EL and General Secretary of the French Communist Party, opened proceedings with a call for the European left to prepare “for a new era in our common fight”. Laurent pointed to the “acceleration” of left parties and movements in parts of Europe and called for a united project against austerity. “Democracy, public services and tackling the power of finance” are significant elements as is the principle that “wealth should be used for social, economic and e...