After the 2007-8 economic crisis, there was a surge of support for far-left parties internationally. People were looking for an alternative to the usual way of doing politics and peace, social justice and solidarity were high on their agendas.

Just in 2011, we saw extra-parliamentary movements like Occupy Wall Street in the US, the Occupation of the Squares in Spain and the Arab Spring. We also saw electoral victories for parties like Podemos and SYRIZA and large support for radical politicians like Jeremy Corbyn and Bernie Sanders.

Currently the international Left is in not so good a state, having experienced setbacks in elections and lacking successful left-wing, socialist movements in most countries. Meanshile right wing forces continue to be on the rise.

However, there are some signs of hope, for example in Belgium where the Workers party (PTB/PvdA) could increase their support immensely in recent years, in Graz, Austria, where the communist party (KPÖ) was able to take over the office of mayor. Outside Europe, there has been a leftist revival in Latin America, for example in Chile, where leftist Gabriel Boric has been voted Chile’s youngest president.

In this online event, we will highlight some of these recent left success stories. We will talk about the parties’ ideological and strategic positions, their party organization and their current dynamics. We hope to then find answers to questions about how the left can win again. This meeting will be in English.

Speakers:

• Sahar Mohsenzada, KPÖ, Austria, local councillor in Graz

• Marc Botenga, PTB/PvdA, Belgium, Member of the European Parliament

• Pablo Abufom Silva, Chilean activist and translator

Organised by die LINKE Berlin Internationals

Rescheduled from earlier this year.