Toby Abse
Articles by Toby Abse
Giulio Andreotti: Corruption, murder and the thirst for power
May 16 2013
Toby Abse reviews the life of the Italian prime minister with close Mafia connections: Giulio Andreotti, January 14 1919 - May 6 2013
Italian government: Grand coalition for austerity
May 02 2013
Toby Abse reports on the formation of yet another anti-working class administration in Italy
Italian election: Ex-‘official communists’ in disarray
April 25 2013
Toby Abse reports on the fallout following the re-election of president Napolitano
Italian political paralysis: Another papal conclave
April 11 2013
Toby Abse reports on the backstabbing and intrigue, as Italian politics remains in paralysis
Italian political crisis: Anti-working class stalemate
March 21 2013
The contending parties cannot agree on how to make workers pay for the crisis. Toby Abse reports
Italy election: Nothing left about Five Star
February 21 2013
Contrary to the view expressed by the Socialist Workers Party, Toby Abse shows that the Italian general election result is a disaster
Italy: More of the same
January 24 2013
There will be another round of cuts and austerity, whoever wins the general election, writes Toby Abse
Berlusconi: Another guilty verdict
November 01 2012
If past form is anything to go by, Silvio Berlusconi will not serve a day of his latest jail sentence, writes Toby Abse
Rifondazione Comunista: Failed refoundation
October 18 2012
Toby Abse reviews: Salvatore Cannavo, 'La Rifondazione mancata, 1991-2008: una storia del PRC Edizioni Alegre', Rome 2009, pp223, €14
Sardinian workers force concessions
September 20 2012
The big union battalions are once more talking of general strike action, writes Toby Abse
Inferno for the proletariat
September 13 2012
Toby Abse reviews: Bill Emmott 'Good Italy, bad Italy: why Italy must conquer its demons to face the future', Yale University Press, 2012, pp299, £18.99
Economic woes and new scandals
June 28 2012
The labour 'reforms' have finally been pushed through parliament, but president Napolitano could be brought down over alleged Mafia contacts. Toby Abse reports
Turmoil threatens
June 14 2012
While Italy teeters on the brink of a new crisis, the left is nowhere. Toby Abse reports on the machinations of the main parties
Last man standing
May 31 2012
The Partito Democratico, dominated by ex-'official communists', is now Italy's leading party, writes Toby Abse
Scandals, austerity and comic diversion
May 10 2012
While rightwing parties were the big losers, there is no sign of a move to the left, writes Toby Abse
Lega reaches end of road
April 19 2012
Toby Abse reports on the scandal that has engulfed the main Italian far-right regionalist party
Memoirs of a loyal oppositionist
March 29 2012
Rossana Rossanda (translated by Romy Clark Giuliani) The comrade from Milan Verso 2010, pp384,
Monti forces through right to sack
March 22 2012
With most union leaders caving in, the Italian premier has got broad agreement for the proposed eradication of the workers statute. Toby Abse reports
Strike boosts resistance
March 15 2012
As an Italian engineers strike widens to include political issues, Toby Abse looks at how this will affect the battle to save Article 18
Rifondazione opposes rail link
March 08 2012
Workers' discontent has found an unexpected outlet, notes Toby Abse
Berlusconi still in the dock
March 01 2012
The former premier may have been 'cleared' on a technicality, writes Toby Abse, but the repercussions of the whole affair persist in both the Italian and British establishments
Monti prepares for fresh attacks
February 02 2012
The nature of the Italian resistance to austerity has so far been contradictory, writes Toby Abse
No surrender on article 18
January 12 2012
Toby Abse reports on the intransigent defence of Italy's Workers' Statute coming from an unexpected source
Three-hour general strike forces concessions
December 15 2011
Italian workers are determined to defend their pensions, writes Toby Abse
Budget assault ups the ante
December 08 2011
Almost all Italian parties have fallen in behind the attacks fronted by the new government of technocrats, reports Toby Abse
Technocrats and bankers take over
November 17 2011
As the entire establishment falls in behind the new cabinet of bureaucrats, writes Toby Abse, Italian workers must prepare for the attacks that lie ahead
Bye bye, euro too?
November 10 2011
While the departure of Silvio Berlusconi will be a cause for celebration amongst workers, it will open the way for a more effective government of vicious austerity, warns Toby Abse
Black Bloc allowed to wreck protest
October 20 2011
The spontaneism of the 'horizontalists' was completely exposed in Rome, writes Toby Abse
Mired in sleaze, Berlusconi reaches end of the road
September 22 2011
Italy's crisis is not purely economic, writes Toby Abse. The corruption of the political elite has contributed to its credit downgrading
Market logic challenged by eight-hour general strike
September 08 2011
This week the increasingly moribund government of Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has faced simultaneous attacks on two fronts: from the speculators and the European Central Bank, on the one hand; and from a general strike by the most militant section of Italy's organised working class, on the other. Toby Abse reports
Facing a hot autumn
September 01 2011
Prime minister Silvio Berlusconi remains in office, writes Toby Abse, but his Bonapartist regime has come to an end
Euro zone crisis spreads from periphery to core
July 14 2011
Toby Abse looks at the interplay between economics and politics after 'Black Friday'
Silvio Berlusconi trounced again
June 16 2011
Toby Abse looks at the situation in Italy after the prime minster's humiliating defeat in last weekend's referenda
Corruption and crime
March 04 2010
The breathtaking hypocrisy surrounding the Mills case must be exposed, argues Toby Abse
PRC - origins, problems and prospects
November 12 2003
The combativity of the working class in Italy is in part connected to the leadership offered by Rifondazione Comunista, argues Toby Abse, a supporter of Resistance. This monthly publication groups together the International Socialist Group - affiliated to the so-called 'Fourth International' - and an eclectic range of independents who in general inhabit the right wing of the Socialist Alliance
