Dimitris Koutsoumbas in Rome: "Every vote to the Communist Parties is a contribution to the common struggle of the people" (Video, Photos)

"Every vote to the Communist Parties consists a contribution to the strengthening of the common struggle of the people" said the General Secretary of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) Dimitris Koutsoumbas during his greeting speech in Rome. 

Koutsoumbas, along with the KKE MEP Kostas Papadakis, attended an electoral rally of the Communist Party, Italy (Partito Comunista) in San Lorenzo district, where he received a warm welcome by the Italian comrades.

"Honor the past, conquer the future" - Italian communists honored Liberation anniversary

With vibrant rallies and mobilizations Italian communists honored the anniversary of the country's liberation from fascism on April 25th. 

In a statement, the Political Bureau of the Communist Party, Italy (Partito Comunista) writes, among other things, that "remembering the victory over fascism is not a rituality, but a precise link with our history and the ideals of liberation and social justice that animated the partisan struggle".

Partito Comunista, presente! Communist Party, Italy will participate in European elections

Communist Party's General Secretary Marco Rizzo.

The Communist Party, Italy (Partito Comunista) is going to participate in the 2019 European Elections on May, after overcoming the remaining legal obstacles. According the Italian law, a party can take part in the European Elections after the collection of 145,000 signatures, including high regional shares (e.g. 3,000 in Valle d'Aosta), which is also a very costly procedure. In fact, this law consists a privilege for the big parliamentary parties and creates significant obstacles for the smaller ones.

The Communist Party, Italy will be exempted from this procedure, as long as it will participate in the Elections under the membership of the European Communist Initiative, which is represented in the EU Parliament by two deputies of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE). 

Italy: Communists paid tribute to the 100th anniversary of Communist International

Photo from the event in Rome (Credit: La Riscossa).

An event in honor of the 100^th anniversary since the founding of the Communist International was held in Rome, on Saturday 2^nd of March, by the Communist Party, Italy (Partito Comunista). Numerous members and friends of the Party and its youth wing- the Front of Communist Youth (FGC) – attended the event. 

The Communist Party of Greece (KKE) was represented by Kostas Papadakis, MEP and member of the CC, who delivered a greeting speech.

Italy's communist youth FGC leads students' mobilizations against cuts in education

While the coalition government of the “Five Star Movement” and the far-right “Lega Nord” intensifies the anti-people policies, reducing social spending in education (4 billion euros) and allocating 200 million euros to install security cameras (!) in schools, the Italian youth has no other option but to resist and organize its struggle. 

Last week, more than 100,000 students took to the streets in more than 50 cities across Italy, in order to demonstrate against the governmental policy on Education.

Italian communist leader Marco Rizzo blasts Berlinguer's eurocommunist legacy

Marco Rizzo (left), General Secretary of the CC of the
Communist Party, Italy. Right: Enrico Berlinguer.

In a very interesting speech delivered at the 20th International Meeting of Communist and Workers Parties, which is taking place in Athens, the General Secretary of the CC of the Communist Party of Italy (Partito Comunista) Marco Rizzo strongly criticized the ideological and political legacy of the so-called "Euro-communism".

The intervention of Rizzo marks a break-up with the traditional reformist line of the - once powerful- Italian Communist Party. "We reject with extreme firmness any hypothesis of political alliances between parties, both for electoral purposes, which, even worse, in support of self-styled "left "governments. The Italian labor movement has paid heavily for the lines of collaboration and compromise with the reformist parties" said Rizzo and added:

"Vite di tutti, profitti di pochi": Who is to blame for Genova bridge collapse?

Poster by the Communist Party, Italy on the
Genova disaster: "Immediate Nationalisation".

At least 26 people were killed and 15 badly hurt after a motorway bridge in the northwest Italian city of Genova collapsed on Tuesday afternoon. Dozens of vehicles fell from a 45m height while, according to police sources, there are people who are still missing. 

The tragic incident in Genova seems to be another crime committed in the altar of profitability. In other words, another capitalist crime, in a system which risks the lives of the many for the profits of the few. 

The reaction from the Communist Party, Italy was immediate. In a message to his Twitter account, the Party's General Secretary Marco Rizzo offered his condolences to the families of the victims and wrote (free translation):

Millions for Ronaldo, crumbs for workers: Fiat's Agnelli shows what Capitalism means

Andrea Agnelli is the chairman of the Turin-based famous italian football club Juventus. He is also a heir of the also famous industrialist Agnelli family, owners of the Fiat automobile manufacturer. 

Recently, Juventus reached a $120 million deal with Real Madrid over the transfer of the Portuguese football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo. More specifically, the 33 year-old player and Juventus signed a 4-year contract worth almost $630,000 a week. 

However, when Agnelli spends such amounts of money for a football player, the workers at Fiat haven't seen any increase in their salaries during the last 10 years. On the contrary, thousands of Fiat workers have sustained cuts in their wages, while dismissals consists a common policy of the company in times of financial difficulties.

Greek debt deal: KKE slams government's celebrations, warns of new harsh policies

“The government's celebrations can not hide that yesterday's Eurogroup agreement is essentially a post-memorandum Memorandum [of austerity]. The so-called "post-memorandum" period, not only will not be accompanied by substantial relief for the working-class strata but will involve new burdens. The huge budget surpluses, the rigid surveillance and approval of the process of "reforms" by the "institutions", the privatizations, the preservation of all antipeople measures in the Memorandums, and the completion of all those “remaining issues” reveal the true outcome of the agreement" points out the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) in a statement on the Eurogroup decision on Greek debt.

Italy: Outrage as migrant USB trade unionist murdered in Reggio Calabria

Soumaila Sacko, a 29-year-old Malian migrant always in the front row of the USB trade unions and social workers.

Another USB migrant militant was killed.

After Abdel Salam in Piacenza another migrant worker, the twenty-nine Malian Soumaila Sacko, inside the path of USB struggles between the workers of the plain of Gioia Tauro, was killed last night while together with other migrants he was near a disused factory perhaps to look for sheets or boards with which to build their own shack. He was joined by one of the rifle shots fired from 150 meters .

Italian communist leader Marco Rizzo: "The only revolution is the communist one"

Commenting on the recent developments in Italy and the failure of the two major parties to form a coalition government, the General Secretary of the CC of the Communist Party, Italy (Partito Comunista) Marco Rizzo wrote on his personal twitter account the following:

"The governmental incident indicates who is in charge in Italy. The EU, IMF and NATO are able to choose ministers and not only. We, the communists, know that, as well as Di Maio and Salvini knew that. Forward to the battle against capitalist globalization. The only revolution is the communist one."

Interview with the Communist Party (Italy)

Special interview with Guido Ricci, member of the Political Bureau and head of the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, Italy (Partito Comunista). 

IDC: Taking into account the existing difficulties and the political correlation of forces, how do you evaluate the result of the March elections for the Communist Party, Italy? Did you achieve the basic objectives you had set before the elections?

PC: As you know, our Party does not consider elections and the parliamentary activity as the only possible form of struggle. According to the teachings of Lenin and Gramsci, the presence in the bourgeois parliament must be used to develop the work outside and against it. We approached these elections as an opportunity to verify our Party's mobilization ability, improve our organizational skills and attract new militants. We considered the elections as a means of making the party grow. Actually, a considerable number of workers and young people came into contact with the Party during the signatures drive and the election campaign. New party organizations have been established and the existing ones have been strengthened thanks to new comrades joining them.

Italy: USB Trade Union denounces French multinational retailer Leroy Merlin

LEROY MERLIN, A MULTINATIONAL FOUNDED ON EXPLOITATION

The large French multinational Leroy Merlin, with its own shops and facilities all over the world, uses the “caporalato” for the recruitment of employees in the warehouse of the logistic pole of Castel San Giovanni in the province of Piacenza.

The 420 workers are not directly employed by the multinational corporations, but through a system of “coop-eratives” operating as real intermediaries of job and which are enriched by subtracting wages and rights from “their” workers.

KKE: The "Iniochos 2018" multinational military exercise consists a "war rehearsal"

In a statement regarding the multinational air force exercise "Iniochos 2018" in Greece, the Press Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Greece points out the following:

"The multinational exercise "Iniochos 2018", with the participation of a large number of forces from the USA, Britain, Italy, Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Cyprus, is conducted neither for the strengthening of the defense nor for the protection of the country's sovereign rights, but consists a "war rehearsal". Such exercises test in practice the operational plans schemed by the imperialist powers, aiming at the pillaging of the resources of the region and the control of their transportation's routes, bloodsheding and uprooting the people, like in Syria. Besides, for that reason the US ambassador G.Pyatt has been invited to attend the exercise.

Communist Party, Italy: "A small boat that goes against the current in the storm"

"We are a small boat that goes against the current in the storm, but we have a duty to keep the bar straight. We did not hide the difficulties and did not give false illusions, saying clearly that our goal was to use the elections to strengthen and build the Party" writes, among other things, a statement of the Communist Party of Italy (Partito Comunista) regarding the results of March 4th elections. 

The Communist Party, which gave a brave electoral fight under difficult circumstances, gained approximately 100,000 votes which, in percentage terms is 0.35%. On that point, it must be mentioned that the Party had presence with lists in 57% of the colleges in the Chamber and in 59% in the Senate. 

Communist Party of Italy - For a Socialist Italy, for the Workers' Power

SHORT RESUME OF THE PROGRAM OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY (ITALY) FOR THE ELECTIONS 2018.

The program of the Communist Party is not simply an electoral program, it is a program of struggle for the revolutionary transformation of our society into a socialist one.

The revolutionary goals, indicated in the Communist Party's program, are not achievable through the participation in bourgeois governments and left or left-centrist coalitions; they are not compatible with the permanence of Italy in the European Union and NATO, that are tools of big monopolistic capital to oppress the workers and the peoples, hijacking the product of their work.

There is no third way: either bourgeois power and capitalistic barbarity, or workers' power and socialism!

Italy: Communists prepare for the electoral battle of March 4th #VotaComunista

With daily campaigns and events all over Italy, the Communist Party (Partito Comunista) prepares for the election which is due to be held on March 4th. 

General Secretary Marco Rizzo, as well as other Party cadres and members, are touring the country in order to discuss with the working class and the people, spreading the political positions of the Communist Party.

Italian Elections 2018: Perché votare per il Partito Comunista?

Italy- Communist Party: The time is now!

The time is now: 

united for the Communist Party.

(Il tempo è adesso: uniti per il Partito Comunista)

Translation: Srećko Vojvodić

Just a bit less than a month ago, the Communist Party has announced its intention to participate in political elections 2018. Since that day, we have received hundreds of messages of support, proposals of active and specific help, as well as militant joining of our project. We thank everybody and will keep on connect you these days with our local representatives.

Interview with Marco Rizzo, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Italy (PC)

The General Secretary of the Communist Party of Italy (Partito Comunista), Marco Rizzo, gave a very interesting interview to the International Communist Press:

ICP: Before starting, could you inform our readers about the discussions within the Italian Communist Movement that led to the founding of your party, the Communist Party of Italy?

Marco Rizzo: The ideological and political origins of our Party refer to the political area of ​​the legendary organizer of the Italian Communist Party (PCI) during the Resistance, Pietro Secchia, who was an opponent of Togliatti for what concerned its moderatism according to the "Italian Way to Socialism". This area kept living through the magazine Interstampa and the Marxist Cultural Centers, born in Italy during the ‘80s. This area was, in fact, the backbone of the struggle of the pro-Soviet opposition within the PCI and the establishment of the new party, Rifondazione Comunista, after the PCI dissolution in 1991.