AUSTERITY wasagain the keynotein Western Europe last year, Yet, with the exception of Britain, it was an wach didil work.
France, Spain and Italy workers were able to mantain nvine standards. while in the Netherlands and Belgium there were mass strikes to demand indexation of wages to koep pace with Nevertbeless, there were positive devclopments for the ruling class us Portugal the Soares Government miraculously managed of the year, while in Spain, equally from dictatorship to bourgenis continued with the first elections in 41 years.
Still, the Iberian peninsula remains imperialism's weak hank. The Spanish working class in particular has suffered no docisive defcat and in strike after strike has shown its refusal to accept the dictates of cither the right-wing Government or the mass workers" parties. It is chose parties which must take the credit for the maintenance of bourgeois Spain. It was their consistent failure rights or living standards, and even on isolated the more militant soctions of the working class in their fight to do away with the Francoist regime at one Then, in Ocloher, and Communist Partie signed the Monclos Pact, a contraci walen ams co solve the Suarez Government's biggest outthe economic crisis —at the expense of the working Monclua counterpart in the Italian six party IN AFRICA 1977 was a year of Schmidt consoles Schleyer's v governmental pact, which legitim the months of tacit Communist Ps support for the Christian Democr Goverament. Nevertheless, opp tion this class continues to grow. In the unions cl struggle groupings have begun emerge while. more Italian society has been paralysed viblent confrontation between far and right.
In France, it has been a yea political realignment, break-up of the Gaullist monolith a of the Union of the Left. The Fres follow Italian and Span boumergains ir gours Bar soeway governmental power, prefercing consolidate is working against erosion by the Socialist Par The year's MOSE development has been the stepping