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Rabies is not the only deadly disease sweeping across Europe. One other has already crossed the channel; and last week it reached Spain. It is the between parties of the workers with parties of the capitalists.

Just as during the economic crisis of the 1930s so today in many parts of the world, and nowhere more than in western Europe, the capitalist class is looking to popular front alliances as a last resort to impose the burdens of crisis on the working class, before it is forced to turn towards fascism and the physical déstruction of working class militants and organisations.

COALITIONS

Today both Britain and Germany are ruled by coalitions of mass social democratic parties with so-called "liberal' parties of the bourgeoisie. In Belgium and Holland coalitions of the major workers' and capitalists' parties rule even though they are passing through critical times.

In Portugal the Socialist Party government relies on parliamentary support from the bourgeois parties and there seems a good chance that Premier Soares may soon move towards an open coalition government with the bourgeois Social Democratic Party. The Communist Party has started to call for a "government of national unity', the fullest possible expression of the popular front. Last week President Eanes made a thinly veiled threat to impose presidential rule unless the parties reached an agreement on 'NATIONAL UNITY' For the last few months nearest to a 'government of not the only where all parlamenta all parliamentary political :sweeping across parties, except the fasci except the fascist MSI have other has already agreed on a programı on •a programme of anti-working class measures. to be carried out by the minority Christian Democratic Party.

An agreement signed earlier this year guarantees Communist Party support for Italy's Tory government, a giant step towards the Carrillo "historic compromise which the Italian CP proposes: an open permanent coalition government of the Communist Party and the Christian Democrats. That government now exists in all but the formal sense.

SOCIAL PACT

Last week a similar agreement was reached in the Moncloa Palace in Madrid between the shaky neoFrancoist regime of Adolfo Suarez and all the parliamentary parties except for Manuel Fraga's ultra-right Popular Alliance.

Ever since the elections of June 15, from which Suarez emerged with a parliamentary minority and barely one third of the votes, he has been demanding the signing of a social pact. Both the CP and the Socialist Party (PSOE) have stated virtually meaningless 'conditions' for such a pact.

The PSOE leaders have openly DAGE backed by Berlinguer with Suarez "but not yet; while Carrillo, the leader of the CP has been calling for a government of national unity.

The Moncloa pact is only one step short of the CP's plan. Carrillo triumphantly referred to it as a 'common programme' with Suarez' Francoists. What the pact consists of is a series of measures to protect capitalists from the worst effects of the economic crisis.

Wage rises will be restricted to 22% while inflation at present over 30% is still accelerating. Employers will be given free rein to sack five per cent of workers who get increases more than 22%. The pact also allows reductions in state expenditure.

In "exchange" for this massive economic attack on the workers the CP and PSOE got a promise of various extensions in democratic reforms, none of, them very specific, and last week's extention of the amnesty for political prisoners.

The most brazen forms of class collaboration are nothing new to the CP and PSOE leaders in Spain. But Spain now clearly joins the other parts of Europe where euphemisms like 'pact or 'agreement' cover up what are in reality popular front governments.

The fight to destroy these governments and to assure the complete independence of the working class is the central task of the workers movement throughout

BANGLA DESH

In the aftermath of the attempted coup four weeks ago, military dictator Ziaur Rahman has banned all political parties and has put hundreds of alleged supporters of the coup on trial. 37 have already been executed and 20 sentenced to life prison sentences.

President Eanes has promulgated the law passed in parliament two months ago giving widespread compensation to medium and small capitalists whose property was expropriated in 1974-75.

The Zambian government has had its second round of talks on the imperialist plan for Zimbabwe with Smith's racist regime. Like the secret meetings between Smith and walks wen orgadised Khrough These these Rowland, Chairman of Lonrho, the British multinational which has huge_economic interests in Zambia IN BRIEF ICELAND Transport and other public services in Iceland have been at a standstill for two weeks as a result of an all-out strike of state employees in wage claims of up to 35% with cost of living protection.

THAILAND

The military have deposed Premier Thanin whom they put into office in a bloody right wing coup a year ago. The generals' complaint against Thanin is that he was too thorough in putting into effect campaigns against corruption and the narcotics trade. The Maoist CP announced an agreement with other 'democratic and patriotic forces' to step up revolutionary guerrilla war.

ARGENTINA

The police used tear gas and baton charges to disperse the largest public demonstration since last year's military coup. Several hundred demonstrators were demanding an account of the whereabouts of the hundreds of political prisoners who disappeared in police custody.

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popoular front: that is direct governmental collaboration