On Saturday, the Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei (Socialist Equality Party, SGP) held its final meeting in Berlin for the European elections. It was attended by about 100 party members and supporters and many interested workers and youth. A few hours earlier, around 300 had attended the “Freedom for Julian Assange” protest at the British Embassy organised by the SGP. Both events expressed great political strength.

Leading representatives of the SGP and its European sister parties defended Julian Assange and explained the political situation and the socialist programme of the Fourth International. They warned against the return of fascism and war and spoke about the growth of the class struggle, the history of the Fourth International, and the perspective of the United Socialist States of Europe.

In the coming days, the World Socialist Web Site will publish the speeches of Peter Schwarz (secretary of the International Committee of the Fourth International and German editor of the WSWS), Chris Marsden (national secretary of the British Socialist Equality Party), Alex Lantier (national secretary of the French Parti de l 'égalité socialiste), Christoph Vandreier (SGP lead candidate) and Ulrich Rippert (chairman of the SGP), along with a video of the event.

The comprehensive and clear contributions and the call of all speakers to become politically active and to participate in the construction of the Fourth International as the world party of socialist revolution met with a great response. Most of the participants attending an SGP event for the first time registered to support the election campaign and donated generously to the party’s fund. In total, over 4,500 euros were collected at the meeting.

The SGP is intensifying its activities this week in the run-up to the European election, which takes place on May 26 in Germany. “Our task as Marxists is not just to interpret the world, but to change it,” said Johannes Stern, SGP national executive member and a journalist for the World Socialist Web Site, who chaired the meeting. “We will distribute many thousands of election statements and fight for a revolutionary programme and a socialist perspective in the working class.”