It is difficult these days to keep up with events. Just this week two of the leading financial dailies came out declaring that whole banking systems may have to be nationalised, as did the Governor of the Bank of England. The financial crisis is now spilling over into an economic crisis. This has yet to spell the end of neoliberalism, and particularly its class structures. But the ideology of neoliberalism and many of its policies are plainly discredited. In Canada, this context has been no small part of the parliamentary crisis unfolding.

This issue of Relay takes up several of these themes with contributions from Evans, Graefe, German and others covering the new – and maybe soon defeated? – federal government, and the limits of poverty reduction strategies, while Shmidt, Munoz and Stanford assess the evolving credit crisis in North America. These events provide new political openings. One critical one is in the U.S., and a number of selections here assess the American left after the election. Further, Wainwright, Spourdalakis, and Kipfer assess some of the exciting developments of the emerging left in Europe, notably in Greece and in new anti-racist politics of the Paris Social Forum. Finally, Ovadia and Ghorbanifard contribute assessments of Iran and the scramble for oil in Africa.

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