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General practitioner, perfectly bilingual, field worker and federal deputy since 2019, Sofie Merckx succeeds Raoul Hedebouw as chair of the PTB group in the Federal Parliament. "My commitment began as a student alongside the workers of Renault Vilvoorde and of the Forges de Clabecq and, since then, I have continued to be involved, whether for housing and health care rights or against the power of Big Pharma," explains Sofie Merckx. "I am proud to be able to continue all these struggles today as group leader with the whole party collective."

New Year's speech by Raoul Hedebouw, president of the PTB-PVDA 2022 will be a year of resistance. We are going to fight to make it better. Better than 2021, which was not an easy year. We, the workers, the young people, the grassroots, the Workers’ Party of Belgium (PTB-PVDA), are going to give all to make 2022 different.

Set to win 18 seats in parliament, the Workers’ Party of Belgium is the fastest-growing force on the European left. Newly elected leader Raoul Hedebouw tells Jacobin how his comrades built an explicitly Marxist party with mass appeal.

The same concern is on everyone's lips: "When our non-vaccinated colleagues are dismissed, who will take care of the patients?" Anger is everywhere, because they know what it costs them to do their job in such difficult conditions.

The PTB was present at the beautiful demonstration in the trade union front on 6 December 2021.

On Sunday 5 December, Raoul Hedebouw was elected president of the PTB-PVDA at the closing session of our Unity Congress. Here is his speech at the closing session.

The delegates of the PTB-PVDA Unity Congress have elected Raoul Hedebouw as the party's new president by a large majority. Hedebouw, who received 94.1% of the vote, is taking over from Peter Mertens. The announcement was made during the closing session of the congress, which - due to compulsory health measures - had to be held online.

An extraordinary story lies behind the emergence of the PTB from a small party to a major political player. The announcement that Peter Mertens is will not run again for president is an opportunity to look back at the renewal movement that began in 2004. We have traced this history through quotes from the mainstream press.

On 5 December, the Workers’ Party of Belgium (PTB-PVDA) will elect its new president at its statutory congress. Peter Mertens announces that he will not stand for re-election and will pass the torch. Peter Mertens has presided over the Marxist party for thirteen years, and has been the main architect of the party's renewal. From a small party, the PTB-PVDA has become a major political player in the whole country.

Thanks to the Covid vaccine, pharmaceutical multinationals are making hundreds of millions of euros. But did you know that their thirst for profit is prolonging the pandemic? Marc Botenga, Member of the European Parliament (PTB-PVDA), explains why this is the case, but also how to make sure it changes.

Perhaps the division of Belgium by the nationalists by 2024 can be stopped? In what way is the solidarity movement for the flood victims a huge sign of hope? Why is the PTB flying Belgium’s black-yellow-red flag? We met David Pestieau, vice-president of the Workers’ Party of Belgium (PTB-PVDA), on the occasion of the release of his manifesto for the unity of Belgium. David Pestieau starts his book on the unity of the country with his feet in the mud of Liège: "On July 20, the national day of mourning, I am in Pepinster, one of the places most affected by the tragedy. Many people come from Ath, Ostend, Antwerp... with the SolidariTeams. Many of the people affected by the disaster could not believe the outpour of solidarity. That same evening, Bart De Wever said on a television channel that he would like a union between Flanders and the Netherlands and that he would rather die a "southern Dutchman" than a Belgian. The gap between the people and some of those in the Rue de la Loi (seat of the Belgian government, editor's note) could not be better illustrated."

On 9 October, the national headquarters of Italy's main trade union, CGIL, was the victim of an organised attack by demonstrators who openly claimed to be fascists. Led by members of the fascist group Forza Nuova, among others, dozens of demonstrators wrecked the CGIL headquarters in Rome.