Peter Mertens

Peter Mertens is General Secretary of the PVDA-PTB (Workers’ Party of Belgium) and a member of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives. His latest book, from LeftWord Books (India), is Mutiny: How Our World is Tilting (2024).

October 30, 2026

Editorials

If Trump Wants a Third Term, Obama Must Lead the Fight

Editorial Donald Trump may have succeeded in making himself the centre of American politics, but Barack Obama has just demonstrated that he remains one of the few Democrats capable of challenging him

Editor's Choice/Geopolitics

Germany’s Young Are Losing Faith in Their Future

Young people across Germany are preparing to take to the streets in a series of demonstrations organised by the youth initiative Gen Z regelt, reflecting growing frustration over economic insecurity, deteriorating public infrastructure, rising living costs and what many perceive

October 30, 2026

A City Trapped by War Gets One Chance to Escape

Editor's Choice/Geopolitics

For the first time since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Moscow and Kyiv have agreed to a temporary ceasefire to

Sri Lanka Warns of Renewed African Swine Fever Outbreak Risk

News/Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka faces a renewed risk of the spread of African swine fever, with veterinary authorities warning that the highly contagious viral disease could

Cost of Germany’s Militarism?

April 2, 2025

Columns/Geopolitics

Driven by geopolitical interests and the scramble for resources, the Ukrainian conflict has already claimed countless lives and displaced millions. The idea that more weapons will bring peace is a dangerous illusion.

Europe Does Not Need a Domestic Trump Clone

March 5, 2025

Columns/Geopolitics

What US President Donald Trump did on February 28 to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy typically happens behind closed doors. Now, in Trump’s words, it was “great television”. This is how the US