Ep. 44: After the Freedom Convoy & the Hungarian Left Today

On this two-part episode of SPS, Pamela sits with Leila Mechoi, the co-host of Red Star Radio podcast. They reflect on the Left's reaction to the late trucker protest in Canada, and discuss the role of civil liberties in the organization of the working class, as well as what sort of missed political opportunity -- if any -- did the protest present. In the second part of the episode, Andreas and Berlin-based Platypus member, Tamas talked to Peter and Noemi, both members of Szikra, a leftist group in Hungary founded in 2019. They discuss the situation of the Hungarian Left with regards to developments within the international left over the past decade, as well as the next Hungarian parliamentary election in April of this year. They also take up the deeper history of the Left in Hungary and specific political challenges in the "post-socialist "countries of Eastern Europe today. Links for Leila Mechoui interview - Red Star Radio podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/red-star-radio/id1516544636 - https://www.patreon.com/red_star_radio - https://themilitant.com/2022/02/12/truckers-in-ontario-show-road-to-fight-boss-attacks/ - Simon Clarke, The State Debate (Basingstoke: Palgrave 1991). This work and other his works can be found here: https://cooltexts.github.io/  Links for Szikra interview - Szikra's "about us": https://www.szikramozgalom.hu/about_us - Nora Schultz (Szikra member)in Merce (the leftist online newspaper that is mentioned during the interview): https://merce.hu/2019/09/20/a-szabad-varos-baloldali-es-zold/ - An interview with Nora Schultz by Noemi Lehoczki: https://merce.hu/2020/11/21/politikai-kepviseletet-szerezni-a-baloldalnak-interju-a-szikra-mozgalommal/ SPS is hosted by Sophia, Pamela and Andreas W., with original tracks by Tamas Vilaghy, and editing assistance by Michael Woodson and Tamas Vilaghy. Our Sh-t Platypus Does team is Lisa M. and Rebekah P. To learn more about Platypus, go to platypus1917.org/.