
GERMANY’S Left Party is calling for demonstrations every Monday against a new energy levy that will cost households hundreds of euros extra every year.
The party’s parliamentary commissioner for the east Soren Pellman said: “We need Monday demonstrations like [those against] Hartz IV,” referring to weekly demos staged against attacks on unemployment benefit imposed by the then Social Democrat-Greens coalition in 2004.
A levy of 2.419 cents per kilowatt hour has been imposed to help energy companies cope with rising wholesale costs caused by the disruption to Russian gas supplies resulting from the invasion of Ukraine and retaliatory sanctions.

Morning Star editor BEN CHACKO reports from the start of Kunming’s Belt and Road media forum, where 200 journalists from 71 countries celebrated a new openness and optimism, forged by China’s enormous contribution to global development

Morning Star editor BEN CHACKO reports on TUC Congress discussions on how to confront the far right and rebuild the left’s appeal to workers