Analysis of: Zelenskyy warns Ukrainians losing faith in diplomacy after Russian strikes kill four - Europe live
The Guardian | February 11, 2026
TL;DR
German workers launch coordinated strikes as NATO militarizes the Arctic and Ukraine faces pressure to accept territorial concessions. The working class bears war costs through austerity while capital demands 'competitiveness' reforms—class struggle intensifies as imperial contradictions sharpen.
Analytical Focus:Class Analysis Contradictions Interconnections
This Guardian liveblog reveals the interconnected crises facing European capitalism: escalating military expenditure, intensifying labor struggle, and the pressure to restructure economies under the banner of 'competitiveness.' The German strikes represent a significant moment of class confrontation, with nearly a million public sector workers demanding wages keep pace with inflation after years of real wage decline. Simultaneously, the ruling class coordinates military expansion in the Arctic and pressures Ukraine toward unfavorable peace terms—all while EU leaders meet to discuss dismantling regulations that protect workers. The class dynamics are stark. Employer federation head Steffen Kampeter's demand for new anti-strike legislation reveals capital's response to organized labor: legal restriction rather than negotiation. His framing of workers 'striking first then negotiating' as destroying 'trust' inverts reality—workers strike precisely because negotiations failed. Meanwhile, Lufthansa cuts 4,000 jobs while demanding pilots accept pension cuts, demonstrating how corporate debt and 'weak profitability' become pretexts for attacking worker conditions. The militarization of the Arctic and pressure on Ukraine cannot be separated from domestic class struggle. NATO's 'Arctic Sentry' mission and UK troop deployments represent massive resource allocation toward inter-imperialist competition, resources extracted through austerity from working-class living standards. Von der Leyen's call to 'tear down barriers' explicitly targets regulatory frameworks—ostensibly for 'competitiveness' but functionally to weaken worker protections. The article inadvertently documents how war, austerity, and anti-worker reforms constitute a unified ruling-class program.
Class Dynamics
Actors: German public sector workers (Ver.di union), Lufthansa pilots and cabin crew (Vereinigung Cockpit, UFO unions), German employers federation, Lufthansa management, EU political leadership (von der Leyen, Merz, Meloni), NATO military apparatus, Ukrainian working population, Russian state
Beneficiaries: Defense contractors and military-industrial complex, Large capital seeking deregulation, German state governments seeking to suppress wage growth, Airlines restructuring labor costs onto workers
Harmed Parties: German public sector workers facing real wage decline, Lufthansa employees facing job cuts and pension reductions, Ukrainian civilians killed in strikes, European working class bearing costs of military expansion through austerity
The article documents a coordinated ruling-class offensive across multiple fronts. Employer associations demand strike restrictions while governments pursue military expansion and 'competitiveness' reforms. Workers are positioned defensively, striking to maintain living standards rather than advance them. The power asymmetry is reinforced by media framing that presents worker demands as 'excessive' while treating military spending and corporate restructuring as necessary.
Material Conditions
Economic Factors: German economic contraction (two consecutive years), Lufthansa debt burden and 'weak profitability', Real wage stagnation against inflation, Military expenditure increases across NATO, EU 'competitiveness' reform agenda targeting regulations
The German strikes reveal fundamental tensions in public sector labor relations: workers in healthcare, education, and transport provide essential social reproduction but face wage suppression. Lufthansa's situation exemplifies financialized capitalism—debt servicing takes priority over worker compensation. The broader EU reform agenda aims to restructure production relations by reducing 'barriers' (worker protections, environmental regulations) to capital accumulation.
Resources at Stake: Public sector wages (affecting 2.2 million workers/civil servants), Lufthansa pension funds and 4,000 jobs, Arctic resources and strategic territory, Ukrainian territory in peace negotiations, EU regulatory frameworks governing labor and environment
Historical Context
Precedents: Cold War Arctic militarization, Post-2008 European austerity programs, Historical cycles of strike waves during economic crisis, Neoliberal 'competitiveness' reforms since 1980s
This moment represents a conjuncture of multiple crisis tendencies within late capitalism: the return of inter-imperialist military competition, the exhaustion of post-2008 recovery, and intensifying class struggle as inflation erodes living standards. The EU's 'competitiveness' agenda echoes Thatcher-era restructuring—using crisis to discipline labor and dismantle social protections. Germany's shift from industrial powerhouse to stagnation mirrors broader deindustrialization patterns in the imperial core.
Contradictions
Primary: The fundamental contradiction between capital's need for military spending and 'competitiveness' reforms versus workers' need for wages and social services—both drawing from the same surplus, creating zero-sum conflict.
Secondary: Ukraine's territorial sovereignty versus U.S. pressure for rapid settlement favoring Russian demands, EU rhetoric of unity versus Germany-Italy axis sidelining France, NATO Arctic expansion versus stated goals of avoiding escalation with Russia, Employers demanding 'collaboration' while refusing worker demands and calling for strike restrictions
These contradictions are likely to intensify. Military spending will continue pressuring social budgets, fueling further labor unrest. The German strikes may spread or inspire similar actions across Europe. Ukraine's forced acceptance of unfavorable terms would demonstrate the limits of Western 'support' while emboldening further Russian actions. The EU reform agenda will face resistance as workers recognize 'competitiveness' means wage suppression.
Global Interconnections
The article documents the unity of imperialist competition and domestic class struggle. NATO's Arctic militarization, the Ukraine war, and EU 'competitiveness' reforms are not separate phenomena but interconnected elements of ruling-class strategy to maintain hegemony amid declining relative power. The U.S. pressure on Greenland (via complaints about Danish security) and simultaneous pressure on Ukraine to accept territorial losses reveals how 'alliance' functions as hierarchy—junior partners sacrifice sovereignty and workers bear costs. The German strikes occur precisely as capital demands workers accept the costs of military expansion and economic restructuring. Von der Leyen's framing of 'competitiveness' as foundation of 'security' and 'democracy' reveals the ideological work required to present ruling-class interests as universal. The Merz-Meloni axis forming around 'anti-bureaucracy' (deregulation) demonstrates how far-right and centrist forces converge on attacking worker protections. These interconnections show that effective resistance requires international coordination—isolated national struggles face unified transnational capital.
Conclusion
This news cycle reveals European capitalism's multiple crisis fronts: military expansion, economic stagnation, and intensifying class conflict. The German strikes represent significant working-class resistance, but remain defensive—fighting to maintain rather than advance conditions. The ruling-class response (demanding anti-strike laws, pursuing deregulation under 'competitiveness' rhetoric) indicates awareness that worker organization threatens their crisis management strategy. For the working class, the lesson is clear: military spending, austerity, and anti-worker reforms constitute a unified program requiring unified resistance. The question is whether scattered national strikes can develop into coordinated international action capable of challenging the imperial system driving war abroad and immiseration at home.
Suggested Reading
- Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism by V.I. Lenin (1917) Lenin's analysis of inter-imperialist competition for territory and resources directly illuminates NATO's Arctic militarization and great-power rivalry over Ukraine and Greenland.
- Reform or Revolution by Rosa Luxemburg (1900) Luxemburg's analysis of how reforms are clawed back during crisis periods helps explain why EU 'competitiveness' reforms target worker protections precisely when workers most need them.
- The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein (2007) Klein's documentation of how crises are exploited to implement unpopular reforms illuminates the EU's use of military threats and economic stagnation to justify deregulation.