The Greatest Threat to Democracy in 80 Years: Stop the Billionaire Coup

https://portside.org/2025-05-08/greatest-threat-democracy-80-years-stop-billionaire-coup
Portside Date:
Author: Luc Triangle, ITUC General Secretary
Date of source:
International Trade Union Confederation

This 8 May, we remember a pivotal moment in human history: working people were at the forefront of the defeat of fascism in 1945. What came next was just as important. Workers and their trade unions shaped a new world order based on democracy, human and trade union rights, and justice.

But now, in 2025, once again we are called upon to defend democracy against an existential threat. This time, it comes from a number of internationally-networked, far-right billionaires and politicians who seek to seize control of global affairs no matter the cost to society at large.

The billionaire coup

At the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), representing 200 million workers in 169 countries and territories, we see the danger clearly. An alliance of tech elites, corporate giants and far-right political forces is advancing what can only be described as a billionaire coup against democracy. These extraordinarily wealthy few are pursuing a shared objective to exploit economic despair caused by decades of austerity politics, dismantle hard-won rights and assault democratic institutions that were painstakingly built to serve the common good.

Their goal is clear: to shift power away from the people and entrench it permanently in the hands of a global oligarchy. They act through political capture, corporate lobbying and disinformation campaigns, tearing apart the social contract upon which democracy stands. If they succeed, the consequences for workers, communities and the planet, will be catastrophic.

The ITUC has sounded the alarm in an open letter to heads of state, governments and international institutions. Our message is simple: the time for half-measures is over. We must stop the billionaire coup and take back democracy through a new social contract written for working people, by working people.

The solution

This New Social Contract is not a dream; it is a necessity. It is also a framework democratically adopted by trade unions around the world in 2022. Now in 2025, we are drawing attention to ten of its concrete demands. These ten policy areas are those which the billionaire coup is working rapidly to undermine and thus which must most urgently be addressed:

Much of the post-war system of multilateralism has been hollowed out. Mainstream political parties have collaborated with the agenda of deregulation, neoliberalism and neglect – leaving vast swathes of people disillusioned and disenfranchised, and creating a vacuum eagerly filled by far-right extremists and billionaires alike.

But collapse is not inevitable. There is an alternative. Together, we can imagine and build a future where power is shared, not hoarded; where economies serve people, not corporations; and where international institutions are accountable to those they are meant to serve.

As we honour the sacrifices of those who defeated fascism, we must summon the same courage and solidarity to resist and defeat the billionaire coup, and forge a democratic renewal. The workers of the world are taking urgent action. Governments and institutions must do the same — before it is too late.

The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) represents 191 million workers in 169 countries and territories and has 340 national affiliates.


Source URL: https://portside.org/2025-05-08/greatest-threat-democracy-80-years-stop-billionaire-coup