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In January 2012 Helle Thorning-Schmidt, the Social-Democrat leader of the leftish coalition government which took office in Denmark after the general election of 15 September 2011, reported on her first 100 days in office; and Denmark took the presidency of the European Union.
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By Martin Thomas
Bjarke Friborg reported (Solidarity 220) that Denmark’s Red Green Alliance (RGA), after doing well in the 15 September parliamentary elections with 7% of the vote, is supporting the new government led by the Social Democratic Party (equivalent of the Labour Party in Britain).
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By Bjarke Friborg,a member of the RGA, the SAP (Danish section of the Fourth International) and AWL sympathiser
Since 15 September, Denmark is the European country with the strongest and largest socialist representation in parliament.
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By bomb and by bullet, Anders Behring Breivik delivered mass murder upon Norway.
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In the final book of his Millennium Trilogy, Stieg Larsson turned to the nefarious activities of Sweden’s secret state for inspiration. It is the only area of public corruption this one-time editor of the Swedish Trotskyist journal Fjärde internationalen, and expert on the European far-right, had not yet exposed.
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After the Swedish elections: what hope for the left?
The victory for the right wing alliance was indeed historic. Never before have the Social Democrats lost power in the midst of an economic boom. The SAP’s share of 35.2% of the vote was their lowest since the introduction of universal suffrage in the 1920’s.
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Recent opinion polls show a much reduced gap between the left and right blocs and one poll today even indicates that the left bloc have a slight lead.
The reason for this swing? The Folk Party, liberals who are the third largest party in the Riksdag , have been caught hacking into Social Democrat computer databases. Both the party secretary and campaign manager have resigned. The irony of this has not been lost on voters. A central theme in the FP's election campaign has been to give police the right to bug the telephone lines of suspected criminals.
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Regardless of the political issues at stake in the elections, the right wing have one clear advantage and that is clear commitment to a governing alliance which will carry out an agreed common programme. By voting for any of the right wing parties, voters pretty much know what it is they are voting for. The same cannot be said of the left parties.
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Here is the translated text of an article published in todays Dagens Nyheter written by Henrik Berggren.
Clearly the article is written from a social democratic/ liberal perspective and in a rather patronising tone but it does gives a number of historically accurate insights into Left Party history. Gudrun Schyman was the leader of the Left Party during its most electorally successful period in the mid 1990's. She quit the party two years ago and is one of the founding members of the Feminist Initiative, which is currently standing candidates in the Riksdag election. Whilst Left Party leader she was responsible for a more middle class radical outlook and favoured pretty much open collabaration with the Social Democrats. The partys new leaders Lars Ohly has taken the party back to the a more distinctive working class line and has found itself cut off from mainstream bourgeois opinion.
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This is the translated text of the open letter to the Minister of State Göran Persson which was published in Swedish on the Left Party’s website at:
http://www2.vansterpartiet.se/val/template/arkiv/?pressID=48
