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Left Party (Sweden)

The Left Party (Swedish: Vänsterpartiet [ˈvɛ̂nːstɛrpaˌʈiːɛt] ; V) is a socialist political party in Sweden.[9][10][11] On economic issues, the party opposes privatizations and capitalism[12] and advocates increased public expenditure. In foreign policy, the party is Eurosceptic,[13] being critical of the European Union, opposing Atlanticism, NATO[14] and Swedish entry into the eurozone.[15][16][17] It attempted to get Sweden to join the Non-Aligned Movement in 1980, but did not succeed.[18] The party is eco-socialist,[19] and also supports anti-racism, feminism, and republicanism.[9][11][20] It stands on the left wing of the political spectrum.[6][21][22]

Left Party
Vänsterpartiet
AbbreviationV
LeaderNooshi Dadgostar
FoundersZeth Höglund
Carl Winberg
Founded1917; 106 years ago (1917)
Split fromSwedish Social Democratic Party
HeadquartersKungsgatan 84, Stockholm
Youth wingYoung Left
Membership (2021) 28,873[1]
Ideology
Political positionLeft-wing[6]
European affiliationMaintenant le Peuple
European Parliament groupThe Left in the European Parliament – GUE/NGL
Nordic affiliationNordic Green Left Alliance
Colours  Red
Riksdag
24 / 349
European Parliament
1 / 21
County councils[7]
116 / 1,597
Municipal councils[8]
750 / 12,780
Website
vansterpartiet.se

The party has never been part of a government at the national level; however, it has lent parliamentary support to governments led in the Riksdag by the Swedish Social Democratic Party. From 1998 to 2006, the Left Party was in a confidence-and-supply arrangement with the ruling Social Democrats and the Green Party. Between 2014 and 2018, it supported the minority government of Social Democrats and Greens in the Riksdag, extending this cooperation to many of Sweden's counties and municipalities; and from 2018 to 2021, until the outset of the 2021 Swedish government crisis, it offered passive support to the Löfven II Cabinet formed under the January Agreement, though disagreeing with some of the policies mandated by the Agreement.

The party originated as a split from the Social Democrats in 1917, as the Swedish Social Democratic Left Party (Sveriges socialdemokratiska vänsterparti [ˈsvæ̌rjɛs sʊsɪˈɑ̂ːldɛmʊˌkrɑːtɪska ˈvɛ̂nːstɛrpaˌʈiː] ; SSV), and became the Communist Party of Sweden in 1921. In 1967, the party was renamed Left Party – the Communists (Vänsterpartiet Kommunisterna [ˈvɛ̂nːstɛrpaˌʈiːɛt kɔmɵˈnɪ̌sːtɛɳa] ; VPK); it adopted its current name in 1990.[23] The Left Party is a member of the Nordic Green Left Alliance, and its sole MEP sits in the European United Left–Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL) group. In 2018, the party joined Maintenant le Peuple.

History edit

 
First Communist Party group in the Second Chamber of the Swedish parliament in 1922. Standing from left: Viktor Herou, Verner Karlsson, J. P. Dahlén. Sitting from left: Karl Kilbom, August Spångberg, Helmer Molander, Carl Winberg.

1910s edit

Revolutionary fervour engulfed Sweden in 1917.[24] Riots took place in many cities. In Västervik, a workers' council took control of day-to-day affairs. In Stockholm, soldiers marched together with workers on May Day. In the upper-class neighbourhood of Stockholm, Östermalm, residents formed paramilitary structures to defend themselves from a possible armed revolution.[25]

The party originated as a split from the Swedish Social Democratic Party in 1917, as the Swedish Social Democratic Left Party (Sveriges socialdemokratiska vänsterparti, SSV). The split occurred when the Social Democratic Party did not support the 1917 Bolshevik revolution in Russia, whereas the SSV did support the Bolsheviks. Another reason for the split was the opposition to Social Democratic cooperation with the Liberals and increasing militarism. The SSV brought with them 15 of the 87 Social Democratic members of parliament and the party's youth wing. Many of the breakaways were inspired by Lenin's revolutionary Bolsheviks, others by libertarian socialism. Almost all SSV leaders eventually returned to the Social Democrats (SAP), but the foundation was laid for a party on the left wing of the labor movement.[26]

1920s edit

In 1921, in accordance with the 21 theses of the Comintern, the party name was changed to Communist Party of Sweden (Swedish: Sveriges kommunistiska parti [ˈsvæ̌rjɛs kɔmɵˈnɪ̌sːtɪska paˈʈiː] ; SKP [ɛskoːˈpeː] ).[27] Liberal and non-revolutionary elements were purged, later regrouping under the name SSV. In total, 6,000 out of 17,000 party members were expelled.[citation needed]

Zeth Höglund, the main leader of the party during the split from the Social Democrats, himself left the party in 1924. Höglund was displeased with developments in Moscow after the death of Vladimir Lenin, and thus he founded his own Communist Party, independent from the Comintern. Around 5,000 party members followed Höglund.

On 23 and 24 January 1926, the SKP organized a trade union conference with delegates representing 80,000 organized workers. This was followed in 1927 by a conference of the National Association of the Unemployed, where the party called for the abolition of the Unemployment Commission (AK).

 
1929 caricature in Folkets Dagblad Politiken, illustrating the Kilbom-led party as a mighty cruise ship and the Sillén-led party as a small rowboat lost at sea.

In 1929, a major split, the largest in the history of the party, took place. Nils Flyg, Karl Kilbom, Ture Nerman, all MPs, and the majority of the party membership, were expelled by the Comintern. The expelled were called Kilbommare, and those loyal to the Comintern were called Sillenare (after their leader Hugo Sillén). Out of 17,300 party members, 4,000 sided with Sillén and the Comintern. Conflicts erupted locally over control of party offices and property. In Stockholm, the office of the central organ, held by the Kilbommare, was besieged by Comintern loyalists. Fist-fights erupted in Gothenburg in a clash over control of the party office. Effectively, the Kilbom-Flyg factions continued to operate their party under the name of Socialist Party, soon renamed Socialistiska partiet. Notably, they took with them the central media organ of the party, Folkets Dagblad Politiken. The SKP started new publications, including Ny Dag and Arbetar-Tidningen.

Under Sillén's leadership, the party adhered to the "class against class" line, denouncing any co-operation with the Social Democrats. Sven Linderot, a dynamic young leader, become the party chairman.

1930s edit

The infamous Ådalen shootings of unarmed demonstrating workers took place in 1931. This development led to increased labour militancy and gave new life to the crisis-ridden SKP.

The Spanish Civil War began in 1936. The SKP and its youth wing sent a sizeable contingent to fight in the International Brigades. 520 Swedes took part in the brigades and 164 of them died there.[28] Simultaneously, extensive solidarity work for the Second Spanish Republic and the people of Spain was organized in Sweden.

During the 1930s, the party was rebuilt; as the Kilbom-Flyg party crumbled, the party base was enhanced. By 1939, SKP had 19,116 members.

1940s edit

The Second World War (1939–1945) was a difficult time for the SKP. The party was the sole political force in Sweden supporting the Soviet Union in the Winter War, which was frequently used as a pretext for the repression against the party. The SKP also supported Soviet military expansion along its Western border. Ny Dag, the main party organ, wrote on 26 July: "The border states have been liberated from their dependence on imperialist superpowers through the help of the great socialist worker's state."[a]

Moreover, the party supported the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. The Central Committee adopted a declaration in September 1939, which read: "The ruling cliques in England and France have, in fear of Bolshevism, in their badly hidden sympathy for Fascism, in fear of workers' power in Europe, refused to enter into an agreement with conditions acceptable to the Soviet Union to effectively crush the plans of the warmongers. They have supported the Poland's refusal to accept Soviet help. The Soviet Union has thus, in clear accordance with its consequent policy of peace, through a non-aggression pact with Germany, sought to defend the 170 million people of the first socialist state against Fascist attacks and the bottomless misery of a world war."[29]

When Nazi Germany invaded Norway in April 1940, the SKP took a neutral stance. In an article in Ny Dag, the German takeover in Norway was described as a "setback for British imperialism".[30]

Following orders by the German delegation in Stockholm, the Swedish government took several repressive measures against the party. The main publications were effectively proscribed (they were banned from transportation, meaning it was illegal to carry SKP newspapers in any form of vehicle). Key cadres of the party and youth league were detained in camps, officially as a part of their military service. In total, 3500 people were interned at ten different camps, the great majority of them communists.[31] Many party activists went underground, including the chairman. A complete ban on the party was discussed in government circles, but never came into effect.[32]

In 1940, the office of the regional party organ in Norrbotten, Norrskensflamman, was bombed. Five people, including two children, were killed. This constitutes the deadliest terrorist act committed in Sweden in the 1900s. One of the financial supporters of the group behind the attack, Paul Wretlind, was a regional leader of the Liberal Party in Stockholm.

During the war, the largest co-ordinated police action in Swedish history took place against the party. 3,000 policemen took part in raids on party offices and homes of party members all over the country. However, the raids failed to produce any evidence of any criminal activity by the party.

The party actively supported resistance struggles in Norway and Denmark. In northern Sweden, party-affiliated workers stole dynamite from mines and smuggled them to the Norwegian resistance. In other parts, the party gave shelter to anti-fascist refugees.

As the military fortunes of the Third Reich waned, the party regained a strong position in Swedish politics. In the parliamentary elections of 1944, SKP got 10.3% of the vote.

In 1945, there was a nationwide metal workers' strike, led by SKP.

In the 1946 municipal elections, the SKP received 11.2% of the vote. Party membership reached its historical peak, at 51,000. These developments, along with developments in the international arena and new Soviet policies of peaceful co-existence, led the party to initiate a re-adjustment of its role in Swedish politics. The electoral gains strengthened the perception that the party would be able to come to power within the parliamentary framework. Likewise, the idea of a "united front" with the Social Democrats gained ground in intra-party debates. The party's trade union policy was changed to adopt a less combative position towards Social Democracy within the trade union movement. These changes met with some resistance in the party ranks.

However, the onset of the Cold War became a difficult challenge to the party. The electoral gains of the post-war years would not last long. The prime minister Tage Erlander declared his intention to turn "every trade union into a battlefield against the communists".[33] Communists were purged from the trade union movement. However, the party continued its development of the united front strategy.

1950s edit

In the 1952 parliamentary by-elections in Jämtland and Kristianstad, the party decided to withdraw its lists, in order to ensure that the Social Democrats would not lose the elections. The party leadership argued that communists had to make an effort to "ensure a labour majority in the Riksdag". Moreover, the two concerned counties were electoral districts where it was highly unlikely that any communist MP would be elected. However, the leftist minority within the party (led by Set Persson) saw the new line as a capitulation to the Social Democrats.

Another issue concerned the youth league. The party took the initiative to create a broad-based youth movement, looking at similar developments in countries like Finland. In 1952, Democratic Youth (Demokratisk Ungdom [dɛmʊˈkrɑ̌ːtɪsk ˈɵ̂ŋdʊm] ) was founded as a broad youth movement, parallel to the existing Young Communist League of Sweden. The hard-liners saw this as diluting the political character of the movement.

An issue of high symbolic importance was the party's decision to promote joint May Day rallies with the Social Democrats. Yet another issue was the decision to give financial support to the "labour press", which was essentially in the hands of the Social Democrats.

In March 1951, Hilding Hagberg became party chairman.[34]

The intra-party polemic reached its peak at the 1953 party congress. Persson fiercely expressed his criticism, particularly towards the new party chairman Hagberg, whom he branded as an opportunist. Persson was in turn accused of being an egoist, and of wanting to divide and damage the party. Criticism was directed towards Persson by Knut Senander and Nils Holmberg, who said that Persson had to be held accountable for lack of political orientation and anti-party actions. Both Senander and Holmberg were considered as being part of the leftist faction of the party, but on this occasion they appeared as the most firebrand defenders of the party line. Only a handful of delegates defended Persson, and those who did clearly highlighted that they did not fully share Persson's critique of the line of the party leadership. In a highly emotional conclusion to the debate, Persson declared his resignation from the SKP in a speech to the congress. After his departure a purge was carried out against Persson's followers within the party, of whom several were expelled.

When Joseph Stalin died the same year, the party organized a memorial, which was addressed by C.-H. Hermansson.

When the Hungarian revolt broke out in 1956, internal party debate surged regarding the position the party should take. In the end, the party leadership chose to support the official Soviet line.

1960s edit

In 1961, leading party members founded the travel agency Folkturist, which specialized in tours of Eastern Europe.[35]

In 1964, C.-H. Hermansson was elected party chairman. Hermansson came from an academic background, unlike previous party leaders. Hermansson initiated a change in the political direction of the party towards Eurocommunism and Nordic popular socialism.

Ahead of the 1967 party congress, a heated debate took place. Several distinct tendencies were present. One section wanted to transform the party into a non-communist party, along the lines of the Danish Socialist People's Party (SF), and thus proposed that the party should change its name to Vänsterpartiet ("Left Party"). Another section, largely based amongst the trade union cadre of the party, wanted to maintain the SKP's communist character and the fraternal bond with the CPSU. Former party leader Hagberg, who was associated with the pro-Soviet group, tried to launch the name Arbetets Parti (pronounced [ˈârːbeːtɛts paˈʈiː] ; "Party of Labour"), as a compromise. The party leadership came up with another compromise, and the name was changed to Left Party – the Communists (VPK). VPK continued on the Eurocommunist course, but with a loud pro-Soviet minority grouped around Norrskensflamman. Moreover, there was a small pro-Chinese group led by Bo Gustafsson and Nils Holmberg, that left the party to form Communist Party of Sweden (Kommunistiska Förbundet Marxist-Leninisterna; KFML) at the time of the congress. The youth wing broke away, eventually forming Marxist-Leninistiska Kampförbundet (MLK).

 
Splits and factionalism on the Swedish left in the last century.

In 1968, VPK was the first Swedish party to publicly condemn the Soviet intervention in Czechoslovakia. The party organized a demonstration outside the Soviet embassy in Stockholm, which was addressed by Hermansson. This disapproval of Soviet aggression was exceptional among the Western communist parties.[citation needed] The party line on Czechoslovakia irritated the pro-Soviet minority.

In the municipal elections of 1968, the VPK received 3,8% of the votes, the party's worst electoral result in the post-war era. Lacking a functioning youth and student wing, the party was unable to capitalize on the international surge of youth radicalism.

At the onset of protests against the U.S. war in Vietnam, the VPK launched the Swedish Vietnam Committee. The Committee demanded 'Peace in Vietnam' and appealed for all-party unity on the issue. The committee was rapidly out-manoeuvered by the United FNL Groups (DFFG), an organization led by the KFML that was actively supporting the armed struggle of the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam. Soon, the VPK left the Swedish Vietnam Committee and many members became active in the DFFG.

1970s edit

In 1970, the youth wing was refounded as Kommunistisk Ungdom (pronounced [kɔmɵˈnɪ̌sːtɪsk ˈɵ̂ŋdʊm] ; KU).

In 1972, the party shifted towards a more leftist position with the adaptation of a new programme. The neo-Leninist tendency emerged as an important section of the party.

In 1975, Lars Werner was elected party chairman. The runner-up candidate was Rolf Hagel of the pro-Soviet group. Werner was elected with 162 votes at the party congress. Hagel got 74 votes.

In February 1977, the pro-Soviet minority left the party, and founded the Workers' Party – Communists (APK). The founders of the APK took with them the newspaper Norrskensflamman and two MPs (Hagel and Alf Löwenborg). Between 1,500 and 2,000 VPK members joined rgw APK.[b]

1980s edit

In 1980, the VPK was active in the "No"-campaign in the plebiscite on nuclear power.

1990s edit

In 1990, the VPK changed its name to Vänsterpartiet ((v), Left Party) and ceased to be a communist party.

In 1993, Werner resigned. Gudrun Schyman was elected party chairman.

In the 1994 parliamentary elections, the party received 6.2% of the vote. The prolonged electoral crisis of the party thus ended. The party's influence started to grow, especially amongst the youth. In the same year, the party was active in the "No"-campaign in the plebiscite on joining the European Union.

Having passed through a period of severe crisis, the party began to regain public support during the mid-1990s. In retrospect, the main factor behind this shift was not the party itself, but the fact that the Social Democrats had moved considerably towards the right in the preceding years, which had alienated much of its traditional voter base.

At the 1996 party congress, the Left Party declared itself to be feminist.

In 1998, the party obtained its best-ever result in a parliamentary election, winning 12% of the votes nationwide. Following the elections, the party entered into an arrangement with the Social Democrats, and started to support the government from outside.

2000s edit

In the 2002 parliamentary elections, the voteshare of the party dropped by 3% to a total of 8.3%. Simultaneously, the Social Democrats regained 3%.

In 2003, Schyman resigned following tax irregularities. Ulla Hoffmann took over as interim leader.

The 2004 party congress elected Lars Ohly as the new party chairman. At the end of the year, Schyman left the party, becoming a parliamentary independent. Lars Ohly initially called himself a communist, but later retracted that statement.

In the same year, a two-part documentary on the party was broadcast on the SVT show Uppdrag Granskning. The documentary focused mainly on the international relations of the party during the post-war era. Following the broadcast, debate surged once again concerning the relations of the party with the ruling parties in the former Socialist Bloc.[c]

The Left Democrats (Vänsterdemokraterna) party was formed on March 28, 2004 when the local branch of the Left Party in Gnesta voted to leave the mother party. Between 2004 and 2006, the party held the two seats in the Gnesta municipal assembly. Vänsterdemokraterna was later, at a meeting in Stockholm on January 29, 2006, constituted as a nationwide party with ambitions of contesting the 2006 parliamentary elections. In the 2006 election, the party gained 12 votes.[36] In 2007 the party was reconstituted as an association and was later dissolved.

In the September 2006 election, the Left Party won 317,228 votes (5.8%; compared to 8.4% in 2002), and therefore 22 Riksdag seats (previously 30). In the 2010 election, the party got 5.6% of the vote (334,053 votes) and 19 seats.

On 7 December 2008, the Social Democrats launched a political and electoral alliance known as the Red-Greens, together with the Left Party and the Green Party.

2010s edit

The parties contested the 2010 general election on a joint manifesto, but lost to the incumbent centre-right coalition The Alliance. On 26 November 2010, the Red-Green alliance was dissolved.[37]

On 6 January 2012, after Ohly had announced his resignation, the Left Party congress elected Jonas Sjöstedt as the new party chairman.

2020s edit

On 31 October 2020, the party elected Nooshi Dadgostar as party leader, following the retirement of Sjöstedt.[38]

On 15 June 2021, the party withdrew its support for the coalition government, after a disagreement on rent controls.[39]

Ideology and policies edit

Labor policy edit

The party opposes further liberalization of the Employment Protection Act, and vowed to initiate a vote of no confidence against the Löfven II Cabinet if they were to attempt such a liberalization.[40] The party is the only one in the parliament to advocate for a 30-hour work week.[41]

Feminism edit

The Left Party claims that Sweden does not have social equality in regard to gender. The party thus advocates the creation of a specific Minister of Social Equality, as well as to introduce the teaching of "feminist self-defence" in high schools.[42] Feminism as a concept was introduced in the party program in 1997, but it believes that it has always worked to strengthen women's rights. Feminist theory has grown into the party since the 1960s, when the women's movement gained a theoretical basis beyond Marxism.

During the 2020 - 2022 mandate period, five of the seven members (71%) of the Left Party's executive committee, and ten of the 16 other board members (63%), are female.

LGBT policy edit

The party supports equality for the LGBT community in ''matrimonial law, inheritance law, and family law''. The party also sees its feminism as linked to its pro-LGBT stance.[4]

Immigration and integration edit

The party supports a generous immigration policy, granting refugees permanent residency, and prioritizing family re-unification.[43][44] A strong welfare system and the uniting of families is necessary for refugees to be able to integrate in society, according to the Left Party.[45]

Foreign policy edit

In regards to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, the party supports a two-state solution based on the 1967 border. The party calls for the freezing of EU trade agreements with Israel, ending Swedish military co-operation and arms trade with Israel, and a general consumer boycott of Israeli goods to put pressure on Israel.[46][47]

In February 2019, the party dropped a long-held policy that Sweden should leave the European Union.[48] However, by 2022 the party's platform was amended to support leaving the EU once again and called for the European Parliament to be either abolished or fundamentally changed.[49]

The Left Party opposes joining NATO, stating that they support neutrality and freedom of alliance, and calls for a left-wing alliance in Europe to ensure the dissolution of NATO.[50]

Republicanism edit

The Left Party advocates for the abolition of the Swedish monarchy, instead favoring republicanism.[20]

Splits edit

During its history, there have been several splits of various significance:

Electoral results edit

Parliament (Riksdag) edit

Percentage of votes by year:


Election Votes % Seats +/– Government
1917 59,243 8.0 (#4)
11 / 230
  11 Opposition
1920 42,056 6.4 (#5)
7 / 230
  4 Opposition
1921 80,355 4.6 (#5)
7 / 230
  0 Opposition
1924 63,301 3.6 (#6)
4 / 230
  3 Opposition
1928 151,567 6.4 (#5)
8 / 230
  4 Opposition
1932 74,245 3.0 (#6)
2 / 230
  6 External support
1936 96,519 3.3 (#6)
5 / 230
  3 External support
1940 101,424 3.5 (#5)
3 / 230
  2 External support
1944 318,466 10.3 (#5)
15 / 230
  12 External support
1948 244,826 6.3 (#5)
8 / 230
  7 External support
1952 164,194 4.3 (#5)
6 / 230
  3 External support
1956 194,016 5.0 (#5)
6 / 231
  1 Opposition
1958 129,319 3.4 (#5)
5 / 231
  1 External support
1960 190,560 4.5 (#5)
5 / 232
  0 External support
1964 221,746 5.2 (#5)
8 / 233
  3 External support
1968 145,172 3.0 (#5)
3 / 233
  5 External support
1970 236,659 4.8 (#5)
17 / 350
  14 External support
1973 274,929 5.3 (#5)
19 / 350
  2 External support
1976 258,432 4.8 (#5)
17 / 349
  2 Opposition
1979 305,420 5.6 (#5)
20 / 349
  3 Opposition
1982 308,899 5.6 (#5)
20 / 349
  0 External support
1985 298,419 5.4 (#5)
19 / 349
  1 External support
1988 314,031 5.8 (#5)
21 / 349
  2 External support
1991 246,905 4.5 (#7)
16 / 349
  5 Opposition
1994 342,988 6.2 (#5)
22 / 349
  6 External support
1998 631,011 12.0 (#3)
43 / 349
  21 External support
2002 444,854 8.4 (#5)
30 / 349
  13 External support
2006 324,722 5.9 (#6)
22 / 349
  8 Opposition
2010 334,053 5.6 (#7)
19 / 349
  3 Opposition
2014 356,331 5.7 (#6)
21 / 349
  2 External support
2018 518,454 8.0 (#5)
28 / 349
  7 Opposition
with other arrangements
2022 437,050 6.8 (#4)
24 / 349
  4 Opposition

European Parliament edit

Election Votes % Seats +/-
1995 346,764 12.9 (#4)
3 / 22
1999 400,073 15.8 (#3)
3 / 22
  0
2004 321,344 12.8 (#4)
2 / 19
  1
2009 179,222 5.7 (#6)
1 / 18
  1
2014 234,272 6.3 (#7)
1 / 20
  0
2019 282,300 6.8 (#7)
1 / 20
  0

Party leaders edit

Publications edit

  • Blekinge Folkblad (1943–1957)
  • Bohustidningen (1946–1948)
  • Borås Folkblad (1943–1957)
  • Dalarnes Folkblad (1917–1925)
  • Dalarnes Folkblad (1940–1956)
  • Folkviljan (1942–1957)
  • Folkviljan (1980–1989)
  • Gästriklands Folkblad (1921–1922)
  • Hälsingekuriren (1919–1923)
  • Kalmar Läns–Kuriren (1923–1942)
  • Norra Småland (1918–1923)
  • Norrlandskuriren (1922)
  • Norrskensflamman (1906–1977)
  • Piteåbygden (1920)
  • Röda Röster (1919–1930)
  • Skånes Folkblad (1918–1922)
  • Smålandsfolket (1940)
  • Örebro Läns Arbetartidning (1940–1956)
  • Örebro Läns Folkblad (1919–1920)
  • Övre Dalarnes Tidning (1917–1920)

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ The executive editor of Ny Dag, Gustav Johansson (also a long-term Communist MP) concluded after a trip to the occupied Baltics states in 1940: "I have seen three countries, that in the past used to belong to the worst reactionary terror countries of Europe, transformed into free Soviet republics through a peaceful revolution." Both quotes found in Küng, A. 2006-05-04 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Intelligence reports reveals that the pro-Soviet minority had direct consultations with the embassies of the Soviet Union and East Germany prior to the split. However, it appears that both the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the Socialist Unity Party of Germany had urged the group to preserve the unity of VPK. SOU 2002:93 2006-09-28 at the Wayback Machine, p. 247–251.
  3. ^ The documentary was made by Janne Josefsson. The background material of the documentary consisted mainly of VPK publications. The new information presented in the documentary consisted partly of anecdotes of Werner's informal relations to the GDR embassy and an individual party member's meetings with the GDR embassy and the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia during the 1970s. Nevertheless, the documentary had a significant impact on the public debate.

References edit

  1. ^ "5000 nya medlemmar till Vänsterpartiet under 2021" [5,000 new members to the Left Party in 2021]. Vansterpartiet (in Swedish). 11 January 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  2. ^ Claire Annesley, ed. (2013). Political and Economic Dictionary of Western Europe. Routledge. p. 225. ISBN 978-1-135-35547-0.
  3. ^ Palme, Simon (2019). "'Den här gången är vi ganska överens'" (PDF) (in Swedish). Uppsala University. Retrieved 5 October 2022 – via DiVA.
  4. ^ a b "Vårt partiprogram". www.vansterpartiet.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  5. ^ Lundgren, Lisa (2 February 2022). "POSITION MOVEMENT IN THE EU QUESTION - An analysis of how MP, V and SD express themselves about the EU in connection with the removal of the requirement for EU withdrawal" – via Gothenburg University. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. ^ a b Allern, Elin Haugsgjerd; Bale, Tim (2017). Left-of-centre Parties and Trade Unions in the Twenty-first Century. Oxford University Press. p. 208. ISBN 978-0-19-879047-1.
  7. ^ . Valmyndigheten (in Swedish). 28 September 2014. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  8. ^ . Valmyndigheten (in Swedish). 28 September 2014. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  9. ^ a b Annesley, Claire, ed. (2013). Political and Economic Dictionary of Western Europe. Routledge. p. 225. ISBN 978-1-135-35547-0.
  10. ^ "Swedish Left Party Surges in Polls with Focus on Climate Action & Fighting Privatization". Democracy Now!. 3 July 2014. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  11. ^ a b Nordsieck, Wolfram (2022). "Sweden". Parties and Elections in Europe. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  12. ^ Vänsterpartiets Partiprogram P.33
  13. ^ "Sweden". www.csis.org. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  14. ^ "Nato". vansterpartiet. 15 August 2022.
  15. ^ "EU". vansterpartiet. 12 August 2022.
  16. ^ Szczerbiak, Aleks; Taggart, Paul (2008). Opposing Europe?: The Comparative Party Politics of Euroscepticism: Volume 1: Case Studies and Country Surveys. Oxford University Press. p. 184. ISBN 978-0-19-925830-7.
  17. ^ "Strong support for the EU in Sweden ahead of European elections". Atlantic Council. 16 May 2019. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  18. ^ "Utrikesutskottet betänkande 1980/81:UU12". Riksdagen (in Swedish). 1980. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  19. ^ Elvander, Jonas (6 April 2017). "'Planeten kommer inte överleva kapitalismen'". Flamman (in Swedish). Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  20. ^ a b . Vansterpartiet (in Swedish). 2012. Archived from the original on 7 October 2012. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  21. ^ Jan, Wiklund; Karin, Wakeham; Martin, Turesson (2017). Samhällskunskap 7–9. Utki (in Swedish). Logistikteamet Capensis. ISBN 978-9-185-88780-4. Retrieved 5 October 2022 – via Studentapan. See also Fribourg, Christina; Holmlin-Nilsson, Anna; Isaksson, Henrik; Linder, Monika (2020). Utkik 7-9 Samhällskunskap grundbok, 2:a uppl (in Swedish). Gleerups. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  22. ^ Suszycki, Andrzej Marcin (2021). Nationalism in Contemporary Europe: Concept, Boundaries and Forms. LIT Verlag Münster. p. 226. ISBN 978-3-643-91102-5.
  23. ^ Elgán, Elisabeth; Scobbie, Irene (2015). Historical Dictionary of Sweden. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 162. ISBN 978-1-4422-5071-0.
  24. ^ Jaworski, Paweł (21 July 2015). . enrs.eu (in German). European Network Remembrance and Solidarity. Archived from the original on 10 September 2018. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  25. ^ "Sweden's Potato Revolution – The effects of the February 1917 revolution in Russia were first felt in neutral Sweden - Europe Solidaire Sans Frontières". www.europe-solidaire.org. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  26. ^ "Partiernas historia: Vänsterpartiet". Popularhistoria.se (in Swedish). 28 September 2010. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  27. ^ "Griumlund, Otto". Biographical dictionary of the Comintern. Stanford: The Hoover Institution Press. 1973. p. 155. When the Left Social Democratic Party changed its name to Communist Party of Sweden at its fourth congress in 1921, he remained in its ranks.
  28. ^ Sellström, Tor (1999). Sweden and national liberation in Southern Africa. Vol. 1, Formation of a popular opinion (1950-1970). Uppsala: Nordiska Afrikainstiutet. pp. 64, fn. 1. ISBN 9789171064301. 520 Swedes joined the International Brigades in Spain and 164--almost a third--died there.
  29. ^ Arbetar-Tidningen, nr 36, 8–14 September 1939, cited in 14:e nordiska konferensen för medie- och kommunikationsforskning. 2006-12-09 at the Wayback Machine Kungälv 14-17 augusti 1999.
  30. ^ Ny Dag, April 1940, cited in Vänsterpartiets fastigheter betalades av Sovjet och DDR
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  32. ^ Karl Molin. Hemmakriget – Om den svenska krigsmaktens åtgärder mot kommunister under andra världskriget. (1982) ISBN 91-550-2785-7
  33. ^ "Från SSV till vänsterpartiet". Arbetarmakt (in Swedish). 1 May 1997. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  34. ^ "Linderot, Sven". Biographical dictionary of the Comintern. Stanford: The Hoover Institution Press. 1973. p. 268. Upon his return, at the fifteenth party congress in March 1951, he surrendered the party presidency to Hilding Hagberg...
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  37. ^ Stenberg, Ewa (26 November 2010). "Det borde bara ha varit vi och S". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 21 January 2012.
  38. ^ "Nooshi Dadgostar is elected new V-leader". Nord News. 31 October 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
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  43. ^ Mokhtari, Arash (5 November 2019). "Riksdagspartierna splittrade i frågan om migration". SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  44. ^ "Vi är inte för öppna gränser. Invandringen ska vara reglerad men generös. Krigsflyktingar måste få skydd. Det har Sverige en lång tradition av. Andra länder i Europa måste samtidigt ta större ansvar". Twitter (in Swedish). Retrieved 25 March 2021.
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External links edit

  • Vänsterpartiet (in Swedish)
  • Vårt partiprogram (in Swedish)

left, party, sweden, left, party, swedish, vänsterpartiet, ˈvɛ, nːstɛrpaˌʈiːɛt, socialist, political, party, sweden, economic, issues, party, opposes, privatizations, capitalism, advocates, increased, public, expenditure, foreign, policy, party, eurosceptic, b. The Left Party Swedish Vansterpartiet ˈvɛ nːstɛrpaˌʈiːɛt V is a socialist political party in Sweden 9 10 11 On economic issues the party opposes privatizations and capitalism 12 and advocates increased public expenditure In foreign policy the party is Eurosceptic 13 being critical of the European Union opposing Atlanticism NATO 14 and Swedish entry into the eurozone 15 16 17 It attempted to get Sweden to join the Non Aligned Movement in 1980 but did not succeed 18 The party is eco socialist 19 and also supports anti racism feminism and republicanism 9 11 20 It stands on the left wing of the political spectrum 6 21 22 Left Party VansterpartietAbbreviationVLeaderNooshi DadgostarFoundersZeth HoglundCarl WinbergFounded1917 106 years ago 1917 Split fromSwedish Social Democratic PartyHeadquartersKungsgatan 84 StockholmYouth wingYoung LeftMembership 2021 28 873 1 IdeologySocialism 2 Eco socialism 3 Feminism 4 Euroscepticism 5 Political positionLeft wing 6 European affiliationMaintenant le PeupleEuropean Parliament groupThe Left in the European Parliament GUE NGLNordic affiliationNordic Green Left AllianceColours RedRiksdag24 349European Parliament1 21County councils 7 116 1 597Municipal councils 8 750 12 780Websitevansterpartiet wbr sePolitics of SwedenPolitical partiesElectionsThe party has never been part of a government at the national level however it has lent parliamentary support to governments led in the Riksdag by the Swedish Social Democratic Party From 1998 to 2006 the Left Party was in a confidence and supply arrangement with the ruling Social Democrats and the Green Party Between 2014 and 2018 it supported the minority government of Social Democrats and Greens in the Riksdag extending this cooperation to many of Sweden s counties and municipalities and from 2018 to 2021 until the outset of the 2021 Swedish government crisis it offered passive support to the Lofven II Cabinet formed under the January Agreement though disagreeing with some of the policies mandated by the Agreement The party originated as a split from the Social Democrats in 1917 as the Swedish Social Democratic Left Party Sveriges socialdemokratiska vansterparti ˈsvae rjɛs sʊsɪˈɑ ːldɛmʊˌkrɑːtɪska ˈvɛ nːstɛrpaˌʈiː SSV and became the Communist Party of Sweden in 1921 In 1967 the party was renamed Left Party the Communists Vansterpartiet Kommunisterna ˈvɛ nːstɛrpaˌʈiːɛt kɔmɵˈnɪ sːtɛɳa VPK it adopted its current name in 1990 23 The Left Party is a member of the Nordic Green Left Alliance and its sole MEP sits in the European United Left Nordic Green Left GUE NGL group In 2018 the party joined Maintenant le Peuple Contents 1 History 1 1 1910s 1 2 1920s 1 3 1930s 1 4 1940s 1 5 1950s 1 6 1960s 1 7 1970s 1 8 1980s 1 9 1990s 1 10 2000s 1 11 2010s 1 12 2020s 2 Ideology and policies 2 1 Labor policy 2 2 Feminism 2 3 LGBT policy 2 4 Immigration and integration 2 5 Foreign policy 2 6 Republicanism 2 7 Splits 3 Electoral results 3 1 Parliament Riksdag 3 2 European Parliament 4 Party leaders 5 Publications 6 See also 7 Notes 8 References 9 External linksHistory editThis section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section Unsourced material may be challenged and removed February 2019 Learn how and when to remove this template message nbsp First Communist Party group in the Second Chamber of the Swedish parliament in 1922 Standing from left Viktor Herou Verner Karlsson J P Dahlen Sitting from left Karl Kilbom August Spangberg Helmer Molander Carl Winberg 1910s edit Revolutionary fervour engulfed Sweden in 1917 24 Riots took place in many cities In Vastervik a workers council took control of day to day affairs In Stockholm soldiers marched together with workers on May Day In the upper class neighbourhood of Stockholm Ostermalm residents formed paramilitary structures to defend themselves from a possible armed revolution 25 The party originated as a split from the Swedish Social Democratic Party in 1917 as the Swedish Social Democratic Left Party Sveriges socialdemokratiska vansterparti SSV The split occurred when the Social Democratic Party did not support the 1917 Bolshevik revolution in Russia whereas the SSV did support the Bolsheviks Another reason for the split was the opposition to Social Democratic cooperation with the Liberals and increasing militarism The SSV brought with them 15 of the 87 Social Democratic members of parliament and the party s youth wing Many of the breakaways were inspired by Lenin s revolutionary Bolsheviks others by libertarian socialism Almost all SSV leaders eventually returned to the Social Democrats SAP but the foundation was laid for a party on the left wing of the labor movement 26 1920s edit In 1921 in accordance with the 21 theses of the Comintern the party name was changed to Communist Party of Sweden Swedish Sveriges kommunistiska parti ˈsvae rjɛs kɔmɵˈnɪ sːtɪska paˈʈiː SKP ɛskoːˈpeː 27 Liberal and non revolutionary elements were purged later regrouping under the name SSV In total 6 000 out of 17 000 party members were expelled citation needed Zeth Hoglund the main leader of the party during the split from the Social Democrats himself left the party in 1924 Hoglund was displeased with developments in Moscow after the death of Vladimir Lenin and thus he founded his own Communist Party independent from the Comintern Around 5 000 party members followed Hoglund On 23 and 24 January 1926 the SKP organized a trade union conference with delegates representing 80 000 organized workers This was followed in 1927 by a conference of the National Association of the Unemployed where the party called for the abolition of the Unemployment Commission AK nbsp 1929 caricature in Folkets Dagblad Politiken illustrating the Kilbom led party as a mighty cruise ship and the Sillen led party as a small rowboat lost at sea In 1929 a major split the largest in the history of the party took place Nils Flyg Karl Kilbom Ture Nerman all MPs and the majority of the party membership were expelled by the Comintern The expelled were called Kilbommare and those loyal to the Comintern were called Sillenare after their leader Hugo Sillen Out of 17 300 party members 4 000 sided with Sillen and the Comintern Conflicts erupted locally over control of party offices and property In Stockholm the office of the central organ held by the Kilbommare was besieged by Comintern loyalists Fist fights erupted in Gothenburg in a clash over control of the party office Effectively the Kilbom Flyg factions continued to operate their party under the name of Socialist Party soon renamed Socialistiska partiet Notably they took with them the central media organ of the party Folkets Dagblad Politiken The SKP started new publications including Ny Dag and Arbetar Tidningen Under Sillen s leadership the party adhered to the class against class line denouncing any co operation with the Social Democrats Sven Linderot a dynamic young leader become the party chairman 1930s edit The infamous Adalen shootings of unarmed demonstrating workers took place in 1931 This development led to increased labour militancy and gave new life to the crisis ridden SKP The Spanish Civil War began in 1936 The SKP and its youth wing sent a sizeable contingent to fight in the International Brigades 520 Swedes took part in the brigades and 164 of them died there 28 Simultaneously extensive solidarity work for the Second Spanish Republic and the people of Spain was organized in Sweden During the 1930s the party was rebuilt as the Kilbom Flyg party crumbled the party base was enhanced By 1939 SKP had 19 116 members 1940s edit The Second World War 1939 1945 was a difficult time for the SKP The party was the sole political force in Sweden supporting the Soviet Union in the Winter War which was frequently used as a pretext for the repression against the party The SKP also supported Soviet military expansion along its Western border Ny Dag the main party organ wrote on 26 July The border states have been liberated from their dependence on imperialist superpowers through the help of the great socialist worker s state a Moreover the party supported the Molotov Ribbentrop Pact The Central Committee adopted a declaration in September 1939 which read The ruling cliques in England and France have in fear of Bolshevism in their badly hidden sympathy for Fascism in fear of workers power in Europe refused to enter into an agreement with conditions acceptable to the Soviet Union to effectively crush the plans of the warmongers They have supported the Poland s refusal to accept Soviet help The Soviet Union has thus in clear accordance with its consequent policy of peace through a non aggression pact with Germany sought to defend the 170 million people of the first socialist state against Fascist attacks and the bottomless misery of a world war 29 When Nazi Germany invaded Norway in April 1940 the SKP took a neutral stance In an article in Ny Dag the German takeover in Norway was described as a setback for British imperialism 30 Following orders by the German delegation in Stockholm the Swedish government took several repressive measures against the party The main publications were effectively proscribed they were banned from transportation meaning it was illegal to carry SKP newspapers in any form of vehicle Key cadres of the party and youth league were detained in camps officially as a part of their military service In total 3500 people were interned at ten different camps the great majority of them communists 31 Many party activists went underground including the chairman A complete ban on the party was discussed in government circles but never came into effect 32 In 1940 the office of the regional party organ in Norrbotten Norrskensflamman was bombed Five people including two children were killed This constitutes the deadliest terrorist act committed in Sweden in the 1900s One of the financial supporters of the group behind the attack Paul Wretlind was a regional leader of the Liberal Party in Stockholm During the war the largest co ordinated police action in Swedish history took place against the party 3 000 policemen took part in raids on party offices and homes of party members all over the country However the raids failed to produce any evidence of any criminal activity by the party The party actively supported resistance struggles in Norway and Denmark In northern Sweden party affiliated workers stole dynamite from mines and smuggled them to the Norwegian resistance In other parts the party gave shelter to anti fascist refugees As the military fortunes of the Third Reich waned the party regained a strong position in Swedish politics In the parliamentary elections of 1944 SKP got 10 3 of the vote In 1945 there was a nationwide metal workers strike led by SKP In the 1946 municipal elections the SKP received 11 2 of the vote Party membership reached its historical peak at 51 000 These developments along with developments in the international arena and new Soviet policies of peaceful co existence led the party to initiate a re adjustment of its role in Swedish politics The electoral gains strengthened the perception that the party would be able to come to power within the parliamentary framework Likewise the idea of a united front with the Social Democrats gained ground in intra party debates The party s trade union policy was changed to adopt a less combative position towards Social Democracy within the trade union movement These changes met with some resistance in the party ranks However the onset of the Cold War became a difficult challenge to the party The electoral gains of the post war years would not last long The prime minister Tage Erlander declared his intention to turn every trade union into a battlefield against the communists 33 Communists were purged from the trade union movement However the party continued its development of the united front strategy 1950s edit In the 1952 parliamentary by elections in Jamtland and Kristianstad the party decided to withdraw its lists in order to ensure that the Social Democrats would not lose the elections The party leadership argued that communists had to make an effort to ensure a labour majority in the Riksdag Moreover the two concerned counties were electoral districts where it was highly unlikely that any communist MP would be elected However the leftist minority within the party led by Set Persson saw the new line as a capitulation to the Social Democrats Another issue concerned the youth league The party took the initiative to create a broad based youth movement looking at similar developments in countries like Finland In 1952 Democratic Youth Demokratisk Ungdom dɛmʊˈkrɑ ːtɪsk ˈɵ ŋdʊm was founded as a broad youth movement parallel to the existing Young Communist League of Sweden The hard liners saw this as diluting the political character of the movement An issue of high symbolic importance was the party s decision to promote joint May Day rallies with the Social Democrats Yet another issue was the decision to give financial support to the labour press which was essentially in the hands of the Social Democrats In March 1951 Hilding Hagberg became party chairman 34 The intra party polemic reached its peak at the 1953 party congress Persson fiercely expressed his criticism particularly towards the new party chairman Hagberg whom he branded as an opportunist Persson was in turn accused of being an egoist and of wanting to divide and damage the party Criticism was directed towards Persson by Knut Senander and Nils Holmberg who said that Persson had to be held accountable for lack of political orientation and anti party actions Both Senander and Holmberg were considered as being part of the leftist faction of the party but on this occasion they appeared as the most firebrand defenders of the party line Only a handful of delegates defended Persson and those who did clearly highlighted that they did not fully share Persson s critique of the line of the party leadership In a highly emotional conclusion to the debate Persson declared his resignation from the SKP in a speech to the congress After his departure a purge was carried out against Persson s followers within the party of whom several were expelled When Joseph Stalin died the same year the party organized a memorial which was addressed by C H Hermansson When the Hungarian revolt broke out in 1956 internal party debate surged regarding the position the party should take In the end the party leadership chose to support the official Soviet line 1960s edit In 1961 leading party members founded the travel agency Folkturist which specialized in tours of Eastern Europe 35 In 1964 C H Hermansson was elected party chairman Hermansson came from an academic background unlike previous party leaders Hermansson initiated a change in the political direction of the party towards Eurocommunism and Nordic popular socialism Ahead of the 1967 party congress a heated debate took place Several distinct tendencies were present One section wanted to transform the party into a non communist party along the lines of the Danish Socialist People s Party SF and thus proposed that the party should change its name to Vansterpartiet Left Party Another section largely based amongst the trade union cadre of the party wanted to maintain the SKP s communist character and the fraternal bond with the CPSU Former party leader Hagberg who was associated with the pro Soviet group tried to launch the name Arbetets Parti pronounced ˈarːbeːtɛts paˈʈiː Party of Labour as a compromise The party leadership came up with another compromise and the name was changed to Left Party the Communists VPK VPK continued on the Eurocommunist course but with a loud pro Soviet minority grouped around Norrskensflamman Moreover there was a small pro Chinese group led by Bo Gustafsson and Nils Holmberg that left the party to form Communist Party of Sweden Kommunistiska Forbundet Marxist Leninisterna KFML at the time of the congress The youth wing broke away eventually forming Marxist Leninistiska Kampforbundet MLK nbsp Splits and factionalism on the Swedish left in the last century In 1968 VPK was the first Swedish party to publicly condemn the Soviet intervention in Czechoslovakia The party organized a demonstration outside the Soviet embassy in Stockholm which was addressed by Hermansson This disapproval of Soviet aggression was exceptional among the Western communist parties citation needed The party line on Czechoslovakia irritated the pro Soviet minority In the municipal elections of 1968 the VPK received 3 8 of the votes the party s worst electoral result in the post war era Lacking a functioning youth and student wing the party was unable to capitalize on the international surge of youth radicalism At the onset of protests against the U S war in Vietnam the VPK launched the Swedish Vietnam Committee The Committee demanded Peace in Vietnam and appealed for all party unity on the issue The committee was rapidly out manoeuvered by the United FNL Groups DFFG an organization led by the KFML that was actively supporting the armed struggle of the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam Soon the VPK left the Swedish Vietnam Committee and many members became active in the DFFG 1970s edit In 1970 the youth wing was refounded as Kommunistisk Ungdom pronounced kɔmɵˈnɪ sːtɪsk ˈɵ ŋdʊm KU In 1972 the party shifted towards a more leftist position with the adaptation of a new programme The neo Leninist tendency emerged as an important section of the party In 1975 Lars Werner was elected party chairman The runner up candidate was Rolf Hagel of the pro Soviet group Werner was elected with 162 votes at the party congress Hagel got 74 votes In February 1977 the pro Soviet minority left the party and founded the Workers Party Communists APK The founders of the APK took with them the newspaper Norrskensflamman and two MPs Hagel and Alf Lowenborg Between 1 500 and 2 000 VPK members joined rgw APK b 1980s edit In 1980 the VPK was active in the No campaign in the plebiscite on nuclear power 1990s edit In 1990 the VPK changed its name to Vansterpartiet v Left Party and ceased to be a communist party In 1993 Werner resigned Gudrun Schyman was elected party chairman In the 1994 parliamentary elections the party received 6 2 of the vote The prolonged electoral crisis of the party thus ended The party s influence started to grow especially amongst the youth In the same year the party was active in the No campaign in the plebiscite on joining the European Union Having passed through a period of severe crisis the party began to regain public support during the mid 1990s In retrospect the main factor behind this shift was not the party itself but the fact that the Social Democrats had moved considerably towards the right in the preceding years which had alienated much of its traditional voter base At the 1996 party congress the Left Party declared itself to be feminist In 1998 the party obtained its best ever result in a parliamentary election winning 12 of the votes nationwide Following the elections the party entered into an arrangement with the Social Democrats and started to support the government from outside 2000s edit In the 2002 parliamentary elections the voteshare of the party dropped by 3 to a total of 8 3 Simultaneously the Social Democrats regained 3 In 2003 Schyman resigned following tax irregularities Ulla Hoffmann took over as interim leader The 2004 party congress elected Lars Ohly as the new party chairman At the end of the year Schyman left the party becoming a parliamentary independent Lars Ohly initially called himself a communist but later retracted that statement In the same year a two part documentary on the party was broadcast on the SVT show Uppdrag Granskning The documentary focused mainly on the international relations of the party during the post war era Following the broadcast debate surged once again concerning the relations of the party with the ruling parties in the former Socialist Bloc c The Left Democrats Vansterdemokraterna party was formed on March 28 2004 when the local branch of the Left Party in Gnesta voted to leave the mother party Between 2004 and 2006 the party held the two seats in the Gnesta municipal assembly Vansterdemokraterna was later at a meeting in Stockholm on January 29 2006 constituted as a nationwide party with ambitions of contesting the 2006 parliamentary elections In the 2006 election the party gained 12 votes 36 In 2007 the party was reconstituted as an association and was later dissolved In the September 2006 election the Left Party won 317 228 votes 5 8 compared to 8 4 in 2002 and therefore 22 Riksdag seats previously 30 In the 2010 election the party got 5 6 of the vote 334 053 votes and 19 seats On 7 December 2008 the Social Democrats launched a political and electoral alliance known as the Red Greens together with the Left Party and the Green Party 2010s edit The parties contested the 2010 general election on a joint manifesto but lost to the incumbent centre right coalition The Alliance On 26 November 2010 the Red Green alliance was dissolved 37 On 6 January 2012 after Ohly had announced his resignation the Left Party congress elected Jonas Sjostedt as the new party chairman 2020s edit On 31 October 2020 the party elected Nooshi Dadgostar as party leader following the retirement of Sjostedt 38 On 15 June 2021 the party withdrew its support for the coalition government after a disagreement on rent controls 39 Ideology and policies editThis section needs expansion You can help by adding to it February 2019 Labor policy edit See also Lofven II Cabinet Employment Protection Act LAS reform The party opposes further liberalization of the Employment Protection Act and vowed to initiate a vote of no confidence against the Lofven II Cabinet if they were to attempt such a liberalization 40 The party is the only one in the parliament to advocate for a 30 hour work week 41 Feminism edit The Left Party claims that Sweden does not have social equality in regard to gender The party thus advocates the creation of a specific Minister of Social Equality as well as to introduce the teaching of feminist self defence in high schools 42 Feminism as a concept was introduced in the party program in 1997 but it believes that it has always worked to strengthen women s rights Feminist theory has grown into the party since the 1960s when the women s movement gained a theoretical basis beyond Marxism During the 2020 2022 mandate period five of the seven members 71 of the Left Party s executive committee and ten of the 16 other board members 63 are female LGBT policy edit The party supports equality for the LGBT community in matrimonial law inheritance law and family law The party also sees its feminism as linked to its pro LGBT stance 4 Immigration and integration edit The party supports a generous immigration policy granting refugees permanent residency and prioritizing family re unification 43 44 A strong welfare system and the uniting of families is necessary for refugees to be able to integrate in society according to the Left Party 45 Foreign policy edit In regards to the Israeli Palestinian conflict the party supports a two state solution based on the 1967 border The party calls for the freezing of EU trade agreements with Israel ending Swedish military co operation and arms trade with Israel and a general consumer boycott of Israeli goods to put pressure on Israel 46 47 In February 2019 the party dropped a long held policy that Sweden should leave the European Union 48 However by 2022 the party s platform was amended to support leaving the EU once again and called for the European Parliament to be either abolished or fundamentally changed 49 The Left Party opposes joining NATO stating that they support neutrality and freedom of alliance and calls for a left wing alliance in Europe to ensure the dissolution of NATO 50 Republicanism edit The Left Party advocates for the abolition of the Swedish monarchy instead favoring republicanism 20 Splits edit During its history there have been several splits of various significance 1919 A group opposed to joining the Comintern left the party 1921 A group refusing to go along with the name change to SKP was expelled They formed their own party called SSV 1924 Zeth Hoglund split and formed his own SKP 1929 Leader Karl Kilbom and the majority of the party were expelled by the Comintern Kilbom formed a parallel SKP 1956 Set Persson formed the Communist Labour League of Sweden 1967 Pro China elements formed the KFML 1977 Pro Moscow wing broke away formed Workers Party Communists 2004 Party chair Gudrun Schyman split from the party and formed the Feminist Initiative Electoral results editParliament Riksdag edit Percentage of votes by year nbsp 1973 nbsp 1976 nbsp 1979 nbsp 1982 nbsp 1985 nbsp 1988 nbsp 1991 nbsp 1994 nbsp 1998 nbsp 2002 nbsp 2006 nbsp 2010 Election Votes Seats Government1917 59 243 8 0 4 11 230 nbsp 11 Opposition1920 42 056 6 4 5 7 230 nbsp 4 Opposition1921 80 355 4 6 5 7 230 nbsp 0 Opposition1924 63 301 3 6 6 4 230 nbsp 3 Opposition1928 151 567 6 4 5 8 230 nbsp 4 Opposition1932 74 245 3 0 6 2 230 nbsp 6 External support1936 96 519 3 3 6 5 230 nbsp 3 External support1940 101 424 3 5 5 3 230 nbsp 2 External support1944 318 466 10 3 5 15 230 nbsp 12 External support1948 244 826 6 3 5 8 230 nbsp 7 External support1952 164 194 4 3 5 6 230 nbsp 3 External support1956 194 016 5 0 5 6 231 nbsp 1 Opposition1958 129 319 3 4 5 5 231 nbsp 1 External support1960 190 560 4 5 5 5 232 nbsp 0 External support1964 221 746 5 2 5 8 233 nbsp 3 External support1968 145 172 3 0 5 3 233 nbsp 5 External support1970 236 659 4 8 5 17 350 nbsp 14 External support1973 274 929 5 3 5 19 350 nbsp 2 External support1976 258 432 4 8 5 17 349 nbsp 2 Opposition1979 305 420 5 6 5 20 349 nbsp 3 Opposition1982 308 899 5 6 5 20 349 nbsp 0 External support1985 298 419 5 4 5 19 349 nbsp 1 External support1988 314 031 5 8 5 21 349 nbsp 2 External support1991 246 905 4 5 7 16 349 nbsp 5 Opposition1994 342 988 6 2 5 22 349 nbsp 6 External support1998 631 011 12 0 3 43 349 nbsp 21 External support2002 444 854 8 4 5 30 349 nbsp 13 External support2006 324 722 5 9 6 22 349 nbsp 8 Opposition2010 334 053 5 6 7 19 349 nbsp 3 Opposition2014 356 331 5 7 6 21 349 nbsp 2 External support2018 518 454 8 0 5 28 349 nbsp 7 Oppositionwith other arrangements2022 437 050 6 8 4 24 349 nbsp 4 OppositionEuropean Parliament edit Election Votes Seats 1995 346 764 12 9 4 3 221999 400 073 15 8 3 3 22 nbsp 02004 321 344 12 8 4 2 19 nbsp 12009 179 222 5 7 6 1 18 nbsp 12014 234 272 6 3 7 1 20 nbsp 02019 282 300 6 8 7 1 20 nbsp 0Party leaders editCarl Winberg 1917 Zeth Hoglund 1917 Ernst Astrom 1918 Karl Kilbom 1918 Zeth Hoglund 1919 1924 Karl Kilbom 1921 1923 Nils Flyg 1924 1929 Sven Linderot 1929 1951 Hilding Hagberg 1951 1964 C H Hermansson 1964 1975 Lars Werner 1975 1993 Gudrun Schyman 1993 2003 Ulla Hoffmann acting 2003 2004 Lars Ohly 2004 2012 Jonas Sjostedt 2012 2020 Nooshi Dadgostar 2020 Publications editBlekinge Folkblad 1943 1957 Bohustidningen 1946 1948 Boras Folkblad 1943 1957 Dalarnes Folkblad 1917 1925 Dalarnes Folkblad 1940 1956 Folkviljan 1942 1957 Folkviljan 1980 1989 Gastriklands Folkblad 1921 1922 Halsingekuriren 1919 1923 Kalmar Lans Kuriren 1923 1942 Norra Smaland 1918 1923 Norrlandskuriren 1922 Norrskensflamman 1906 1977 Piteabygden 1920 Roda Roster 1919 1930 Skanes Folkblad 1918 1922 Smalandsfolket 1940 Orebro Lans Arbetartidning 1940 1956 Orebro Lans Folkblad 1919 1920 Ovre Dalarnes Tidning 1917 1920 See also editArbetarnas Bildningsforbund C N Carleson Democratic Farmers League of Sweden Farm Workers Union of Smaland List of political parties in Sweden Marxist Working Group Ostergotlands Arbetartidning Referendums in Sweden Ung Vanster Vanstern i Svenska kyrkanNotes edit The executive editor of Ny Dag Gustav Johansson also a long term Communist MP concluded after a trip to the occupied Baltics states in 1940 I have seen three countries that in the past used to belong to the worst reactionary terror countries of Europe transformed into free Soviet republics through a peaceful revolution Both quotes found in Kung A Archived 2006 05 04 at the Wayback Machine Intelligence reports reveals that the pro Soviet minority had direct consultations with the embassies of the Soviet Union and East Germany prior to the split However it appears that both the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the Socialist Unity Party of Germany had urged the group to preserve the unity of VPK SOU 2002 93 Archived 2006 09 28 at the Wayback Machine p 247 251 The documentary was made by Janne Josefsson The background material of the documentary consisted mainly of VPK publications The new information presented in the documentary consisted partly of anecdotes of Werner s informal relations to the GDR embassy and an individual party member s meetings with the GDR embassy and the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia during the 1970s Nevertheless the documentary had a significant impact on the public debate References edit 5000 nya medlemmar till Vansterpartiet under 2021 5 000 new members to the Left Party in 2021 Vansterpartiet in Swedish 11 January 2022 Retrieved 11 January 2022 Claire Annesley ed 2013 Political and Economic Dictionary of Western Europe Routledge p 225 ISBN 978 1 135 35547 0 Palme Simon 2019 Den har gangen ar vi ganska overens PDF in Swedish Uppsala University Retrieved 5 October 2022 via DiVA a b Vart partiprogram www vansterpartiet se in Swedish Retrieved 23 January 2023 Lundgren Lisa 2 February 2022 POSITION MOVEMENT IN THE EU QUESTION An analysis of how MP V and SD express themselves about the EU in connection with the removal of the requirement for EU withdrawal via Gothenburg University a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help a b Allern Elin Haugsgjerd Bale Tim 2017 Left of centre Parties and Trade Unions in the Twenty first Century Oxford University Press p 208 ISBN 978 0 19 879047 1 2014 Val till landstingsfullmaktige Valda Valmyndigheten in Swedish 28 September 2014 Archived from the original on 6 October 2014 Retrieved 5 October 2022 2014 Val till kommunfullmaktige Valda Valmyndigheten in Swedish 28 September 2014 Archived from the original on 6 October 2014 Retrieved 5 October 2022 a b Annesley Claire ed 2013 Political and Economic Dictionary of Western Europe Routledge p 225 ISBN 978 1 135 35547 0 Swedish Left Party Surges in Polls with Focus on Climate Action amp Fighting Privatization Democracy Now 3 July 2014 Retrieved 30 March 2017 a b Nordsieck Wolfram 2022 Sweden Parties and Elections in Europe Retrieved 5 October 2022 Vansterpartiets Partiprogram P 33 Sweden www csis org Retrieved 30 December 2022 Nato vansterpartiet 15 August 2022 EU vansterpartiet 12 August 2022 Szczerbiak Aleks Taggart Paul 2008 Opposing Europe The Comparative Party Politics of Euroscepticism Volume 1 Case Studies and Country Surveys Oxford University Press p 184 ISBN 978 0 19 925830 7 Strong support for the EU in Sweden ahead of European elections Atlantic Council 16 May 2019 Retrieved 21 November 2020 Utrikesutskottet betankande 1980 81 UU12 Riksdagen in Swedish 1980 Retrieved 5 October 2022 Elvander Jonas 6 April 2017 Planeten kommer inte overleva kapitalismen Flamman in Swedish Retrieved 5 October 2022 a b Monarkin Vansterpartiet in Swedish 2012 Archived from the original on 7 October 2012 Retrieved 5 October 2022 Jan Wiklund Karin Wakeham Martin Turesson 2017 Samhallskunskap 7 9 Utki in Swedish Logistikteamet Capensis ISBN 978 9 185 88780 4 Retrieved 5 October 2022 via Studentapan See also Fribourg Christina Holmlin Nilsson Anna Isaksson Henrik Linder Monika 2020 Utkik 7 9 Samhallskunskap grundbok 2 a uppl in Swedish Gleerups Retrieved 5 October 2022 Suszycki Andrzej Marcin 2021 Nationalism in Contemporary Europe Concept Boundaries and Forms LIT Verlag Munster p 226 ISBN 978 3 643 91102 5 Elgan Elisabeth Scobbie Irene 2015 Historical Dictionary of Sweden Rowman amp Littlefield p 162 ISBN 978 1 4422 5071 0 Jaworski Pawel 21 July 2015 The Great War and Its Consequences from a Swedish Perspective enrs eu in German European Network Remembrance and Solidarity Archived from the original on 10 September 2018 Retrieved 10 September 2018 Sweden s Potato Revolution The effects of the February 1917 revolution in Russia were first felt in neutral Sweden Europe Solidaire Sans Frontieres www europe solidaire org Retrieved 23 February 2023 Partiernas historia Vansterpartiet Popularhistoria se in Swedish 28 September 2010 Retrieved 17 December 2020 Griumlund Otto Biographical dictionary of the Comintern Stanford The Hoover Institution Press 1973 p 155 When the Left Social Democratic Party changed its name to Communist Party of Sweden at its fourth congress in 1921 he remained in its ranks Sellstrom Tor 1999 Sweden and national liberation in Southern Africa Vol 1 Formation of a popular opinion 1950 1970 Uppsala Nordiska Afrikainstiutet pp 64 fn 1 ISBN 9789171064301 520 Swedes joined the International Brigades in Spain and 164 almost a third died there Arbetar Tidningen nr 36 8 14 September 1939 cited in 14 e nordiska konferensen for medie och kommunikationsforskning Archived 2006 12 09 at the Wayback Machine Kungalv 14 17 augusti 1999 Ny Dag April 1940 cited in Vansterpartiets fastigheter betalades av Sovjet och DDR Vasterbottensinitiativet Archived from the original on 28 September 2007 Karl Molin Hemmakriget Om den svenska krigsmaktens atgarder mot kommunister under andra varldskriget 1982 ISBN 91 550 2785 7 Fran SSV till vansterpartiet Arbetarmakt in Swedish 1 May 1997 Retrieved 15 August 2023 Linderot Sven Biographical dictionary of the Comintern Stanford The Hoover Institution Press 1973 p 268 Upon his return at the fifteenth party congress in March 1951 he surrendered the party presidency to Hilding Hagberg Bechmann Pedersen Sune 4 May 2018 Eastbound tourism in the Cold War the history of the Swedish communist travel agency Folkturist Journal of Tourism History 10 2 130 145 doi 10 1080 1755182x 2018 1469679 ISSN 1755 182X Val se Slutlig rostrakning 2006 Archived from the original on 16 May 2012 Retrieved 29 March 2010 Stenberg Ewa 26 November 2010 Det borde bara ha varit vi och S Dagens Nyheter in Swedish Retrieved 21 January 2012 Nooshi Dadgostar is elected new V leader Nord News 31 October 2020 Retrieved 31 October 2020 Swedish government dismisses Left Party demands faces possible no confidence vote Reuters 15 June 2021 Horvatovic Iva 1 October 2020 Vad hander nu med las SVT Nyheter in Swedish Retrieved 21 November 2020 Arbetstidsforkortning 3 August 2023 Archived from the original on 6 June 2023 Retrieved 26 October 2023 Ett Sverige for alla inte bara for de rikaste Vansterpartiet Archived from the original on 19 August 2010 Mokhtari Arash 5 November 2019 Riksdagspartierna splittrade i fragan om migration SVT Nyheter in Swedish Retrieved 21 November 2020 Vi ar inte for oppna granser Invandringen ska vara reglerad men generos Krigsflyktingar maste fa skydd Det har Sverige en lang tradition av Andra lander i Europa maste samtidigt ta storre ansvar Twitter in Swedish Retrieved 25 March 2021 Mattsson Pontus 6 October 2020 Det larde sig politikerna efter flyktingkrisen 2015 SVT Nyheter in Swedish Retrieved 21 November 2020 Ett Sverige for alla inte bara for de rikaste Vansterpartiet Archived from the original on 19 August 2010 Ett Sverige for alla inte bara for de rikaste Vansterpartiet Archived from the original on 30 November 2010 Sweden s Left Party drops Swexit policy ahead of EU vote The Local 17 February 2019 Our party program Vansterpartiet in Swedish Retrieved 3 September 2022 Fragor amp svar Vansterpartiet in Swedish Retrieved 18 May 2022 External links editVansterpartiet in Swedish Vart partiprogram in Swedish Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Left Party Sweden amp oldid 1186353818, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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