SWEDEN is often presented, above all by social democrats, as a country that has successfully charted a "third way" between capitalism and bureaucratic "socialism". This image took a
SWEDEN file trade union movement for higher wages and against austerity called the "Dala rebellion" as well as discontented social democrats launched a call for a new workers' party. They call themselves the Workers' List and will organize a conference at knock on February 8, when the social democratic government of Invar Carisson announced proposals for a two-year price freeze, and a strike ban, in an attempt to control inflation and
"restore competitiveness". The ensuing political storm has now led to the resignation of the government.
These developments are taking place against a background of a powerful strike movement and deepening discontent with the ex-government's overall policies, as the following article, written before the government's fall, explains.
MARIA SUNDVALL
N
ATIONAL strikes involving
100,000 public workers have been announced; a national strike of bank workers, and a concluded national teachers' recently strike; a wave of spontaneous workers' protests for higher wages and against government policies; falling figures in opinion polls for
Social the governing
Democrats; the announcement of a new workers' party; increased crisis for the old
"new left"
- the political situation in
Sweden, traditionally so stable, has been changing rapidly over the last few months.
During January and the first days of
February there have been a series of wildcat strikes among public sector workers, starting with 600 hospital workers in the psychiatric ward of Malmö East hospital on January 17. Other workers in psychiatric wards throughout the country followed suit, as well as bus drivers, firemen and others.
Storms brewing among public sector workers
The workers demanded higher wages, putting pressure on the government and their on own negotiators presently involved in national negotiations on wage contracts. As a result of this pressure, the national federations in the public sector have given notice of strikes, involving local transport (including Stockholm underground), municipal childcare and hospital administration. Unless agreements are reached, these strikes will begin on February 14.
In background of these spontaneous strikes was also anger against the tax reform decided last year — a tax reform which will mean big reductions in taxes for high income groups and small reductions for low wage earners. Those small reductions will, however, be wiped out by the simultaneous increases in direct taxes, such as VAT, increased rents and so on. To this should be added the government budget presented at the beginning of January, which advocates a wage freeze which will affect public workers most of all, since they are at the start of two year contracts. The government has at the same time threatened to break earlier Social Democratic promises like granting child care to all children by 1991 and the introduction of a sixth week of vacations, if the wage earners are not "responsible" in their demands. Also, lately the government has taken further steps to the right on issues like the question of nuclear power and the reception of refugees in Sweden.
Social Democrats at twenty year low
These factors explain the present widespread discontent and anger with the right-wing policies of the Social Democratic Party since its return to power in 1982. This right-wing development has successively eroded the workers' base of the Social Democrats. In the latest opinion polls, the Social Democrats are down to their lowest level in more than twenty years, being supported by only 34% who supported a party and only 28% of all the people interviewed — a record 17% did not express support for any party! In the last general elections in 1988, the Social Democrats got almost 44%.
On January 21, 1989, 20-30 trade union activists, most of them from the rank-andthe end of Spring to form the party. They center their call on three themes: against austerity and in defence of social services; defence of the environment, and against racism. The response in the workplaces has already been positive, in some places even enthusiastic.
The Socialist Party, Swedish section of the Fourth International, has welcomed the formation of the Workers' List, seeing it as a genuine and necessary break from social democracy. The SP is discussing how it will be able to contribute to the strengthening of this new alternative.
At the same time the organized left with Stalinist traditions is being shaken by the effects of events in Eastern Europe. The small pro-Moscow party, APK, has turned its daily - Northern Lights — into a weekly and lost its youth organization, which recently decided to cut links with the party. The remnants of the Maoist current, the Solidarity Party, decided in November not to dissolve, but has in practise done so, since at the same time it shut down its paper.
Strange position of Eurocommunist party
More importantly, the VPK, the Eurocommunist party, which got 5.9% of the vote in the last elections, is in a strange situation: increased support in opinion polls and at the same time a total crisis, with loss of members, internal debates over contacts with the CPS in Eastern Europe, and criticism of the party's repeated compromises with the government on austerity measures.
The VPK leadership has responded to this situation by making a public proposal for a broader left party, talking about possible electoral alliances for the general elections of 1991 and inviting nonmembers to write contributions and present motions to the coming party conference in May.
The idea of a broader party could cover perspectives wholly different to those of the VPK, ranging from those want to make alliances with bourgeois forces and have a parliamentary center of gravity, to those who realize the need to become more involved in mass campaigns and seek unity on the left. As a result of the VPK initiative a first meeting has recently been held between the leaderships of the VPK and SP to discuss the possibility of strengthened united work *on concrete 19 issues in the class struggle. *