Radical left break ground
International Viewpoint #261 November 1994
LAST month we briefly reported on an important breakthrough in Denmark for the European radical left, with the election of six parliamentary deputies from the "Enhedslisten" (Red-Green
Alliance) list, and that one of the six, Sören Söndergaard, is a member of the Socialist Workers' Party, the Danish section of the Fourth International. Below, in a
DOCUMENT by the Alliance's
Committee on European
Affairs the reasons for, and the significance of, this electoral success is explained. A THE 21 September general election, "Enhedslisten" — Red-Green Alliance — won six seats (3.1 percent of the national vote). This was the first time that the radical left had entered parliament, the Folketing, since the Left Socialists (VS) lost their seats in 1987. [Our results] are to a large extent due to our opposition to the Maastricht Treaty and the European Union, as the Alliance was the only political force standing in the election on a clear anti-Maastricht ticket. Other small parties with a similar policy, like the Greens, had been prevented from standing, as the authorities have introduced increasingly restrictive rules to make it more difficult for new parties to stand in parliamentary elections. The Alliance probably even attracted circumstances would never have voted for a radical socialist party. But there were other issues which contributed to the result, such as unemployment, since many voters 12
### DENMARK feel that the government and the political establishment is not doing anything near sufficient on this problem. Moreover, the two Maastricht referendums in particular have meant that a section of the population has become disaffected with establishment politics in general.1 There is no doubt that the Alliance attracted a number of the youngest voters, many of whom want change. Another important factor was that over the last few years the Socialist People's Party (SF) has moved increasingly close to the Social Democrats, hoping to be included in a future government or to gain some influence over its policies - a tactical move which has not yet paid off. This move is reflected not only in their switch to a pro-Maastricht stand in the second referendum in 1993, but also in much of their political practice — for example, they no longer have a clear stand on disarmament. In fact, SF has become part of the political establishment. After the second referendum many voters felt betrayed by SF. Consequently, there has been a bigger space to their left, which the Alliance was able to fill. The elections were a big victory for the right-wing liberal party, "Venstre". They took a further thirteen seats, increasing their representation to forty-two, although they have been unable to use their success to form a government. Before the election they had made what proved to be a very stupid alliance with the Conservatives and the extreme-right Progress Party, which contributed to undermining the voters' belief in their ability to form a government with socially responsible policies. The Social Democrats have been able to form a new minority government with the two liberal centre parties, very similar in fact to the old government which was formed in January 1993 after ten years of bourgeois government. However, the new government is considerably weaker, as the Social Democrats have fewer seats than before and the Christian Peoples' Party lost all their seats. The government will be forced to operate with shifting majorities. Our line was to prevent a bourgeois government and we therefore supported the creation of a Social Democratic-led minority government, whilst maintaining a free hand on future parliamentary votes. The new government's policies will probably be very much like those of the previous government, which have been right-wing social democratic policies. However, there is no doubt that the entry of the Red-Green Alliance in the Folketing will present some difficulties for the government with regard to the 1996 inter-governmental conference. It will make it more or less impossible for SF to move closer to the Social Democrats on further European integration, which is surely on the cards for the EU conference. The government will be seeking broad parliamentary support for their negotiations with the other EU member states. If they don't have that they run the risk of losing the next referendum on the new EU treaty, in 1996/97. The Red-Green Alliance was presented during the election campaign as little more than an antiMaastricht party or co-ordination between small left-wing parties. However, since the parliamentary elections in 1990, we have developed politically and organisationally, with detailed policies on a wide range of issues. In parliament, we hope to be able to form closer links with popular movements outside, first and foremost with the two movements which reject the Maastricht Treaty, and put forward their views alongside our own. *
1. See Åge Skovrind, 'The carrot and the stick", International Viewpoint, no. 246, June 1993.
International Viewpoint #261 November 1994
FINN KJELLER from the Socialist Workers' Party (SAP -Danish section of the Fourth International) adds:
T HE SOCIAL Democrats
are determined to stay in power. They show no desire to explore the possibility of cooperation with those to their left. Its coalition with the two small bourgeois parties, both of which have been given important portfolios, means that the government will depend for a majority on the Conservative Party rather than the left.
The political course of the government, led by Nyrup Rasmussen, will include tightening budget constraints further, even though the economic up-turn has failed to reduce unemployment so far. However, the police and military will not suffer from reductions in public spending. Despite widespread reluctance from the Social Democratic rank-and-file, Nyrup and his ministers intend to continue with previous policies, for example, inviting tenders for city bus services and privatisation of the post office. This is an indication of the extent to which the government has commited itself to the European Single Market.
From the first day of the new parliamentary session, the Red-Green Alliance have been the government's sharpest critics. One of the first motions from the Alliance was a demand to veto any EU directive which erodes current environmental or other standards. *
FRENZIDEN?
On the side of the workers' parties DECLARING itself a left opposition in parliament, the Red-Green Alliance placed itself on the side of the workers' parties against the rightwing bloc - on the side of working people against capitalist policies, including those implemented by the Social Democrats. In order to prevent the right-wing from taking office, it gave support to the leader of the largest workers party, Nyrup Rasmussen of the Social Democrats, to initiate and organise the negotiations to form a government. At the same time, the Alliance maintained its independence, refusing to give Nyrup government a "blank cheque". That is why no conditions, and no compromises were attached to this initial support. On every issue the Red-Green deputies will vote according to what serves the interests of workers, the environment, international solidarity, democratic rights and social equality - opposing all set-backs. At this
STEM PA EN MODSTANDER
The future?
It's not with Maastricht...
stage it remains to be seen to what extent the different elements and strategies contained within the Alliance will give rise to different interpretations of specific issues and motions. C
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