New directions for the left
This summer has seen much upheaval in left with this strategy. Many militants would politics in Iceland. The mainstream left parties prefer that the parties go to the elections are moving towards closer co-operation and with their own programmes, but make a greater moderation, and a new group on the statement that they would cooperate in a far left is striving to unite those who oppose government after the elections. this rightward slide. Einar Olafsson reports. In 1997 some members (and one
Member of Parliament) of the Women's
Suprisingly, perhaps, it is younger Party (which do not recognise the term members who have been most active in "left" and "right" in politics) left the party the movement for greater cooperation after it agreed to participate in a left between the left parties in Iceland, the social democratic People's Party There have recently been defections (Althyduflokkurinn), the socialist People's from the People's Party, which approved
Alliance (Althydubandalagid) and the the coalition at a special congress in July. feminist Women's Party (Kvennalistinn). Two Members of Parliament are among
In the 1994 municipal elections, an al- those who have left. liance of these three parties and the Partly in response to this growing cocentre-ground Progressive Party (Framso- operation between the mainstream knarflokkurinn) won the majority in the parties, on an extremely moderate prog-
Reykjavik city council. Apart from a four- rame, a group of independent leftists year period in the seventies, the capital came together in May 1998 to form Stefna has been dominated for many decades (Direction). The group includes activists by the right-wing Independence Party and leaders of the organisations of (Sjalfstaedisflokkurinn), Iceland's biggest municipal and state workers, teachers political party. and students and former members of
Until 1995, the Independence Party Trotskyist and Maoist groups. The organiand Social Democrats ran a coalition sation's aim is to resist the neoliberal government. After elections that year, the policy of the government and the neolibeIndependence Party switched partners ralism that is more and more dominating forming a new government with the Prog the whole society including the left. Stefna ressive party. hopes to become a broad organisation
In the municipal elections in May 1998 for left-wing people. The group is opthe left coalition held the majority in posed to the privatisation and the marke-
Reykjavik and in many other places there tising of the social services and will fight were left or left-centre coalitions, but their for the protection of the environment and success was very variable. for human rights, justice, equality and
The idea of this movement is a coalition in the parliamentary elections in 1999 Although it is not directly said in the with the eventual aim of unification. programme of Stefna, the group does not
Not everybody in the left parties agrees support the coalition policy of the left improve the condition of the working people. The government governs against the labouring classes and most people now know it. That is why, in Greece, working people are increasingly taking to the streets in protest, and why they increa singly face the police when they do so. * *The author works at INE, the Research Institute of
Greece's general trade union federation GSEE.
Profitability and Unemployment in Greece
RETURN ON CAPITAL
IN THE BUSINESS SECTON 27% 12%
Unemployment is rising < 8% 6% ...despite increasing 4%
21% promitability
19% 0%
1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 Sources: OECD, National Statistics Service of Greece
The social democratic People's Party has always been dominated by right-wing currents. In fact, in 1938 and 1956 the left wing has left the party for coalition with the communists and socialists. The second split led to the formation of the People's Alliance. Although it is more radical than the social democrats, the People's Alliance is firmly pro-NATO, and argues that Iceland should join the Euro-
In 1991 the People's Alliance even joined a government coalition with the right-wing Independence Party, and was active in the introduction of neoliberal
There is a growing social democratic tendency within the People's Alliance. The party has been two-faced for a long time, and the left face is more and more
In such a context, the new coalition of left parties and the Women's party is expected to follow the same road as Britain's Labour Party and many other social democratic parties, and move in the direction of economic liberalism.
Members of the new Stefna group hope that the current turmoil will eventually clear the lines of political difference on the Icelandic left. Now that the far-left is regrouped outside the coalition, it should find it easier to fight neoliberalism and criticise the social democratic coalition. Stefna hopes it will also promote honest cooperation between everyone fighting neoliberalism and fighting for the interests of the working people, the unemployed and other victims of the growing inequality of Icelandic society. * Contact: Stefna, P.O.Box 429 IS-121 Reykjavik, Iceland. E-mail: <stefna@centrum.is> Web: http://artemis.centrum.is/~stefna/