Aftonbladet: "Don't be yellow on Europe"

On february 27:th Sweden's major evening paper Aftonbladet published an editorial by moderately well-known europhile Helle Klein on the ratification of the Constitution. The paper is pro-Constitution, but the title says it all: "Don't be yellow on Europe" (Sluta fega om Europa).

While reading this, remember that Aftonbladet is a major Swedish media, and that it's the only national newspaper in support of the Government.

"Aftonbladet is a warm defender of the EU as a political project, but also a stern critic of the Unions stance in certain issues. As friends of Europe we realize that the future of the EU is dependent on the support of its citizens. Here we have great problems. This has been shown in one EU-election after another. The gap between the EU-positive elite and the sceptic people only seems to widen.

Head in the sand.
It won't do for Swedish politicians to put their heads in the sand..."

"The EU-positive parties have decided that the Swedish people won't be allowed to vote on the new Constitution. Aftonbladet is sceptical towards the instrument of referendum, and would rather see that the established parties took responsibility also for the difficult party splitting questions. The EU-question, however have time and again been taken from the Riksdag and put to referenda. That the people were allowed to vote about EU-membership and EMU, but not about the Constitution is hard to understand.
But isn't the people tired of referenda? Well, maybe. The low turn-out in Spain might be a sign of that. But to claim, as Göran Persson and Marita Ulvskog does, that the Constitution is not so important, and that therefore our citizens doesn't need any special opportunity to support or discuss it is intellectually dishonest. This is about a new Constitution for the Union.

The cowardice is devastating
If there is no referendum, the question of the Constitution should be put to the electorate in the framwork of a national election. According to Swedish parliamentary tradition, constitutional matters shall be decided twice by two different parliaments with an intvervening general election. Let the European issue have a natural place in a Swedish election. Continued political cowardice will be devastating for democracy and the European project.

Helle Klein"

My translating skills may be in need of improvement, but I think you get the gist of it.

New party poll - an example

There are many party political polls and I have no intention of publishing more than necessary. But sooner or later I have to publish the first one, so I might as well get it over with.

This TEMO-poll was published in Dagens Nyheter 27/2 2005. It was performed 9-23/2, and 2190 people where asked which party they would vote for if there had been an election today.

The Government and its support:
Social Democrats: 34,4%
Left Party: 7,6%
Green Party: 6,8% (Four year high.)
Total: 48,8%

The opposition:
Moderates: 27,5%
Christian Democrats: 3,6% (Slightly below the 4%-threshold)
Liberals: 11,1%
Center Party: 6,3%
Total: 48,5%

Other parties: 2,7%

Looks like were in for a thriller election next year.

Swedish parties and the EU

Sweden is a parliamentary democracy, with a general election every fourth year. Parties that fail to gain at least 4% of the vote will not get any seats in the Riksdag. The 349 seats are distributed among the parties that manages the threshold by a system of proportional representation.

This means that Sweden has a lot of parties...

The Social Democrats: Socialdemokraterna (s)
This party considers itself the natural party of government, and has only been out of power for nine years since 1932. Its current leader is Prime Minister Göran Persson. The party is pro-EU, pro-Euro, pro-Constiution, and naturally against a referendum.
However, the party has a sizeable eurosceptic minority, predominately on the left wing of the party. The new Party Secretary Marita Ulvskog is a well-known eurosceptic.

The Moderates: Moderata Samlingspartiet (m)
This is Swedens largest opposition party. They are members of the EPP, and the most right-wing party in the Swedish Riksdag. They used to be a conservative party, but in recent years they have transformed and moved in the direction of liberalism. Their new leader Fredrik Reinfeldt is the unofficial leader of the opposition.
The Moderates are europhile, but considerably less enthusiastic than they once were. The Moderate Youth League is split roughly equal between europhiles and sceptics. The sceptics tend to be influenced by liberatarianism.

The Christian Democrats: Kristdemokraterna (kd)
This center-right party is very split on the issue of the EU. It has been faring very badly in the polls and could very well fall below 4% in the 2006 elections. Their leader is called Göran Hägglund.
The party establishment is europhile, but a lot of the grassroots and supporters are sceptics. The party is a member of the EPP.

The Liberals: Folkpartiet liberalerna (fp)
This is Swedens only euro-federalist party. Led by Lars Lejionborg, aka "The Lion King" they have gone from a centrist to a center-right party. They sit in the ELDR-group in the EU-parliament.

The Center party: Centerpartiet (c)
This small party used to be the party of farmers and the country people. It still is to some extent, although the leadership could now be described as social-liberal. Its leader Maud Olofsson has arrested the party´s 25 year decline and given it a new hope for life. The party is confused, and confusing, when it comes to matters European: Pro-EU, strongly anti-EMU, pro-Constitution, in favour of federalism (which the party believs is the same thing as decentralisation), and currently against a referendum.
There is a sizeable eurosceptic minority within the party, led by Dr. Hans Lindqvist of TEAM-fame.
The Center party is a member of the ELDR.

The Green Party: Miljöpartiet de Gröna (mp)
The Green Party is not in the government, but neither is it part of the opposition. It is a member of a three-party agreement with the Left Party and the Socialdemocrats. The three parties have agreed to negotiate and co-operate on most issues during this 4-year term, but the smaller parties reluctantly had to accept that the Socialdemocrats will be the sole government party.
The Greens are currently led by Peter Eriksson and Maria Wetterstrand.
The party is in favour of withdrawal from the EU, against the Constitution and is campaigning for a referendum. The members and the Green Youth are even more eurosceptic than the leadership, but there is also a small but vocal pro-EU minority.

The Left Party: Vänsterpartiet (v)
This reformed post-communist party now has a leader by the name of Lars Ohly who insists on calling himself a communist. This and a number of other reasons is causing a major split in the party. The party is anti-EU, and its policies on European issues are much the same as the Green party's.
The party is a member of the GUE-NGL in the EU-parliament.

The June-list: Junilistan (jl)
This new eurosceptic party was formed right before the EP-elections in 2004 and got 14% of the vote. Their leader is the prominent economist Nils Lundgren. Their activists come from different parts of the political spectrum. Of their three MEPs Nils Lundgren is a social democrat from the right-wing of the party, Helene Goudin is a social democrat from the left of the party, and Lars Wohlin once used to be a political secretary to the Moderate leader before being made president of the Swedish Central Bank.
The June-list is not against the EU as such, but they are strongly opposed to EMU and the Constitution. They are not in favour of Swedish withdrawal. The party does not have a unified policy on other matters than the EU, and they have not yet decided wether to contest the national elections of 2006. They will probably do so unless there is a referendum.
The June-list is a member of the IND/DEM group in the EU-parliament.

"The Feminist Party":
The Feminist Party does not exist officially as of yet. But former Left Party leader Gudrun Schyman is very busy starting it. The party would be expected to do well and take a lot of votes, especially from the Left, Socialdemocrats and Greens.
The EU-policy of the Feminist party will probably be eurosceptic, but to what degree remains unclear. It will almost certainly be against the Constitution and in favour of a referendum.

Some of these parties are not likely to survive the next election.

Greens get tough!

On february 20:th prestigious daily Dagens Nyheter published an article by 15 leading members of the Green Party demanding a referendum on the EU-constitution. The undersigned were parliamentarians, members of the NEC and both Speakers of the Green Youth.

The Green Party is in a co-operation agreement with the Socialdemocratic government and the eurosceptic Left Party. The minor parties do not have any ministers but are a necessary part of the government´s majority.

There is a lot of talk, mainly in the Green Party, about the Greens either becoming a full member of the government or leaving the co-operation after the next election. Prime Minister Göran Persson has agreed that he might form a coalition with the Greens, although not with the Left Party.

Left party MEP Jonas Sjöstedt have recently demanded a vote of no confidence should the government attempt to ratify the Constitution without a referendum.

The reason the article by the Greens merit a mention on this Blog is the last line:

We are convinced that if the Riksdag on initiative of the Socialdemocratic government would ratify the EU-constitution before the 2006 elections, it would make a future closer co-operation between the Socialdemocrats and the Green Party next to impossible.

This is not really an ultimatum. But it's as close as it can get.

58% for referendum

According to a poll by SIFO on behalf of swedish television, presented two days before the Spanish referendum, there is now a clear majority for a referendum on the EU-constitution.

58% are in favour of a referendum, 32% would prefer the question to be settled by the swedish parliament, and 11% are undecided. SIFO asked 1000 people.

Considering that the fact that many other countries will have the right to vote on this issue will become better known, the Swedish electorate is likely to become even more in favour of a referendum.