Nordic Countries
IMAGO/Seeliger
Note: This article uses Icelandic naming conventions. Most persons referenced do not have family names and are therefore primarily referred to by their given name.
On Saturday 30 November, Icelanders went to the polls to elect a new Althing (parliament). The second election to be held this year—following June’s presidential election—the vote came ten months earlier than expected: on Sunday 13 October, after months of significant tensions within the governing coalition, Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson ...
read more "Scratching the Seven-Year Itch: Iceland votes to change government"
read more "Scratching the Seven-Year Itch: Iceland votes to change government"
Kristin Svorte, Dagbladet
“Pay up, or humanity will pay the price”. With the arrival of Donald Trump in the White House in January, that key message from UN General Secretary António Guterres was seen as even more urgent at this year’s Climate Summit, which ended in dismay at wealthy nations’ inability to commit sufficient funds to repay their climate debt. Oil-rich Norway, however, showed once again that it will gladly pay more than most countries to keep up appearances as a ‘climate leader.’ But will it ever bring a true gift to humanity, one that does ...
read more "Bad Santa? How Norway can provide real climate jobs"
read more "Bad Santa? How Norway can provide real climate jobs"
John Nielsen
Despite being one of the first countries to sign the UN Refugee Convention, Denmark has also been a frequent first-mover on harsh immigration policies in Europe. An increasing number of political parties – not all of them right-wing or nationalist – across Europe point to the “Danish model” as an example of successful migration and asylum policy. Even Sweden – once seen as a more humane counterpoint – is now copying Danish policies in detail. In reality, the “Danish model” would not work if copied by other ...
read more "Why Europe should avoid modelling its migration policy on Denmark"
read more "Why Europe should avoid modelling its migration policy on Denmark"
IMAGO/TT
After winning over 11 percent of the vote, and two mandates, in June’s European Parliament elections, the Swedish Left Party Vänsterpartiet is celebrating its best election results in twenty years. The historic result brought the party a step closer to fulfilling large parts of its main strategy, something it has been working towards for more than a decade. How this outcome is to be interpreted – whether as a direct result of this strategy, or a widening of it – is now up for debate.
The European election also took place mere...
read more "Sweden’s Left Party celebrates its biggest win in 20 year"
read more "Sweden’s Left Party celebrates its biggest win in 20 year"
IMAGO/Kristian Tuxen Ladegaard Berg
Record results for (Centre-)Left parties in the Nordic countries, with far-right parties losing ground. Denmark, Finland and Sweden surprised during the European elections with results that seemed to contradict the political drift in much of the rest of Europe. While this is a ‘ray of hope’ to many on the progressive spectrum, do these results really signify the development of a countertrend? And what might be the implications in the mid-term? The Rosa-Luxemburg’s Foundation’s Ada Regelmann gives a sober...
read more "More than just an electoral upwind? Nordic left-wing parties after the EU elections"
read more "More than just an electoral upwind? Nordic left-wing parties after the EU elections"
IMAGO / Ritzau Scanpix
The MeToo movement got off to a slow start in Denmark, with the initial conversation focusing as much on the movement’s legitimacy as on understanding and tackling the problem. Only when the public’s TV darling Sofie Linde shared her own experiences, and a substantial number of media professionals and young politicians teamed up, did the movement gain strength.
A handful of prominent cases has since led to contract terminations for male individuals and to in-depth scrutiny internally in numerous companies and work branches, to ...
read more "#OneOfUs – MeToo and the myth of gender-equal Denmark"
read more "#OneOfUs – MeToo and the myth of gender-equal Denmark"
For many, Scandinavia is synonymous with social democracy, high union density, public ownership, and progressive governments inclined to climate action and sustainable policies. A recent study tour to Norway and Denmark, hosted by Rosa Luxemburg Foundation’s New York and Brussels offices, found that both countries still struggle with entrenched interests – local and international – holding back a genuine “just transition”.
The five-day study tour in October brought ten experts – legislators, researchers, and activists – ...
read more "Northern Lights? Nordic lessons for the just transition"
read more "Northern Lights? Nordic lessons for the just transition"
For the first time in a century, Norway’s Labour Party failed to top the country’s local and regional elections, pipped to the post by the centre-right conservatives. Ingrid Wergeland looks at the election, and the political trends behind the result.
A dark blue wind
A dark blue wind has blown across Norway in the municipal elections held on September 11. Høyre (the Conservative Party, 25.9 percent, +5.8) and the right-populist Fremskrittspartiet (Progress Party, 11.3 percent, +3.1) have gained power in a majority of cities....
read more "In Norway local elections herald a shift to the right"
read more "In Norway local elections herald a shift to the right"
Event ReportOn 8-9 June 2023 the Brussels Office of the Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung (RLS) hosted a workshop in Malmö to facilitate the exchange of experiences and strategies between several left-wing parties grappling with the issue of security policy, particularly in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The event was held face-to-face and invitation-only to guarantee an atmosphere of trust and confidentiality to participants.
The workshop brought together 20 party activists and decision-makers from the political left in Sweden, ...
read more "“Security and the Left” – Impact Workshop"
read more "“Security and the Left” – Impact Workshop"
The Finnish parliamentary elections were held on April 2, but it has taken almost three months for a new government to be formed. After only two weeks in power, Finland’s new right-wing coalition faces neo-Nazi scandals and a mounting opposition to its austerian agenda that make it seem increasingly unlikely to last the full four-year election cycle. In the meantime, however, it is already doing plenty of damage.
April’s national election saw big gains for Finland’s right-wing opposition. The governing parties all lost ground – with the exception of the...
read more "Finland’s Cabinet of Horrors"
read more "Finland’s Cabinet of Horrors"