Northern Exposure
Duroyan Fertl interviews Line BarfodOn September 9, the 2023 budget for the City of Copenhagen was agreed in historic circumstances. For the first time in a century, Denmark’s Social Democratic Party – which has long treated Copenhagen as its crown jewel – was outside the deal. Instead, radical left party Enhedslisten (the “Red-Green Alliance”) took the lead in budget negotiations, delivering robust funding for social welfare and the climate, with support from parties of the centre, right and even far-right.
In ...
read more "Historic Copenhagen budget leaves Social Democrats out in the cold"
read more "Historic Copenhagen budget leaves Social Democrats out in the cold"
With almost all votes counted from Sunday’s election, it looks like Sweden’s right-wing parties are set to take power with a razor-thin majority, ending eight years of social democratic government. For the first time, this conservative coalition also includes the far-right Sweden Democrats, who have emerged as the country’s second largest party, despite their roots in Sweden’s neo-Nazi movement. The result is an evident decline for the progressive spectrum of Swedish politics as a whole and the Left party in ...
read more "Sweden: right-wing coalition wins election by the narrowest of margins"
read more "Sweden: right-wing coalition wins election by the narrowest of margins"
Duroyan Fertl interviews Aaja Chemnitz Larsen, Member of the Danish Parliament for Inuit AtaqatigiitIn Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland), the radical left party, Inuit Ataqatigiit (‘Community of the People’) won a landslide election last year, taking 37 percent of the vote and 12 of the 31 seats in the Inatsisartut (Greenlandic parliament). The past year has proved difficult, however, leading to a change in coalition partners. Meanwhile the country faces multiple challenges, balancing economic development and social justice with...
read more "“We need to collaborate with Denmark, but in a more equal way”"
read more "“We need to collaborate with Denmark, but in a more equal way”"
Duroyan Fertl interviewed Tobias Lund, MP for Norwegian left party Rødt (“Red”)The impact of the war in Ukraine in the Nordic countries has been largely viewed with reference to Finland and Sweden and their possible accession to NATO. But what have been the reactions of other Nordic countries to Russia's war of aggression, what are their most important demands, and what role are left parties playing in this response? Tobias Drevland Lund, an MP from the Norwegian left party Rødt, outlines the experience in Norway, and the prospects...
read more "“The government has been relying too much on the EU”"
read more "“The government has been relying too much on the EU”"
Duroyan Fertl interviews Christine Lundgaard about the war in UkraineRussia's invasion of Ukraine is an unacceptable violation of international law, posing serious questions about how best to respond. In a climate of increasing tension and militarisation, is it possible to oppose Putin’s aggression while maintaining a perspective of peace and disarmament? The Danish government is also using the crisis in Ukraine to further deepen military with the US and to remove the country’s ...
read more "“The Danish government has used fear of Russia’s brutal war to rush through major policy changes”"
read more "“The Danish government has used fear of Russia’s brutal war to rush through major policy changes”"
Duroyan Fertl interviewed Pinja Vuorinen about the war in UkraineRussia's war of aggression against Ukraine grossly violates international law and thus leads to new discussions on how to deal with Russia. As a result, Finland and Sweden are closer than ever to join NATO. If Finland were to join NATO, the Western military alliance's land border with Russia would double. The most significant consequence in Finland regarding the Russia-Ukraine war has been the question of NATO membership, says Pinja ...
read more "“The most significant consequence in Finland has been the question of NATO membership”"
read more "“The most significant consequence in Finland has been the question of NATO membership”"
The importance of activism and grassroots engagement in influencing Icelandic parliamentary election 2021Climate change has become a central concern across the globe, for policy makers as well as the private sector and individuals. The broad scientific consensus represented in the status reports of the IPCC not only underline the gravity of the climate crisis and catastrophic consequences of not lowering carbon emissions, but also provide policymakers with a scientific assessment to frame the action needed to stay within a 1,5-2-degree trajectory. Yet, there is a major ...
read more "Framing climate politics"
read more "Framing climate politics"
Welfare State Retrenchment, the Effects on Women, and Feminist Responses in SwedenAbout the book
From an international perspective, the Nordic model can easily be seen as an ideal welfare state. Additionally, more than any other welfare state model, the Nordic model is not just a label applied by welfare state analysts; it has also been used with pride by Nordic governments and citizens (Lister 2009). The striving for equality and the high degree of universalism have been regarded as proof of the superiority of the Nordic model (Anttonen 2002). The concept of universalism is ...
read more "A Caring State?"
read more "A Caring State?"
“I’m sure that our actions will not be popular in 20 years’ time when retirees realise what we have done.”
Göran Persson, leader of the Social Democrats and Prime Minister of Sweden was speaking with his characteristic candour during a visit to Australia in 2005.
It was only six years after the launch of the new national Swedish pension system. And the leader of the biggest party behind the reform was already certain that the outcome would be widespread misery for all ...
read more "How Sweden gave up the world’s most generous pension scheme to become a nation of unwilling fund brokers"
read more "How Sweden gave up the world’s most generous pension scheme to become a nation of unwilling fund brokers"
The European Union is currently negotiating several pieces of legislation to regulate the digital economy, to improve the EU’s digital sovereignty and make it “fit for the digital decade”. This new digital strategy brings the EU directly into conflict with the so-called “tech giants” – companies like Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Facebook, and Microsoft that don’t pay their share of taxes, stifle competition, steal media content and undermine democracy.
The struggle against the dominance of the tech giants is not a new one – the EU's ...
read more "How will the EU regulate the tech giants?"
read more "How will the EU regulate the tech giants?"