Left Party (Sweden)

Left Party
Vänsterpartiet
AbbreviationV
ChairpersonNooshi Dadgostar
SecretaryAron Etzler [sv]
Parliamentary group leaderSamuel Gonzalez Westling
FoundersZeth Höglund
Carl Winberg
Founded13 May 1917; 107 years ago (13 May 1917)
Split fromSwedish Social Democratic Party
HeadquartersKungsgatan 84, Stockholm
Youth wingYoung Left
Membership (2023)Decrease 26,942[1]
Ideology
Political positionLeft-wing
European affiliationEuropean Left Alliance
for the People and the Planet
Now the People !
European Parliament groupThe Left in the European Parliament – GUE/NGL
Nordic affiliationNordic Green Left Alliance
Colours  Crimson
  Red
  White
Riksdag
24 / 349
European Parliament
2 / 21
County councils[9]
147 / 1,720
Municipal councils[9]
811 / 12,614
Website
vansterpartiet.se

The Left Party (Swedish: Vänsterpartiet [ˈvɛ̂nːstɛrpaˌʈiːɛt] ⓘ, V) is a socialist political party in Sweden.[10][11][12] On economic issues, the party opposes privatizations[13] and advocates for increased public expenditures. In foreign policy, the party is Eurosceptic,[14] being critical of the European Union and opposing Sweden’s entry into the eurozone.[5][15][16] It attempted to get Sweden to join the Non-Aligned Movement in 1980, but did not succeed.[17] The party is eco-socialist,[18] and supports republicanism.[10][12][19] It stands on the left wing of the political spectrum.[20][21][22]

The party has never been part of a government at the national level; however, it has lent parliamentary support to governments led in the Riksdag by the Swedish Social Democratic Party. From 1998 to 2006, the Left Party was in a confidence and supply arrangement with the ruling Social Democrats and the Green Party. Between 2014 and 2018, it supported the minority government of Social Democrats and Greens in the Riksdag, extending this cooperation to many of Sweden's counties and municipalities; and from 2018 to 2021, until the outset of the 2021 Swedish government crisis, it offered passive support to the Löfven II cabinet formed under the January Agreement, though disagreeing with some of the policies mandated by the Agreement.

The party originates from the split of the Social Democrats in 1917, into the Swedish Social Democratic Left Party (Sveriges socialdemokratiska vänsterparti [ˈsvæ̌rjɛs sʊsɪˈɑ̂ːldɛmʊˌkrɑːtɪska ˈvɛ̂nːstɛrpaˌʈiː] ⓘ; abbr. SSV), becoming the Communist Party of Sweden in 1921. In 1967, the party was renamed to Left Party – the Communists (Vänsterpartiet Kommunisterna [ˈvɛ̂nːstɛrpaˌʈiːɛt kɔmɵˈnɪ̌sːtɛɳa] ⓘ; abbr. VPK); it adopted its current name in 1990.[23] The Left Party is a member of the Nordic Green Left Alliance, and its sole MEP sits in The Left in the European Parliament (GUE/NGL) group. In 2018, the party joined ”Now the People !”.

  1. ^ "Medlemsras för Liberalerna – störst tapp bland riksdagspartierna". SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). 13 October 2024. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
  2. ^ Claire Annesley, ed. (2013). Political and Economic Dictionary of Western Europe. Routledge. p. 225. ISBN 978-1-135-35547-0.
  3. ^ Palme, Simon (2019). "'Den här gången är vi ganska överens'" (PDF) (in Swedish). Uppsala University. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 September 2021. Retrieved 5 October 2022 – via DiVA.
  4. ^ "Sweden". www.csis.org. Archived from the original on 30 December 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  5. ^ a b "EU". vansterpartiet. 12 August 2022.
  6. ^ Szczerbiak, Aleks; Taggart, Paul (2008). Opposing Europe?: The Comparative Party Politics of Euroscepticism: Volume 1: Case Studies and Country Surveys. Oxford University Press. p. 184. ISBN 978-0-19-925830-7.
  7. ^ "Strong support for the EU in Sweden ahead of European elections". Atlantic Council. 16 May 2019. Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  8. ^ [4][5][6][7]
  9. ^ a b "Mandatfördelning". Valmyndigheten (in Swedish). 8 March 2024. Archived from the original on 11 March 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  10. ^ a b Annesley, Claire, ed. (2013). Political and Economic Dictionary of Western Europe. Routledge. p. 225. ISBN 978-1-135-35547-0.
  11. ^ "Swedish Left Party Surges in Polls with Focus on Climate Action & Fighting Privatization". Democracy Now!. 3 July 2014. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  12. ^ a b Nordsieck, Wolfram (2022). "Sweden". Parties and Elections in Europe. Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  13. ^ "Vänsterpartiets Partiprogram P.33" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 November 2023. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  14. ^ "Sweden". www.csis.org. Archived from the original on 30 December 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  15. ^ Szczerbiak, Aleks; Taggart, Paul (2008). Opposing Europe?: The Comparative Party Politics of Euroscepticism: Volume 1: Case Studies and Country Surveys. Oxford University Press. p. 184. ISBN 978-0-19-925830-7.
  16. ^ "Strong support for the EU in Sweden ahead of European elections". Atlantic Council. 16 May 2019. Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  17. ^ "Utrikesutskottet betänkande 1980/81:UU12". Riksdagen (in Swedish). 1980. Archived from the original on 6 October 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  18. ^ Elvander, Jonas (6 April 2017). "'Planeten kommer inte överleva kapitalismen'". Flamman (in Swedish). Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  19. ^ "Monarkin". Vansterpartiet (in Swedish). 2012. Archived from the original on 7 October 2012. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  20. ^ Allern, Elin Haugsgjerd; Bale, Tim (2017). Left-of-centre Parties and Trade Unions in the Twenty-first Century. Oxford University Press. p. 208. ISBN 978-0-19-879047-1.
  21. ^ Jan, Wiklund; Karin, Wakeham; Martin, Turesson (2017). Samhällskunskap 7–9. Utki (in Swedish). Logistikteamet Capensis. ISBN 978-9-185-88780-4. Archived from the original on 6 October 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2022 – via Studentapan. See also Fribourg, Christina; Holmlin-Nilsson, Anna; Isaksson, Henrik; Linder, Monika (2020). Utkik 7-9 Samhällskunskap grundbok, 2:a uppl (in Swedish). Gleerups. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  22. ^ Suszycki, Andrzej Marcin (2021). Nationalism in Contemporary Europe: Concept, Boundaries and Forms. LIT Verlag Münster. p. 226. ISBN 978-3-643-91102-5. Archived from the original on 16 March 2023. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  23. ^ Elgán, Elisabeth; Scobbie, Irene (2015). Historical Dictionary of Sweden. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 162. ISBN 978-1-4422-5071-0. Archived from the original on 16 March 2023. Retrieved 6 October 2022.