Recent Politics

Question 1

Main problem of Social democrats in 70s

Answer 1

they could provide no alternative to the neoliberal ascendancy which was in line with the rise of free markets.

Question 2

economic stagnation that the post war period had engendered

Answer 2

remove regulation, inefficient public sectors removed and instead reduce the streamlining of the welfare state and encourage private initiatives.

Question 3

the financial set backs in 2008

Answer 3

Led to a rise in the right who were winning many of the intellectual battles across Europe.

Question 4

Failure of the left on increased security

Answer 4

increased migration and worsening welfare state- has been a main factor in supporting a growth in the right.

Question 5

Growth for knowledge based work-

Answer 5

has risen with globalisation- this poses a threat to the left who have to manage and coordinate an increasingly stratified labour force

Question 6

Optimism around social democracy in 80s

Answer 6

Forde, a politician in the Labour party, promoted the idea that we are all social democrats saying that the labour movement had become part of mainstream thinking considering the impressive history of the Party in the 20th century.

Question 7

Trade Union confederation in Sweden

Answer 7

has lost a large proportion of its members- their influence has suffered since the rise of the centre right government that has been consistently dominant since the mid 2000s

Question 8

Danish Party on ethnicity

Answer 8

regularly refers to ethnic diversity being a problem.

Question 9

Finns party on immigration

Answer 9

have recently taken the stress off anti-immigration no longer seeing it as a problem for their economy.

Question 10

Norwegian progress party is driven by

Answer 10

driven by oil and gas revenue and demands tax cuts

Question 11

Norwegian progress party on the EU

Answer 11

in 2017 the Norwegian progress party decided to explicitly oppose membership of the EU.

Question 12

Regarding immigration- the manifesto for the Danish Peoples party states

Answer 12

that Denmark is not a country of immigration and will not accept a multiethnic transformation of the country.

Question 13

In sweden the the SD openly opposes multiculturalism but..

Answer 13

has dropped demands in recent years to repatriate immigrants from ethnically distant cultures.

Question 14

Results of DF in 2015

Answer 14

in Denmark the DF won 21% if the vote in the elections of 2015 making it the second largest party in parliament

Question 15

results of the Progress party in 2009

Answer 15

Reached a record high of 22%

Question 16

Strict vetting of parties

Answer 16

Denmark weeds out many radicals who may damage their image by vetting memberships
the SD has also recently expelled more than 200 of its members in order to lose the idea that it is a Pariah.

Question 17

Removal of radical ideas from NPP but keeping of slightly more moderate ones

Answer 17

After the Breivik attacks to reduce their open attacks on immigration in their manifestos.
they also, since the turn of the century have began to embrace welfare chauvinism.

Question 18

Party leaders contributing to success

Answer 18

Soini of the PS- witty on television- popular criticism og the EU- reinforce existing fears in the electorate towards the EU
Jensen also was key in developing relations with other party leaders- Hagen for example

Question 19

In 1996 non western immigrants

Answer 19

received social benefits around 50% more often than Danes- there were laws that gave asylum seekers the right to benefit from the welfare system and enters the country all while their application was being checked.

Question 20

Denmark for danes

Answer 20

The Danish minister at one time in the late 90s said that we must try to hod back this mass invasion by Iranian refugees. Some right wing politicians even went as far as to say that some asylum seekers were only fleeing from material problems. In the current political climate not much has changed and they consistently run campaigns parading the slogan ‘Denmark for danes’

Question 21

Economically the parties have shown

Answer 21

movement away from the liberal economic policy once advocated in the 80s- they now- according to manifestos prefer to focus on welfare redistribution as a way of ensuring votes. This has come partially as a result to nationalism that promotes the idea of the welfare state as a part of heritage and something intrinsically linked to Nordic prosperity.

Question 22

The rise in non western immigration

Answer 22

demand for far right politics- their foreign religions, culture and languages pose a threat to the dominance and preservation of strong cultural heritage that exists in Norway, Sweden and Denmark.

Question 23

Total percentage of foreign born population compared to national population-

Answer 23

in all cases since 2002 the total foreign born population has risen by at least 2%, in Sweden it now sits at 18%

Question 24

Finns party stance

Answer 24

not actually an extreme right party- it sits as a centrist but still campaigns against immigration

Question 25

The problem of immigration is in some way worsened by the welfare state itself

Answer 25

most immigrants are dependent on it and barriers for immigrants to become full members of the Nordic labour market is higher than for Natives.

Question 26

Populism

Answer 26

he idea of a thin ideology located on the far polars of the political spectrum- usually embracing an antiestablishment position where there are two antagonists, the state (elite) and the common people. In order to become truly successful and taking large percentages of the votes it is probable that the populist party with the relatively thin ideology forms a hybrid party with a more politically conservative party. - they combine authoritarian positions with socio-economic policies from the centre

Question 27

NPP and The Finns party sit at the moment in relation to parliament

Answer 27

he Norwegian progress party and the True Finns are currently members of centre right governments.

Question 28

During the seventies until the early 90s the Finnish rural party established itself within main party politics

Answer 28

achieving around 5-10% of the vote consistently- the success can be partly attributed to Viekko Vennamo who was the leader and managed to rally many disgruntled farmers. The True Finns, which was the result of the collapse of that party, targets itself at the sick, veterans, rural community and the elderly- making use of the economic struggles that left the welfare state on a decline, to gather votes.

Question 29

the new right in Denmark

Answer 29

now challenging the DS claiming that it withdraw itself from the EU and make sure that only immigrants contributing positively to society will be allowed in.

Question 30

The SD has become increasingly mainstream

Answer 30

that is to say that its nationalist stance is now strictly non-racial meaning that anyone can join through assimilation.

Question 31

The NPP is economically liberal and rejects the idea of the EU

Answer 31

wants to reduce taxes and increase privatisation. Over time the parties have become similar in their economic and authoritarian perspectives. There are of course differences with the Danish peoples party disagreeing on privatisation

Question 32

More balanced view of the Norwegian PP now- but backlash?

Answer 32

Jensen holds a more balanced view on the need for success through moderation . What changes have the Norwegian progress party made in order to go mainstream. - they have increased the threshold for non taxable income and created more room for health care services to grow. - the party has, however, received criticism for becoming too ‘vague’

Question 33

The right attacks the centre

Answer 33

saying that these are the people that are anti establishment.

Question 34

Incumbency effect

Answer 34

the Norwegian progress party loss members in 2014 and also had to compromise on their immigration policy- populist ideas became ideally

Question 35

Polished rhetoric of the SDs

Answer 35

mastered by the leader Jimmie Åkesson

Question 36

Ethnic nationalism in the far right- rather than populism

Answer 36

they are referred to as anti-establishment but in fact they are mostly concerned with nationalist interests like immigration

Question 37

Municipal factor in Sweden

Answer 37

the ability for politicians to work on a personal level in municipalities is the most important factor- this way coalitions can be formed- a normal left right distribution of votes cannot be seen in any election since 2014

Question 38

Social media

Answer 38

The parties have been able to use it as a simplistic way of targeting younger voters- providing online forums for ideas to develop

Question 39

domestic wealth owned by the Norwegian state

Answer 39

the state owns 59% of all domestic wealth

Question 40

percentage of people employed by the state

Answer 40

over 30% of workers in Norway are employed by the state.

Question 41

Majority of problems for centre left parties in the 70s and 80s

Answer 41

were concerned with the economic woes caused by inflation and increasing budget deficits