Election Guide 2002 - Sweden.se

The Left Party
The Left Party is a socialist and feminist party rooted
in the Swedish labour movement. Founded in 1917, it
was originally called the Social Democratic Left Party
of Sweden. In the 1998 election the party polled 12% of
the votes, which made it the third biggest party in Sweden.
Today the party has about 14,000 members.
Since the last election, the Left Party has co-operated
with the Social Democrats and the Green Party in the
Riksdag. We have had an influence in many municipalities
and county councils. Our aim has been to move policy
to the left. We have achieved a great deal but we are not
satisfied. We feel that a new left majority must follow a
much more radical policy than hitherto. This calls for a
stronger Left Party.
Gudrun Schyman has been Chairman of the Party
since 1993. Its Vice-Chairman is Johan Lönnroth, and
Pernilla Zethraeus is the Party Secretary.
Unlike the other parliamentary political parties, the
Left Party defends the classical values of the labour
movement, namely worker policy and socialism. Our
policy has four cornerstones:
v socialism,
v feminism,
v sustainable development,
v international solidarity.
Jobs for all
To the Left Party, universal employment is superior to
all other political objectives. More jobs must be created,
in both the public and the private sectors. We want to
give more money to labour market policy and to provide
schools and caring services with wider scope for recruiting
qualified personnel and improving rates of pay. We also
want to have swift and comprehensive action to improve
the working environment, and to counteract exclusion
and long-term sickness absence. We demand stricter
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