Reclaiming Action — Progressive Strategies in Times of Growing
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Reclaiming action — PRogRessive stRategies in times of gRowing Right-wing PoPulism in DenmaRk, noRway, sweDen anD geRmany Edited by Christian Krell, Henri Möllers and Niklas Ferch Right-wing populist parties are on the rise almost everywhere in Europe. In the Scandinavian coun- tries, too, where Social Democracy has had the most decisive influence on the development of a solidary society and an inclusive and emancipatory welfare model, policymakers face increasingly substantial difficulties in forming government coalitions vis-à- vis aspiring competitors who have emerged on the far right in recent decades. In light of the remark- able rise of right-wing populism in Germany and its growing presence in parliaments and discourses, the volume at hand contextualizes and compares the growth of right-wing populism in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Germany. Based on the identification of ideal-typical strategies applied by progressive par - ties towards right-wing populist parties in the past and in the present, the authors evaluate the success of various strategies and develop recommendations for progressive and sustainable actions to »reclaim action« against right-wing populist parties. In doing so, the volume addresses both scientists and policy- makers as well as the interested public. ISBN: 978-3-96250-166-2 Reclaiming action — PRogRessive stRategies in times of gRowing Right-wing PoPulism in DenmaRk, noRway, sweDen anD geRmany Edited by Christian Krell, Henri Möllers and Niklas Ferch RECLAIMING Action — PROGRESSIVE STRATEGIES IN TIMES OF GROWING RIGHT-WING POPULISM imPRint ISBN: 978-3-96250-166-2 Edited for: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Referat Westeuropa/Nordamerika und Japan. (Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Western Europe and North America Department) by Christian Krell, Henri Möllers and Niklas Ferch Proofreading: Penelope Krumm, Ben Robbins Design: minus Design, Berlin Copyright: 2018 by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Nordic Countries Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Nordic Countries Box 3107 103 62 Stockholm Sweden Editors’ notes: The spelling, grammar, and other linguistic conventions in this volume reflect American English usage. The judgments and opinions expressed in the articles collected for this book are those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the views of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation or of the editors. This anthology was compiled as part of a project entitled “Reclaiming Action – Progressive Strategies in Times of Growing Right-Wing Populism” situated at the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Nordic Countries. RECLAIMING Action — PROGRESSIVE STRATEGIES IN TIMES OF GROWING RIGHT-WING POPULISM 03 TABles of contents 05 list of taBles anD figuRes 06 acknowleDgements to the aDvisoRy BoaRD 07 intRoDuction Henri Möllers, Christian Krell and Niklas Ferch: the Reclaiming action Project: Progressive Party strategies in times of growing Right-wing Populism 14 Right-wing PoPulism anD counteRstRategies in DenmaRk, noRway, sweDen anD geRmany 15 Susi Meret: Denmark - Rise, consolidation and mainstreaming of Right-wing Populism and the failure of counterstrategies 38 Ketil Raknes: norway – how to Deal with the Petropopulist fremskrittspartiet in office? 53 Anna-Lena Lodenius: sweden – the fast growth of Right-wing Populism and the consequences of coordinated isolation for Progressive strategies 75 Jasmin Siri and Madeleine Myatt: germany – conditions for the Recent establishment of Right-wing Populism and Progressive Responses RECLAIMING Action — PROGRESSIVE STRATEGIES IN TIMES OF GROWING RIGHT-WING POPULISM 04 97 conclusion 98 Niklas Ferch and Henri Möllers: comparison of Past, Present and Possible future strategies against Right- wing Populism in Denmark, norway, sweden and germany 127 Christian Krell and Henri Möllers: conclusion – what is success and what to learn for a successful strategy? 142 anneX 143 Fact-Sheets on Past, Present and Possible Future Strategies Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Germany 146 About the Authors 148 Acknowledgements RECLAIMING Action — PROGRESSIVE STRATEGIES IN TIMES OF GROWING RIGHT-WING POPULISM 05 list of TABles anD figuRes 17 table 1: Electoral support and mandates at parliamentary elections and Euro- pean elections for the DF from 1998 to 2015 22 table 2: Attitudes toward immigration among voters for the DF and other Danish parties 23 table 3: Voters’ opinions on stricter laws for immigration and asylum 24 table 4: Responses to the statement that »Refugees and immigrants should have the same rights to social support as Danes, even if they are not Danish citizens« 106 table 5: Mainstream parties’ responses to right-wing populist parties (RWPP) 144 table 6: Mainstream parties’ responses to right-wing populist parties (RWPP) (including empirical examples) 16 figure 1: Electoral support for right-wing populist parties in the four Nordic countries 40 figure 2: FrP’s support in parliamentary elections from 1973 to 2017 43 figure 3: The market value of the Government Pension Fund Global from 1996 to 2016 44 figure 4: Government spending of oil revenue as measured by the structural, non-oil budget deficit, and the expected real return of the Pension Fund from 2001 to 2017 143 figure 5: Present strategy positions of progressive parties against right-wing populist competitors RECLAIMING Action — PROGRESSIVE STRATEGIES IN TIMES OF GROWING RIGHT-WING POPULISM 06 acknowleDgements to the aDvisoRy BoaRD We would like to express our deepest gratitude to the Board of Advisors in the »Reclaiming Action Project: Progressive Strategies in Times of Growing Right-Wing Populism«. All members enriched the project and this report immensely with their extensive knowledge and expertise. Each input, comment and opinion improved the quality of discussion in the workshops and the project as such. In the event of any errors, shortcomings or inadequacies, the editors bear the responsibility. Thank you for your time and effort. Without you, this project would have not been possible at all. Dr. Ann-Cathrine Jungar, PhD, Södertörn University, Stockholm Prof. Colin Crouch, University of Warwick Prof. Frank Decker, University of Bonn Franziska Schröter, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Berlin Freya Grünhagen, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Berlin Håkan Bengtsson, Arenagruppen, Stockholm Kaia Storvik, Tankesmien Agenda, Oslo Maria Freitas, Foundation for European Progressive Studies, Brussels Marte Gerhardsen, Tankesmien Agenda, Oslo Dr. Susan Neiman, PhD, Einstein Forum, Potsdam Prof. Wolfgang Merkel, Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung RECLAIMING Action — PROGRESSIVE STRATEGIES IN TIMES OF GROWING RIGHT-WING POPULISM 07 henri möllers, christian krell and niklas ferch the Reclaiming action PRoject: PRogRessive PaRty stRategies in times of gRowing Right-wing PoPulism In the twenty-first century, the overly idyllic tale of Social Democracy’s decades-long success story in Scandinavia has begun to show considerable cracks. Figuratively speak- ing, the iconic bright red paint of the typical Swedish houses has begun to fade and sometimes shades of brown appear. Right-wing populist parties have become estab- lished all over Scandinavia and pose a massive threat to the renowned egalitarian, inclu- sive and progressive societies of the North. On the one hand, right-wing populist par- ties1 use their rhetoric to address classic issues of social democracy such as social justice and social welfare, or to address the concerns of the »ordinary people« in general. On the other hand, the right-wing populists’ political agenda is in fact often the opposite of traditional social democratic politics. Social justice is framed by right-wing populists as anti-elitist resentment, social welfare is framed as welfare only for »us« and not for »them« and »ordinary people« are defined all too frequently along ethnic and cultural dividing lines. Hence, in contrast to their rhetoric, right-wing populist politics and policy suggestions ultimately involve the dismantling of the welfare state and the labor market through neoliberal policies, seek to poison the political climate and ultimately present a dire threat to liberal inclusive public discourse and pluralistic democracy in general. The development of the political culture in the three Nordic countries of Denmark, Norway and Sweden since the 1980s demonstrates this in an impressive way. For in- stance, the originally dominant radical tax-cut positions of the Danish Dansk Folkepar- ti (DF) and the Norwegian Fremskrittspartiet (FrP) from the 1980s have developed towards much stronger nationalist and racist rhetoric and have captured discourses 1 Even though some of the right-wing populist parties considered here evolved from right-wing extremist groups and still retain some of their agendas or newly incorporated extremist views, in a writers’ workshop it was agreed to subsume these parties under the term »right-wing populist« – though being aware of the various conceptual and definitional differences and overlaps of right-wing populism and right-wing extremism (see e.g. the seminal contribution by Mudde [1996]). RECLAIMING Action — PROGRESSIVE STRATEGIES IN TIMES OF GROWING RIGHT-WING POPULISM 08 on the welfare state. The severity of this development can be observed in particular in the corresponding discourse shifts in central, formerly genuinely »social democratic« policy fields, and manifests itself not least by the active (Norway) and actively sup- porting (Denmark) involvement of these right-wing populist parties in center-right governments. In Sweden, the Sverigedemokraterna (SD) is still kept away from any direct