Left Turn of Northern Europe Party Politics

With the Center-Left Coalition led by the Labor Party （Norway） winning theparliamentary election with a sizable margin in September 2021， Norway became the fourth country under the rule of center-left governments in the Nordic region after Sweden， Finland and Denmark. It is against the backdrop of populist parties gaining strength fast in European countries and populism seemingly holding sway in European societies that the four Nordic countries have turned left amass. The center-left parties recapturing government this time around attributes to changes in international environment and internal conditions of Nordic countries， their return to government carrying new features of the times and also facing new challenges under a new situation.

FOUR NORDIC COUNTRIES ALL “TURNING LEFT”

The Nordic region used to be “the fortress of European democratic socialism”， center-left parties having ruled the Nordic countries over a long period of time. However， things have changed since the beginning of the 21st century. Under the impact of the wave of economic globalization and affected by composite factors like terrorist attacks and refugees flood， a major turnabout happened to political party pattern in Nordic countries， right-wing populist parties being on the rise， the Social Democratic and the Labor Party falling into opposition successively with little hope to regain power in the long run.

However， in the past few years， center-left parties have won parliamentary elections successively and become government parties in the Nordic countries once more， making no less than a phenomenal left resurgence. The first turnabout occurred in Sweden， where a coalition of three center-left parties led by the Swedish Social Democratic Party （SAP） defeated the center-right government of the Moderate Party， the Christian Democrats， the Democratic Party and the Central Party in the parliamentary election of 2014， the SAP being back to government after eight years. In April 2019， the Social Democratic Party of Finland （SDP） became the largest party in the parliamentary election and formed a five-party coalition government with the Center Party， the Green League， the Left Alliance and the Swedish People’s Party， marking the resurgence of the SDP after losing its position as the largest party in parliament in 1999. In June 2019， the Social Democrats （Denmark） emerged as the largest party in the parliamentary election and organized a center-left coalition with three left-wing parties of the Socialist People’s Party， the Social Liberal Party and the Red-Green Alliance. In September 2021， the Labor Party became the largest party in the parliamentary election of Norway， it and its center-left coalition partners the Center Party and the Socialist Left Party capturing 89 seats out of 169 seats of the parliament， making Norway a fourth country under a center-left coalition led by the Labor Party after Sweden， Finland and Denmark.

WHY CENTER-LEFT PARTIES WIN ELECTIONS？

The fact that the center-left parties in the four Nordic countries have successively won elections in recent years can be attributed to the following factors.

First， as the negative impact of globalization protrudes， political pendulum effect comes to a head. Since the 1990s， the market and efficiency driven neo-liberalist economic globalization had produced many negative results at the same time as it optimized allocation of resources， improved productivity， and accelerated world economic growth. Coming to the Nordic region， economic globalization had intensified economic competition between regional countries， slowed down the increase in workers’ wages and living standard， and widened the gap between the rich and poor; the arrival of a large number immigrants had reduced social homogeneity， caused antagonism and even division among different ages， occupations and identities， and impaired national cohesion; and negative results of ecological degradation caused by capitalist production and consumption model driven by maximizing profit had continue to build on. The above factors objectively accumulated kinetic energy for the comeback of center-left parties that believe in equality and equity and stand for stronger government regulation.

Second， the center-left parties’ policies returned and included the will of both left-wing and right-wing voters in their respective countries. The focus and main theme of recent elections in the Nordic countries differed from the previous ones. In the past， the elections in various countries used to focus on economic issues. However， things changed in recent years， economic issues fell in the order of consequence， whereas welfare state， refugee policy and climate change became issues that concerned the voters most. Accordingly， the center-left parties readjusted their policies to win more voters.

One， a strong comeback with welfare state policy. Since 1990s， the welfare state system had been in trouble. Against the background of the global financial crisis， the Euro debt crisis and overall economic recession， the center-right parties came to power， mostly pursuing fiscal austerity， adopting measures to cut back on welfare fund and welfare programs， reduce unemployment and sickness benefits， and lower the wages， which resulted in enlarged social inequality. To reverse the weakening and disruption of social welfare system under the rule of center-right parties， the center-left parties of the concerned countries made a strong comeback with welfare state policy. For instance， the SAP emphasized in its election platform on building a trustworthy welfare system， the Social Democrats （Denmark） called for building a stronger welfare society， and the Labor Party （Norway） was committed to achieving a more equitable society.