Örebro Party

Örebro Party
Swedish name Örebropartiet
Leader Markus Allard
Founded 2014
Headquarters Örebro
Ideology Localism
Socialism
Direct democracy
Populism
Political position Left-wing
Colours Red and black
County council
0 / 71
Municipal council
2 / 65
Website
www.orebropartiet.se

The Örebro Party (Swedish: Örebropartiet, ÖP) is a local political party in Örebro, Sweden. It was founded in 2014 primarily by former members of the Left Party and the Young Left, led by Markus Allard, who is party leader. Allard has said that as of 2018 the party is more pragmatic than ideologically left-wing.

The party runs candidates for seats in the municipal assembly of Örebro Municipality and the Örebro County Council, beginning with the September 2014 Swedish general election. Its symbol represents Svampen (The Mushroom), a water tower that is a prominent landmark in Örebro.

History

The initiative to found the Örebro Party was taken in early 2014 by Markus Allard, who is also the first party leader. Allard had previously held positions as substitute member of the Örebro municipal council and district chairman of the Young Left in Örebro; in December 2013 he was expelled from the Left Party and its youth wing Young Left for "liking" the Revolutionary Front (sv), a militant revolutionary socialist and anti-fascist organization, on Facebook and refusing to withdraw his support for it.[1] Allard has stated that the real reason was that he was perceived as a threat to the established party bureaucracy.[2][3]

As a result of signing the petition required for ÖP to be registered as a party, a large number of Left Party members in Örebro were informed of the party's intention to expel them.[4] This triggered backlash from several other Left Party members in social media,[5] and a number of Left Party and Young Left members who had signed the petition later appeared on the party's list of election candidates while not joining ÖP as members. Throughout early 2014, several members of the Young Left were expelled for expressing support for Allard's militant anti-fascism, among them Axel Frick, Allard's replacement as district chairman of the Young Left in Örebro and an Örebro Party candidate.[6]

In the September 2014 Swedish election, the party received more than 1,000 votes in the municipal council election in Örebro,[7][8] and also some write-in votes in Örebro County for the Riksdag.[9]

In February 2018 Peter Springare, an Örebro police officer who had attracted attention the previous year for a Facebook posting associating immigration with crime, joined the party.[10][11]

In the 2018 election, the party gained two seats on the Örebro municipal council, where it is represented by Allard and Springare.[12]

Ideology

While party leader Allard has described himself as a Communist,[13] and a Marxist,[3][11] at its founding in March 2014 he defined the Örebro Party as "broad left".[13] He has said that ÖP should not be considered a Communist party because the idea of introducing a classless society in a single municipality would be utopian.[14] At that time the party considered itself a "local party that wants to carry on the labour movement's ideals", and "not interested in administrating the current society".[15]

The party is committed to strengthening direct democracy, rather than favouring the parliamentary system. The party is heavily opposed to political corruption and high politician incomes – among some of the measures it supports are reducing the wages of politicians and senior officials,[10] making plebiscites easier to enact and more potent,[16] increased social housing and subsidies for recreation.[10] The party opposes continued privatization of health care, elderly care, public housing and municipal education, among other things. Other concrete reforms proposed by ÖP include making dental care and contraceptives free and stopping the establishment of further charter schools.[17][18][19][20]

In February 2018, Allard stated that having decided to focus on "down-to-earth and local issues", the party membership had broadened since its foundation and he would no longer characterize it as either left or right.[11] Allard has provocatively called the party "populist" in his podcast with blogger and writer Malcom Kyeyune (sv).[21] Both Allard and Kyeyune have explicitly advocated populism as a political doctrine.[22][23]

References

  1. ↑ Carlsvärd, Mats (15 December 2013). "Markus Allard utesluten ur Ung vänster". Nerikes Allehanda (in Swedish). Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  2. ↑ Eriksson, Gustaf (7 March 2014). "Vänsterpartiet hotar utesluta medlemmar". Metro (in Swedish). Sweden. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  3. 1 2 Berglin, Rikard (17 December 2013). "Ung vänster riskerar splittras om Markus Allard utesluts" (in Swedish). Sveriges Television. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  4. ↑ Johansen, Marita (7 March 2014). "V sparkar ut ÖP-vänliga medlemmar". Nerikes Allehanda (in Swedish). Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  5. ↑ Green, Axel (14 March 2014). "13 i V i Örebro riskerar uteslutning". Arbetaren (in Swedish). Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  6. ↑ Rensfeldt, Gunnar (6 March 2014). "Militanta RF orsakar slitningar och uteslutningar i Ung Vänster" (in Swedish). Sveriges Television. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  7. ↑ "Val till kommunfullmäktige i Örebro - Röster" (in Swedish). September 2014.
  8. ↑ Fredriksson, Kim (14 April 2015). "Före detta Ung Vänster-toppen Markus Allard: 'SD agerar som Vänsterpartiet'". Aktuellt Fokus (in Swedish). Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  9. ↑ "Val till riksdagen - Röster - Örebro län: Röster på partier som ej beställt valsedlar - riksdagsvalkrets Örebro län" (in Swedish). September 2014.
  10. 1 2 3 Forsberg, Oskar (8 February 2018). "Polisen Peter Springare blir politikernewspaper=Aftonbladet" (in Swedish). Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  11. 1 2 3 Lorentz, Elliot (8 February 2018). "Allard om Springares medlemskap i Örebropartiet: 'Han besitter en bred organisatorisk kompetens'". Nyheter Idag (in Swedish). Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  12. ↑ "Örebro - Röster - Val 2018". data.val.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 2018-09-17.
  13. 1 2 Berglin, Rikard (5 March 2014). "Markus Allard startar nytt parti". Nerikes Allehanda (in Swedish). Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  14. ↑ Shriever-Abeln, Karl (27 August 2014). "'Många örebroare har inte råd med tandvård". Örebroar'n (in Swedish). Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  15. ↑ Lehnberg, Anne-Li (5 March 2014). "Allard bildar eget parti". Flamman (in Swedish). Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  16. ↑ "Demokrati och Politik". www.orebropartiet.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  17. ↑ "Äldreomsorg". www.orebropartiet.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  18. ↑ "Hälsa och sjukvård". www.orebropartiet.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  19. ↑ "Skola". www.orebropartiet.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  20. ↑ "Bostäder". www.orebropartiet.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  21. ↑ Det gör ont när bubblor spricker, retrieved 2018-03-04
  22. ↑ Populism, retrieved 2018-03-04
  23. ↑ "En gammal strid". Retrieved 2018-03-04.
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