Democracy in action?

[Theocrat]

Well... It seems like the 'Right-Wing Alliance' is going to win the swedish election tomorrow. The Social Democratic(?) Prime Minister has really screwed up on a number of things, dealing with unemployment being one of them. Dismantling the welfare state and union busting is on the agenda of the right. The conservative left is labeling itself as the "New Workers Party", which is hypocritical of course.

Hell.. Even the 'real' centrist liberals are having problems about which party to vote for. Since most parties are creeping in towards the center in the political spectrum to attract more voters.

There have also been sabotages like putting mock-up (and real?) bombs placed around party cabins, throwing rotten food and
turds at them, injecting glue into keyholes, organized destruction of party posters, hacking into party servers and last but not least.. Corruption.

Seems that the people are getting fed up with the whole 'political consensus' thing?

Also the Right-Wing Alliance has gotten financial aid from a Right-Wing extremist christian sect working from abroad called "The Plymouth Brothers". I got a pamphlet from them in the mailbox. It didn't state who sent the pamphlet other than just stating things like "Vote for the alliance because 24% of the swedish people have been subjected to violence from the state" and other such fundamentalist rubbish. Scary...


BTW I saw on the news that germany's measures to combat unemployment, less support from the state, relocation and flexibility demands from the business sector, hasn't improved unemployment rates at all. An economist who spoke couldn't have put it more simple "The problem isn't the unemployed! The problem is that there are no jobs!"

Well.. It's off to the voting booth tomorrow!

Goodnight!
/Theocrat..

[johneffay]

Also the Right-Wing Alliance has gotten financial aid from a Right-Wing extremist christian sect working from abroad called "The Plymouth Brothers".

Do you mean The Plymouth Brethren?

[Theocrat]

Do you mean The Plymouth Brethren?

Yes. Sorry for the error..

[Doc]

Theo, it sounds as if Sweden's right wing is learning the tricks of America's.

Sorry you may soon be suffering under a right-wing government, too.

At least a significant bloc of your right-wing is not based in fundamentalist Christian one-dimensional politics. Small consolation, of course...

[Theocrat]

Theo, it sounds as if Sweden's right wing is learning the tricks of America's.

Sorry you may soon be suffering under a right-wing government, too.

At least a significant bloc of your right-wing is not based in fundamentalist Christian one-dimensional politics. Small consolation, of course...

Well the Social-Democrats screwed up! Or rather the former Prime Minister did, he resigned after the alliance won. People who are sick or disabled have been crying after the election in their homes.

Other than that I don't think the social democratic line has been upheld.

The Moderat Party has an economist who used to be an ardent Neoliberal. He has changed his mind after having children (some comfort at least), and says that he stand up for collective agreements and a strong union (?).

The Enterprise Association in sweden says 'now' that "It will work to create more jobs, investment i.e.". I am supremely sceptic about them right now. When companies/industries are going through 'lean'ing and rationalization. There isn't going to be alot of jobs. And it will depend on the growth of the service sector. Which I think is already saturated with smaller companies.

[Mikey_C]

Commiserations, Theo. I think we're due for a Tory government here as well. I don't even want to think about it...

[Theocrat]

Commiserations, Theo. I think we're due for a Tory government here as well. I don't even want to think about it...

Hasn't merkle in germany been beating down on the unemployed?

[Mikey_C]

This will make you laugh, the Tories' new "green" logo:



Seems like politics is all about branding these days. Is anyone going to fall for this? Or are they just going to laugh at "greenwashed" David Cameron cycling to his office with his chauffeur driven car behind bearing his briefcase?

[Doc]

Mikey, that only makes me want to laugh in the "if I don't laugh I'm going to cry" sense.

Nothing says green like the conservative movements in the US and UK.

What has happened, Theo?

[devilchicken]

This will make you laugh, the Tories' new "green" logo:



Seems like politics is all about branding these days. Is anyone going to fall for this? Or are they just going to laugh at "greenwashed" David Cameron cycling to his office with his chauffeur driven car behind bearing his briefcase?

From the quote in the story you would think he'd made some sort of painful sacrifice having sacrificed his middle-of-the-road company car for a well known, high-end luxury vehicle. I mean, what's wrong with a Ford Fiesta? Cheap, economical, easy to park, relatively environmentally friendly....?

I don't doubt Mr Cameron has important essentials in that case that require the utmost care - his trusty briar, smoking jacket, Fez and Turkish slippers

[Theocrat]

Mikey, that only makes me want to laugh in the "if I don't laugh I'm going to cry" sense.

Nothing says green like the conservative movements in the US and UK.

What has happened, Theo?

Alot of weird stuff in politics today.
Of course mikeys right about parties "branding" themselves before elections. Both 'white washing' and 'green' washing isn't uncommon.
The left has been hijacked.
They state one course of action beforehand, but in reality take another line altogether once they get into office so they can persue their original ideological leanings. For example. Our 'conservative' turned 'liberal' turned "New" Workers Party (i.e. Moderaterna), who is leading the "alliance" of Right-Wing parties. Are going to raise the union fee , not make it tax deductable, slash welfare, have 'two' unpaid sickdays instead of just one . Get rid of additional taxes for the wealthy .. Do I need to go on? Does this sound like any 'workers' party to y'all?

A good thing happening is that people are getting more involved and voting again, since there was a good voter turn out this year. Especially for smaller parties on the local level, or rather 'lists' as we call them, that push for local actions to be taken. A 'democratization process' seems to be 'coming to the fore' where the ideologies take a back seat and real action takes place. I hope this becomes more common!

Lets put party politics in the grave I say!

[Morgan Kane]

The biggest swindle was that from Hi.t.ler.

A nat.ional soc.ialist party promoting not the nation but the race, instauring a dictatorship and working for the rich industrial .....

[johneffay]

Thanks for posting the new Conservative logo, Mikey. I had heard about it and wanted to check it out, but was worried that my wife might find out what I had been doing via the browser history. I mean hard core porn is one thing, but if she ever caught me reading the Tories' website

[devilchicken]

Thanks for posting the new Conservative logo, Mikey. I had heard about it and wanted to check it out, but was worried that my wife might find out what I had been doing via the browser history. I mean hard core porn is one thing, but if she ever caught me reading the Tories' website

So David Cameron is trying to do a "New Labour". I mean, what ground can the tories seriously move to seeing as Labour now occupies the centre right? I guess this is the answer - the "Green" party. No doubt the actual Green party are quaking in their boots ;)

I have to wonder what it is with the Tory party, that they seem to have a very outlandish view of what they think the public wants. I'm sure Mr Cameron is an intelligent, well educated guy - like both William Hague and Iain Duncan Smith, but they really don't have a clue.

Back when William Hague was leader he attended (I think) a radio 1 roadshow, or something like that - I 'm guessing as a means of getting the "youth vote", so what better way of doing this than by having your PR people dress you up the way they think "young people" dress. With a baseball cap on backwards with "Hague" written across the front.

Incidentally, this was in the morning news:

Scots Tory logo 'less to right'

The Scottish logo (left) is bigger and leans less to the right


The Scottish Conservatives have unveiled their version of the party's new tree logo. It is bigger than the English version, slightly darker - and the trunk does not lean as far to the right.
The Scottish logo was circulated without comment and the party declined to discuss whether the differences had any political significance.
When the logo was unveiled in England, one activist said it looked like it had been scribbled by a three-year-old.
Designers were paid £40,000 to replace the traditional torch emblem with an image representing "strength, endurance, renewal and growth".
Former Tory minister Lord Tebbit said it looked like "a bunch of broccoli".
An SNP spokesman said: "Scottish voters won't be fooled by a slightly less right leaning tree."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/5362434.stm

[johneffay]

They spend forty grand on a new logo which everybody is laughing at and then expect us to trust them with the economy!