Sunday, September 17, 2006

How to win an Election

Promise to cut taxes and curb the welfare state. Simple, isn't it? Look at the Swedish election result tonight. The Conservative opposition won tonight after twelve years out of power.

8 comments:

AnyonebutBlair said...

Maybe all is not well in the (former) socialist welfare-state paradise of Sweden. Perhaps the Gruniad and Polly Tonybee will airbrush Sweden from their op-ed columns as "model country we should emulate" and find a replacement. Cuba or Turkmenistan perhaps?

Anonymous said...

Hi Iain,

They ran as 'New Moderates' with a pledge to reform the labour market and provision. They're closer to Cameron than DD, as it were.

From the BBC:

"Recognising that the lagom tradition runs deep, the centre-right alliance is not planning to impose an Anglo-Saxon model of tax cuts and large-scale privatisations.

Unlike the last election in 2002, the Moderates have downplayed the issue of tax cuts and have advocated more support for schools and the elderly.

But the need to create more jobs tops the agenda in this election and the centre-right alliance insists that labour market reform is long overdue.

The Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, a body representing about 55,000 Swedish companies, argues that "the Swedish model is capsizing" and asks "who will right it?"

It says it is too easy for trade unions to strike and that the very threat of labour unrest makes employers take short-term measures to avert a conflict - measures that can undermine their competitiveness."

Anonymous said...

Simple in a way especialy after 12 years of socialism. But socialists do a lot of damage in 12 years running anywhere.

The trick is not just getting elected but winning the argument for long enough to make a real change in the repressive system of the state.

Best wishes Swedish people. But if your media is anything like our BBC you dont have much of a chance, good luck anyway.

Andy said...

Simple, yet that's what they promised four years ago, to a far larger extent, to no success. By becoming more moderate and centrist, Moderaterna and Alliansen succeeded. (It also helps that Göran Persson had no natural successor, the main one (Anna Lindh) having been murdered in 2002.) Carl Bildt (the last Swedish Moderaterna PM) managed to double the national debt in three years.

What does it prove for future British elections? Absolutely nothing. Iain, have you lived in Sweden? I have, and the only positive point I can take for you Tories (I'm a Lib Dem) is that it was seemingly "time for a change". Personally, I believe that Cameron is making the right noises at the moment, but that three years is a long time to go.

Ultimately, the main lesson is that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. If you want a serious discussion about Swedish politics, let me know. If you were merely making a fatuous political point, well, jag är inte alls förvånad.

Anonymous said...

And promise no masked people on the street disguising their identities.

People professing violence and murder on British streets should be identifiable. By law. (Actually, that is probably the case, and waived in the case of islamics.)

Would a Briton be allowed to threaten violence while wearing a Micky Mouse Mask? A Jo-Lo mask?

People disguising themselves must not be allowed to utilise our public streets as their theatre.

If they want to perform, they are free to mouth their profanities in front of the mirror in their own homes. Which should be enough for these little fantastists anyway. And no one actually wants to see an islamic woman unburqa-ed.

The politicians have to start listening, because the whole caboodle is going into a deep nose dive. No one wants them.

Repeat: No one wants any of today's political "leaders".

Dave is a devastating failure. Far worse than IDS, who at least had principles and a background that wasn't in "marketing".

Tony is backing some Miliband because Johnson is too "lightweight". Actually, no he's not. A lot of women like him.

Andy said...

garypowell said...

Simple in a way especialy after 12 years of socialism. But socialists do a lot of damage in 12 years running anywhere.


Well, the Social Democrats lose power in Sweden every 15 years or so, then the people realise the error of their ways and vote them back in. So it's not 12 years, it's virtually the entire post-war period. Current growth figures are 5.6%.

Yak40 said...

I wonder if third world immigration had anything to do with the result, thinking of recent stories out of Malmo.

neil craig said...

The fact that, on the other side of the Baltic, Estonia is practicing a very free market regime & achieving 8% growth may give credibility to reformers.

Being more insular the effect of Ireland, on the other side of the Irish Sea, practicing a very free market regime & achieving 7% growth has gone largely unnoticed, except by the SNP & a few other people in Scotland.