WE'RE ALL SOCIAL DEMOCRATS NOW
Yesterday I worried about the Swedish centre-right opposition taking
strides to the left, inspired by their Danish friends. In order to win voters from the Social Democrats,
many people in these parties seems to believe that they have to turn themselves into Social Democrats.
And this isn't a Scandinavian decease either - The
Economist writes about the British shadow chancellor's, the Conservative Oliver Letwin, latest budget
proposal. In it he's promising to lower spending by £35 billion, which is excellent. Unfortunatly £23 billion of these
will just be recycled into different parts of the social services instead of being given back to the taxpayers.
But isn't it necessary to move leftwards to make a serious run for government? While it may bring a few votes
here and there, in general I think not. After all, won't the Social Democratic parties always be better at
running Social Democratic politics, than will Conservatives and Liberals? Also, I think it will be difficult to
convince any voter that the opposition wants power, not for it's own sake, but in order to make the country better
if they are constantly seen to throw principles overboard.
The role of the opposition isn't to follow opinion but to lead it. This does not mean putting forth impossible
suggestions or trying to revolutionize society. But it does mean standing for the principles they have, applying
them to situations that people care about, and showing that it would give a better result than the policies used
by the government.
It is up to the Liberals and Conservatives to show why tax cuts are needed, why they are fair, and why their
results would benifit the citizens. It is not up to the Liberals and Conservatives to run election campaigns
disguised as Social Democrats. Even if it would win them elections - which has been the case in Denmark - the
mandate they get for change is very weak, and what happens is that there is no right-wing, or centre-right, alternative
for the voters anymore. No one would celebrate that more than the Social Democrats.
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