Posted on 03/08/2011 4:42:15 PM PST by Libloather
David Miliband: European left is fragmenting as the right is unifying
In LSE speech, Miliband names six countries with a history of centre-left rule that are now governed by rightwing parties
Allegra Stratton guardian.co.uk
Tuesday 8 March 2011 20.49 GMT
Social democratic parties across Europe are losing elections on an "unprecedented scale", according to former foreign secretary David Miliband.
He said the parties were "fragmenting as the right is unifying". He named six countries – Britain, Sweden, Germany, France, Holland and Italy – that he said had a "good claim to represent the historic heartland of European social democracy", but that are no longer run by the centre-left.
In a speech to the London School of Economicson Tuesday, Miliband called for social democratic parties in those countries to try to regain ground by focusing on wealth creation and greater control of privatised utilities.
"Not since the first world war has there been this kind of domination from the right. The whole era of democratic suffrage," said Miliband.
He added: "Left parties are losing elections more comprehensively than ever before. They are losing from government and from opposition; they are losing in majoritarian systems and PR systems.
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
That's a shame.
Some good news for a change. Good post. Thanks.
What will the European left do now that they are unemployed?
None of them are frugal enough to become drunken sailors.
Dem European chickens, dey comin home ta roost
OH yeah. That'll work for sure.
Meanwhile back on the US ranch, the cowhands are busy unionizing....
That’s great.
Now about the problem of Muslim women bearing 5 more children per woman than the white European women...
Almost certainly an exaggeration.
Around 1960 all these countries except Sweden had "right of center" governments.
You could probably pick other years and find much the same to be true then as well, given the long years in power of the British Conservatives and the Italian and German Christian Democrats.
And what looks like "domination from the right" to European socialists looks pretty feeble to American conservatives.
No mention of Islam. If you talk about European politics and don’t mention Islam it means you don’t really want to talk about European politics.
But the social democracies so dear to his heart might not be coming apart at the seams if he and his friends had not pushed mass non-European immigration and suicidal social ideas like abortion that lead to the destruction of the populace that needs to exist to support socialism.
Karma, David, yuh know?
Hard working, productive people are only willing to carry all that dead weight for so long.
Thanks Libloather. Sarko just appointed a (slightly corrupt) Chirac associate to foreign minister.
Hopefully the right takes the reins of power and kicks out Islam and immigrants from continental Europe.
At this rate, it’s looking like the US will become an intolerable place to live. I need options for my kids.
What politician does not look “feeble” to American conservatives.
Most insightful post I have read in years here on European politics and the danger of government bureaucracies.
If finally my party, the Norwegian Reaganites win the next election. That’s not even half the battle won. The real battle starts then with the massive self entrenched interests of the apparatchiks in both government institutions and government supported “NGOs”.
It will take several years of electoral success to win that battle.
The socialists spent 60 or so years building that apparatus, and the even more radical 68’rs took them even further to the left in the last few decades..
It’s a hell of a battle.
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