New Left Review I/216, March-April 1996

Jan Otto Anderson

Fundamental Values for a Third Left

Since 1988 I have been engaged in the launching of a new party of the Left in Finland. [1] This article is based on a paper presented at the international seminar, ‘Marxism in the New World Order’, Syninge-Stockholm, May 1995. It was established in 1990 under the name of Vasemmistoliitto/ Vänsterförbundet (the Left-Wing Alliance). lwa continued the tradition of skdl/dfff (the People’s Democratic League) which included the Communist Party of Finland. It was launched as a ‘Red-Green’ party of the ‘modern Left’, but despite the enthusiasm at the founding meeting, which was open to all, the party has not been able to attract a new mass base. Its election support has hovered around 11 per cent. In the elections of March 1995, it did fairly well, and a decision was taken to enter the new ‘rainbow’ government, which includes the Social Democrats, the Conservatives, the lwa, the Swedish People’s Party and the Greens. The party is, however, still searching for its ideological and political home. The negotiations which led to the formation of the new government, and the strong disagreements revealed inside the party during that process, demonstrate the need for a clearer-cut ideological and strategical position. In our work on the new party programme, which was accepted at the congress in June 1995, we elaborated the concept of the ‘Third Left’.

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