Swedish name Örebropartiet Founded 2014 Colours Red and black | Leader Markus Allard Headquarters Örebro | |
Ideology Localism
socialism
Direct democracy | ||
The Örebro Party (Swedish: Örebropartiet, ÖP) is a local political party in Örebro, Sweden. The party was founded in 2014 by primarily former members of the Left Party and the Young Left. It is to the far left of the political spectrum, taking many radical stances. The party intends to take part in 14 September Swedish general election, running for seats in the municipal assembly of Örebro Municipality and the Örebro County Council.
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The party's red and black symbol represents Svampen (The Mushroom), a water tower in Örebro that is one of the city's most prominent landmarks, and a popular scenic outlook.
History
The initiative to found the Örebro Party was taken in early 2014 by Markus Allard, who is also the first party leader. Allard (who previously held positions as substitute member of the Örebro municipal council and district chairman of the Young Left in Örebro) had previously been expelled from the Left Party and the Young Left in December 2013, for "liking" the Revolutionary Front, a militant revolutionary socialist and anti-fascist organization, on Facebook, and refusing to abandon said support. Allard has stated that the real reason was that he was perceived as a threat to the established party bureaucracy.
In order to register as a party, ÖP had to gather a certain amount of signatures. As a result of signing the party's petition to register, a large number of Left Party members in Örebro were informed of the party's intention to expel them. This triggered a significant backlash from several other Left Party members in social media.
A number of Left Party and Young Left members who had signed the petition later also appeared on the party's list of election candidates, while not joining ÖP as members. Throughout early 2014, many prominent members of the Young Left were expelled for expressing support for militant anti-fascism in connection to Allard's cause, among them Axel Frick, Allard's replacement as district chairman of the Young Left in Örebro and Örebro Party candidate.
Ideology
While party leader Allard has described himself as a communist and a marxist, along with other ÖP candidates, he has defined the Örebro Party as "broad left". ÖP is not to be considered a communist party, which Allard explained as being due to the idea of introducing a classless society in a single municipality being utopian. The party considers itself a "local party that wants to carry on the labour movement's ideals", and "not interested in administrating the current society".
It is committed to strengthening direct democracy, rather than favouring the parliamentary system. The party is heavily opposed to political corruption and high politician incomes – among some of the measures it supports are to halve the wages of the region's politicians, and to make plebiscites by popular vote easier to enact and more potent. The party staunchly opposes continued privatization of health care, elderly care, public housing and municipal education, among other things. Other concrete reforms proposed by ÖP include making dental care and contraceptives free, building new municipally-owned rental apartments, and stopping the establishment of further charter schools.