Vol. 73/No. 19      May 18, 2009

Tirsén was speaking at a meeting here on May 2 to officially launch the election campaign of the Communist League. He described how workers who have been given layoff notices by the tens of thousands over the last few months are now being forced to leave their jobs and live on unemployment payments—a considerable lowering of their standard of living.

“It is not a question of bad morals; it is a crisis for the system. That’s what we want to discuss with workers who are beginning to fight, and with young people.” Tirsén also outlined a number of concrete demands “to protect us from being torn apart and bring us together” that are listed in the election platform the Communist League adopted May 1.

Paul Davies from the Communist League in the United Kingdom joined Tirsén on the platform. He described what had happened to workers at three Visteon plants in England and Northern Ireland, as an example of what workers will face (see story on front page). “The owners claimed bankruptcy and gave the workers a few minutes to leave their jobs,” he said. “But the workers in the plant in Belfast refused and organized an occupation of the plant. They set an example for workers at the two other factories who joined the fight.”

Workers from Sweden as well as Finland and Norway participated in the lively discussion, also giving examples from experiences, discussions, and meetings they have had with workers from Eritrea, Somalia, and Dubai.

One participant spoke about a conversation with a Somali worker after he had heard a Communist League candidate speak at the square in his working-class community. “I talk to my parents in Somalia every week and the country is just devastated,” he said. “But now I just lost my job here after working for three and a half years—the devastation is spreading to Sweden too.” He was eager to read and discuss the election platform of the Communist League.

The Communist League’s election campaign actually started prior to the May 2 meeting. Tirsén described how the candidates had spoken on squares in different working-class areas and had taken the campaign to universities and campuses in the Stockholm area, including participating in a whole day of presentations and discussions of Capital by Karl Marx at the university.

The high point, Tirsén said, had been the invitation to speak to members of the Somali Peace and Development Organization. The group led a four-month-long fight to free two of its leaders from jail after they were arrested and accused of aiding terrorism. The election campaign ends June 7.  
 
 
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