Socialist Party (Sweden, 1929)

History

The Kilbom-led SKP held its congress prior to the Sillén-led party. At the congress there was a debate regarding the character of the party, whether to continue the system of party cells (the structure of the pre-split SKP) or whether to become a more open mass party. In the end the statutes adopted by the congress differed little from those of the pre-split SKP. Party cells remained the basic organization of the party, and in places where no cell existed a party member would be organized in the arbetarkommun directly. However the criteria for membership were relaxed, the sole remaining criterion was activism in the base level organization.

In 1930, Flyg, as an MP, put forward a motion on separation of church and state. The motion was voted down in the Lower House.

The Kilbom party merged in 1934 with a break-away group of the Social Democrats based in Gothenburg, led by Albin Ström. At the time of the merger, the party changed its name to the Socialist Party (Socialistiska partiet). The transformation into SP also marked a break with the previous line of the party towards the Comintern and the Soviet Union. Initially the party had tried to persuade the Comintern to be allowed to return to the International. Gradually, however the party became more and more antagonistic toward the Comintern and the Soviet Union.

The party gradually disintegrated, and many of the most prominent leaders such as Kilbom, left the party in 1937. During World War II, their staunch anti-Soviet line led the party to actually embrace some pro-German views (partially since the huge financial problems of the party led it to seek financial aid from Germany). As a result of this, in 1940, a group of members that included Albin Ström and Evald Höglund broke away and formed the Left Socialist Party. In the elections the same year, the party lost its parliamentary representation.

When Flyg died in 1943, he was succeeded as party leader by Agaton Blom. During the final years of the war, the party continued to lose members and support, and changed its name to the Swedish Socialist Party (Svenska socialistiska partiet), which was outspokenly supportive of Nazi ideology. The Swedish Socialist Party participated in the 1944 election and received 5,279 votes or 2 per thousand; they probably never reached a thousand members. The party was disbanded in 1948.

The local units of the party were known as "Socialist Labour Communes" (Socialistiska Arbetarkommuner).

In terms of international contacts, the party was initially associated with the International Communist Opposition and later with the International Revolutionary Marxist Centre (also known as the "London Bureau").

The youth league of the party was called the Socialist Youth League (Socialistiska ungdomsförbundet), affiliated to the International Bureau of Revolutionary Youth Organizations.

Electoral results

Electoral results of the party (in elections to the Riksdag):

Publications

The party's newspaper was called Folkets Dagblad and had Arvid Olsson as editor. The party also published the weekly Sverige Fritt with Holger Möllman-Palmgren as editor and, among others, Annie Åkerhielm as writer.

Notes

References

• Per-Anders Lundh: Socialistiska Partiet 1929-1945 Swedish only. Retrieved 2012-04-13
• Bernt Kennerström (1974): Mellan två internationaler – Socialistiska Partiet 1929-37 Swedish only. Retrieved 2012-04-13
• Blomqvist, Håkan: Gåtan Nils Flyg och nazismen
• Hübinette, Tobias (2002). Den svenska nationalsocialismen - medlemmar och sympatisörer 1931-45.

References

1. "Johan Stenfeldt – En kommunist som blir nazist, en nazist som blir kommunist". [[Lund University]].
2. (2019). "Renegater : Nils Flyg och Sven Olov Lindholm i gränslandet mellan kommunism och nazism". Nordic Academic Press.
3. (2002-08-14). "Omstridd bok pekar ut svenska nazister". Svenska Dagbladet.
4. Bolin, Jan. ''Parti av ny typ?: skapandet av ett svenskt kommunistiskt parti 1917-1933''. Stockholm: Distribution, Almqvist & Wiksell International, 2004. p. 371
5. (2002-08-14). "Omstridd bok pekar ut svenska nazister". Svenska Dagbladet.