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European Workers Party

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European Workers' Party
Europeiska arbetarpartiet
LeaderKjell Lundqvist
IdeologyLaRouchism
Bretton Woods system
Statism
Conspiracism
Anti-environmentalism
Political positionSyncretic
Far-right[citation needed]
International affiliationLaRouche movement
Website
www.larouche.se (defunct)

The European Workers' Party (Swedish: Europeiska arbetarpartiet, EAP) is a minor political party in Sweden without parliamentary representation. The party is the Swedish section of the LaRouche Movement.

History

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The movement was established as the European Labour Committees (ELC) in 1974 by two American LaRouchians, William "Bill" Jones and Michael Vale. Bill Jones had lived in Sweden since 1968, as an apparent Vietnam war deserter. The movement started to build its organization around the young Swedish student Kerstin Tegin, later Tegin-Gaddy, and her American husband to-be Clifford G. Gaddy. However, the party never became much bigger than a handful of people. During this period, Sweden was one of the few countries that openly harboured and encouraged American GIs in Vietnam to defect, and it is often insinuated that EAP was set up in Sweden by the CIA to label the defectors as left-wing extremists.[1]

The EAP launched campaigns in the 1980s based on what was described by the Swedish government as "extreme hatred of Swedish PM Olof Palme".[2] A 2002 government report stated:

It became increasingly common in the media to characterize the EAP as "fascist" or "right-wing extremist". One reason for this was the pronounced anti-sovietism [of the party], its extreme hatred of Olof Palme, and its adherence to anti-semitic jargon and conspiracy theories.[3]

After the Olof Palme assassination in 1986, the group was for a time suspected by the police of being connected to the murder, although this theory was soon dropped. Victor Gunnarsson, who had been a member for a year before being kicked out in 1985, was arrested and questioned by police about the assassination before being released.[4] Dean Andromidas, from the LaRouche organisation's Executive Intelligence Review, claims there was a radio broadcast on Swedish National Radio in August 1992 by Herbert Brehmer, former leading operative of the East German Stasi and author of Auftrag: Irreführung. Wie die Stasi Politik im Westen machte. Andromidas claimed that Brehmer "explained how his Department 10, responsible for disinformation, put into motion a preplanned disinformation operation to pin the blame for the murder of Palme on LaRouche and his Swedish associates."[5] According to another LaRouche associate, Jeffrey Steinberg, South African interests lie behind the murder and the EAP was to blame for the murder.[6] LaRouche issued a statement on the allegations made against his organization.[7]

However, as a result of the hard pressure put on the EAP after the Olof Palme assassination, the party was thrown into disarray, numerous members left the party, the party left its Stockholm headquarters and more or less went underground, and leaders of the party – the Gaddys – abandoned the party and left Sweden for the USA,[8] where they eventually pursued successful academic careers.[9][10]

The Paris office of the party received minor damage in a bomb blast in April 1986.[11]

Election history

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The EAP had its best election in 1985 when they received 369 votes.

In the 1990s, the party kept a relatively low profile, but it has resurfaced in the early 21st century and ran for national parliament and the local assembly of Botkyrka in the Swedish election in September 2006.[12] The party only received 83 votes (0.0015%) in the election for the national parliament,[13] and 64 votes (0.16%) in the local election in Botkyrka.[14]

LaRouche supporters in Stockholm protesting the Treaty of Lisbon.

Party leaders

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  • Kerstin Tegin-Gaddy, 1976–1986
  • Michael Ericson, 1986–2003
  • Ulf Sandmark, 2003–2007
  • Hussein Askary, 2007–present

References

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Notes

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  1. ^ Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet, 2 August 1976, on EAP and Kerstin Tegin
  2. ^ SOU 2002:87 Rikets säkerhet och den personliga integriteten Archived 29 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Swedish Government Official Report, p. 239
  3. ^ Swedish Government Official Reports 2002:91
  4. ^ "Bombs hit LaRouche Paris office". Houston Chronicle. 7 April 1986. p. 6.
  5. ^ Lyndon La Rouche's Palme Theory Archived 23 May 2006 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ John Train: Portrait of an 'Economic Hit Man'
  7. ^ Carlsson's Lies about Palme's Murder, by Lyndon H. LaRouche, Jr. (Nov. 10, 1995)
  8. ^ Granskningskommissionens betänkande i anledning av Brottsutredningen efter mordet på statsminister Olof Palme
  9. ^ "The Catholic University of America – Modern Languages Department". Archived from the original on 8 September 2006. Retrieved 18 August 2006.
  10. ^ Clifford G. Gaddy – Brookings Institution Archived 4 May 1999 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ "Bombs hit LaRouche Paris office". Houston Chronicle. 7 April 1986. p. 6.
  12. ^ LaRoucherörelsen i Sverige Archived 10 April 2005 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ Allmänna val 17 september 2006
  14. ^ Allmänna val 17 september 2006
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