Johanne: International politik, klima og udlændinge på dagsordenen

Enhedslistens politiske ordfører, Johanne Schmidt-Nielsen, holdt i dag et oplæg og besvarede spørgsmål for en propfyldt sal ved et offentligt møde i Aktivcentret i Gladsaxe. Hun talte om mange indenrigspolitiske emner, såsom oprettelsen af en statsejet bank, regulering af den finansielle sektor, samt bedre nominering i skolerne og daginstitutionerne.

Men Johanne Schmidt-Nielsen talte også om de mange vigtige overnationale områder som der ikke blev fokuseret på i valgkampen, og som hun mente en ny regering burde ændre politik på i forhold til de seneste ti års borgerlige styre – herunder international politik, klima- og udlændingepolitik.

”I valgkampe fylder den internationale dagsorden meget lidt”, sagde Johanne Schmidt-Nielsen, ”fordi det er svært at rejse en dagsorden som ingen andre taler om”.

Liberal EU lovgiver mere end folketinget

Den Europæiske Kommission har for nyligt foreslået et direktiv der vil skabe en fælles Europæisk skatteharmonisering for koncerner, som opererer i flere EU-lande – den såkaldte Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB). Forslaget virker til at være designet til at minimere skattetrykket for de multinationale firmaer. ”Der hvor den laveste [selskabsskatte]sats er, vil virksomhederne være motiveret til at lægge omsætning, arbejdskraft, og aktiver”, siger Bo Sandberg, Skattepolitisk Chef for Dansk Erhverv om CCCTB.

Forslaget er bare det seneste i rækken af EU-love der påtvinger medlemslandene en liberal politik på stadigt flere områder. I den Europæiske Union er liberal politik en del af selve unionens identitet og ”grundlov”, traktaterne.

Is the Nordic welfare state sustainable?

The Danish Liberal Party, the party of Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, has pledged a “zero growth” policy in the public sector until 2020 – in effect a policy of further cutbacks on the welfare state. Danish Minister of Finance, Claus Hjort Frederiksen, is also intent on cutting back public spending. “It is time to tighten the reins”, he said during a governmental economical review on December 13.

Welfare states throughout the world are facing a continuous onslaught by liberal, conservative and social democrat governments alike, especially after the so-called financial crises of 2008.

Dansk udviklingspolitik i moralsk havsnød

Danmark skal åbenbart i stigende grad føre udviklingspolitik for vores egen skyld. For at sikre billige importprodukter. For at sikre markeder til vores forarbejdede varer. Og for at inddæmme konsekvenserne af den stigende fattigdom, og deraf følgende ustabilitet og terrorisme, så flygtninge kan hjælpes ”i nærområderne”.

Inden for det seneste årti er udviklingspolitikken således for alvor blevet koblet til en bredere udenrigs- og sikkerhedspolitik i Danmark. Man taler nok om demokrati, menneskerettigheder og bæredygtig udvikling, men den udviklingspolitik der implementeres er drevet af frihandels-mantraet og privatsektordrevet egennytte.

”Dansk udenrigspolitik i nyt farvand”

Den 23. november 2010 lancerede udenrigsminister Lene Espersen oplægget ”Kurs mod 2020 – Dansk udenrigspolitik i nyt farvand”. Ifølge udenrigsministeren skal oplægget starte en debat

Are the Danes xenophobic?

Since the present Liberal-Conservative minority government assumed power in 2001, Danish immigration policy has become increasingly unforgiving. This is very much due to the government needing either the anti-immigration Danish People’s Party (DPP) or the Social Democrats to command a majority, and that most immigration-related legislation has been planned with and heavily influenced by the former.

Not being satisfied with Denmark having probably the most exclusive and discriminatory immigration laws in the EU, however, the DPP has now suggested even harsher legislation.

Stor demonstration mod regeringens ”genopretningsplan”

Det anslås at mellem 40.000 og 80.000 mennesker fra hele landet deltog i demonstrationen imod regeringens såkaldte genopretningspakke på Christiansborg Slotsplads den 8. juni, og at dette kan muligvis kan være med til at presse regeringen og Dansk Folkeparti til at ændre yderligere på planen. Regeringen er således allerede blevet presset til at ændre på den del af planen der omhandler børnepenge, og ifølge en pressemeddelelse fra LO er målet med demonstrationen at ”regeringen tager pakken af bordet og i stedet investerer i jobs og uddannelse”. LO og FTF var arrangører af demonstrationen, og begge organisationer havde flere gange tidligere kritiseret planen i stærke vendinger. ”Spareplanen er så socialt skæv, at jeg får kuldegysninger og sjældent har været så indigneret”, udtalte LO’s formand, Harald Børsting, således forleden.

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark

Until recently, many saw Denmark as a progressive and outward-looking country – at least that is the picture the more progressive Danes like to cling to today. Given the present political climate of hostility towards immigrants, one might wonder whether this alleged progressiveness was ever sincere, or whether the some of the more narrow-minded, nationalistic tendencies in contemporary Danish society are due to Denmark not being as homogenous and monocultural as it once was. Perhaps these more unappealing qualities had been there all along.

Lithuanian Gay Pride parade defies homophobic hysteria

8 May 2010 saw Lithuania’s first ever Gay Pride Parade, Baltic Pride. The parade was clearly inspired by similar annual parades elsewhere, such as the Mardi Gras parade  in Sydney, held since 1978 and now the largest pride parade in the world, and Joburg Pride, Africa’s only pride parade, and these events were in turn inspired by the success of the Gay Rights Movement  of the mid-sixties. There were several attempts to stop the parade from going ahead, and when it did due to pressure from Amnesty International and the EU, as well as because of a ruling by the Lithanian Supreme Administrative Court, hundreds on counter-demonstrators shouted abuse, threw smoke bombs, and attempted to attack the participants of the parade. Lithuania has recently implemented discriminatory legislation against homosexuals, that amongst other things makes the “promoting homosexual relations” a punishable offense,  and the country is well known for its intolerance towards sexual minorities.

A new era for Britain?

With this year’s election in Britain over, and Britons having voted for a hung parliament, one might wonder whether there is really much difference between the candidates for the office of Prime Minister. After all, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown adopted many of Thatcher’s ideas and policies upon transforming Labour into New Labour (through vigorous privatisation of e.g. the health service, the post office, law and order and the job centres, as well as Thatcherite fiscal and monetary policies). And David Cameron has seemingly transformed his party into a slick, new vibrant Conservative Party, not unlike the force for change that Blair was for Labour in the mid-to-late nineties – thus finally ridding the Conservatives of their state of confusion that they had been in since the splits in the party over e.g. Europe and since Blair had co-opted many of their policies.