Common Course

Common Course Workers' Party ( ), more commonly known as Common Course ( (FK)), was a Eurosceptic political party in Denmark led by Preben Møller Hansen, which held 4 seats in the Danish parliament from 1987 to 1988. It was formed out of the communist wing of maritime workers' unions and initially envisaged a front of progressive left-wing parties, before becoming a political party in 1986¹. It tried to appeal to urban workers, farmers, and pensioners, and idealised a past Denmark that 'put people in the centre', a tradition which it claimed the European Economic Community was 'destroying'. Its brief time in the parliament ended due to a split vote on the left, and the party's perceived conservative slants led it to create an ill-fated alliance with right-wing politician Mogens Glistrup in 1990. The rise of more viable left-wing parties spelled the end for Common Course.

Common Course Workers' Party ( ), more commonly known as Common Course ( (FK)), was a Eurosceptic political party in Denmark led by Preben Møller Hansen, which held 4 seats in the Danish parliament from 1987 to 1988. It was formed out of the communist wing of maritime workers' unions and initially envisaged a front of progressive left-wing parties, before becoming a political party in 1986. It tried to appeal to urban workers, farmers, and pensioners, and idealised a past Denmark that 'put people in the centre', a tradition which it claimed the European Economic Community was 'destroying'. Its brief time in the parliament ended due to a split vote on the left, and the party's perceived conservative slants led it to create an ill-fated alliance with right-wing politician Mogens Glistrup in 1990. The rise of more viable left-wing parties spelled the end for Common Course.

History

In 1960, the communist factions of the sailors’ and deckhands’ unions began publishing a newspaper called ‘Common Course’. Most prominent in these factions was the leader of the Danish Seamens' Union, Preben Møller Hansen. He was known for his outspoken way of expressing himself, frequently using swear words, making broad generalizations and anti-elitist statements. The supporters of Common Course were kicked out of the Communist Party of Denmark (KPD) in 1979, after prolonged criticism of the party by Møller Hansen for its co-operation with the Social Democrats. They formed the Common Course Clubs, a movement representing mainly maritime workers and pensioners, but with the goal of creating a united front of progressive parties. In 1986, it became its own party, the Common Course Workers’ Party. In the 1987 general election, it won four seats in the Folketing, three of which were held by Seamens’ Union members. However, in the 1988 snap election, it fell below the electoral threshold by 0.1%, and lost its representation. The three contesting far-left parties, Common Course, the Communist Party and the Left Socialists (VS), amassed a total of 3.33% of the votes. After the disappointing election, the Communists expressed their wish to build a common alliance of progressive parties, including the far-left, which echoed Common Course's original goals. However, negotiations to create this alliance were difficult. The Left Socialists, and the smaller Socialist Workers Party (SAP), were critical of FK's opposition to migrant workers. Because of their previous grievances, much of the DKP did not want to associate with FK either. Serious doubt was also cast onto the longevity of a new left alliance, as the DKP's strict Marxism–Leninism clashed with VS's libertarian socialist factions. In a tactical move, for the 1990 elections, FK ran on a joint list with the small Welfare Party, led by Mogens Glistrup, creator of the far-right Progress Party from which he had been suspended. Not only did this lock them out of the eventual agreed left-wing alliance, the Red-Green Alliance, but it led to another failure, as Common Course's list only won 1.79% of the vote, failing to pass into the Folketing yet again. This also ruined the Red-Greens’ chances, as they also fell short of the threshold. Common Course began to fall apart, losing the support of the Seamens’ Union in 1994, the same year they stood down from the general election. In the same election, the RGA won 6 seats in the Folketing, thanks to an influx of former voters from FK, but also the Socialist Peoples’ Party, who were criticised for their increasing acceptance of the EU. The party kept its sole seat, held by Møller Hansen, on the Copenhagen City Council until 2001. In 2003, its final conference was held, where Møller Hansen expressed his wishes for another communist party to rise in the country, and proclaimed that the dream for a ‘common course’ was still alive. The party subsequently folded. Former member of Danish parliament Line Barfod (Red-Green Alliance) was a former member of Common Course, and was chairperson of its youth wing in the years 1984–1985, before the actual formation of the party.

References

Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1352127467 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.