Comment from Kompass-gruppen in Sweden on the upcoming general election there.

It has not escaped anyone’s notice that 2026 is an election year in Sweden, yet another routine ceremony designed to allow the factions of the bourgeoisie to fight amongst themselves for control of the state apparatus. But, unlike previous elections, this one is taking place entirely without pomp or circumstance. Which parliamentary party can really be said to be making headway today?

The ruling Tidö parties (the right-wing coalition) have pushed through NATO membership and their programme for increased and ever more open repression of the working class. The Social Democrats (the so-called workers’ party) are hot on their heels with the same initiatives. The Sweden Democrats’ momentous electoral successes have begun to slow down as their entire raison d’être has been adopted by the rest of the right-wing bloc. The Left Party, which we are so often ordered by leftists to support, remains in its perpetual identity crisis between being an obedient internal opposition to the Social Democrats within the ‘red’ bloc and being a protest party that happily lends its support to Rojava, Palestine or whatever other nation-state happens to be in vogue at the moment. All this whilst the Centre Party, the Liberals and the Green Party are frantically trying to clear the 4% threshold.

Why do Bourgeois Elections Exist?

Since the Social Democrats’ betrayal during the First World War, communists have renounced all participation in bourgeois elections, whether local or national. Parliaments are the arena for the bourgeois factions to struggle over leadership of their state apparatus, and it is naïve to expect any concessions on their territory. But it is a mistake to interpret the bourgeoisie as a united class with common interests. Throughout history, the bourgeoisie has been divided between the big and small bourgeoisie, the countryside and the city, nationally and more internationally tied capital, and within these strata and factions, different industries as well as the individual capitalists and their capital. The bourgeoisie is a fragmented class that is always in competition with one another.

Historically in Sweden, the Moderates have represented the conservative and nationalist wing of capital with their defence of tradition and the military. The Liberals were the party of the petty bourgeoisie, defending the free market and international cooperation. The Social Democrats are, at their core, a hollowed-out version of a workers’ party that exists to give the proletariat the illusion of influence. But even they have adopted their own bourgeois agenda, that is, the cautious state capitalist who champions long-term stability with ampler regulations and safeguards to prevent economic collapse.

It is these factions that fight for power in bourgeois elections. The differences are not imaginary, but no faction can in any sense be considered to speak for or offer a real alternative to the proletariat. But even this struggle has today become increasingly muted. The parties play at being in opposition in the public debate, but today the agenda for Sweden is clear: preparation for crisis and war.

The Crisis of Capital

It has not escaped the bourgeoisie’s notice that the rate of profit is falling, that the global situation is moving towards ever larger and more widespread wars, and that the domestic climate is becoming increasingly unstable. The situation demands “all hands on deck” to defend their common interest: to continue exploiting the proletariat. On this point, there are clear measures. Domestically, this means ever-increasing resources and powers for the police and the judiciary to curb protests and riots and thereby maintain order.

In foreign policy, this means ever-stronger ties with other European states in the face of the drive towards war, through alignment with NATO and the defence and expansion of EU cooperation. These latter measures, the bourgeoisie explains, are to defend liberal democracy and the sovereignty of free nations from Russian, American and Chinese tyranny. But the real motive is, as always, to defend existing markets and resources, and to conquer new ones, from rival capital.

The Election in Sweden

In reality, as always, the choice is between which capitalist party is best suited to manage ‘our’ capitalist state’s interests. And these, as mentioned, are to assert the interests of Sweden-based capitalists on the world market and for Sweden to contribute its share to the imperialist arms race. All this in the context of a capitalism in crisis and heading towards a generalised international war. This means continued unemployment, austerity and rearmament – regardless of whether there is a red, green, blue or rainbow-coloured government! The government of any particular term is not where the real power and dominance over our lives lies. The framework is set by the accumulation of capital and the bourgeoisie’s attempts to ensure it continues to generate profit.

But even though voting is toothless, however, not voting in itself offers no solution. Declining voter turnout and mistrust of politicians and those in power amongst the working class is a one (highly understandable) matter – class consciousness is something else. We simply must take up the fight. There is certainly no shortage of problems to tackle and issues to fight for – quite the opposite! There are many immediate interests to unite around and fight for. Sweden’s unemployment rate is among the highest in Europe (around 9%), the costs of food and housing have skyrocketed, and wages have plummeted. A fragmented and increasingly intense working life, resulting in rising death rates, injuries and stress-related illnesses, is the reality our class faces every day.

Our Struggle, Our Methods

Neither the government nor the so-called peoples' and workers’ movements such as the trade unions, tenants’ associations, etc. can or even want to solve our problems properly; they are completely integrated into the bourgeois state and, as such, bound to serve the interests of capital. To revive the struggle, we workers must first and foremost organise ourselves independently and form our own committees and associations, mass meetings, etc., in our local communities and workplaces in order to drive the struggle forward. By electing our own recallable delegates, we can demonstrate the difference between their ‘democracy’ and ours: instead of passive submission through voting every four years, let us choose active participation, struggle and solidarity!

But the immediate demands of the day eventually turn into an endless treadmill. No real solution to meeting our needs – and ultimately our true liberation – can be found within capitalism. The struggle must be taken to a political level.

A World – Not Just an Election – To Win!

So by all means, abstain from capitalism’s electoral spectacle – but anyone who wants a better future cannot stand outside the real political struggle. Those of us who recognise the need for an independent movement for the working class must take steps to organise ourselves politically to lay the foundations for this here and now.

The interests of the working class are the same across the globe. The exploitation of our labour generates profit for "our" ruling classes, regardless of where we live and under which regime. Moreover, we are expected to be cannon fodder for nations that are, in reality, not "ours" in any sense. The drive towards war is the clearest trend of crisis-ridden capitalism in recent years; once again we are to be armed and whipped up into a war frenzy. We are inundated with nationalist propaganda and “crisis consciousness”; once again, we are to be pitted against one another.

More than anything else, we need an independent revolutionary organisation, an international party to advance the genuine interests of workers everywhere: an end to wage labour and capitalist profit-seeking, and instead to build a collectively created society without borders, where production is aimed first and foremost at sustainably meeting human needs.

Are you fed up with squabbling politicians, trade unions and the status quo – and do you agree with the need for revolutionary class struggle and internationalism? Get in touch!