On 9th April, the National Committee of the Swedish Union of Tenants (HGF) decided to expel the West of Sweden regional leader, Kristofer Lundberg, who is also a well-known leading member of Rättvisepartiet Socialisterna — ISA in Sweden. By doing this, the Social Democratic bureaucrats at the top of this organisation hope to stop further radicalisation, grassroots organising and struggles from below.
An editorial in the liberal daily paper, GT-Expressen, actually explained in advance why this expulsion was happening. The paper analysed the precarious situation of the Social Democrat-Green government that is dependent on a deal with two liberal parties. The implementation of “market rents” is a key paragraph in the long list of neo-liberal and austerity measures on which this agreement is based. This demand for market rents, the editorial explained, could force the government out of power since it means a complete break with the historic policies of the labour movement.
The editor continued, describing the West of Sweden as being the epicentre of a struggle within the Tenants Union on how to deal with this threat. Already in the autumn of 2017, the region launched a campaign against market rents, proposed by Kristofer Lundberg, who was then a regional committee member. The national leadership, however, did everything to block the campaign from spreading. Instead, they focused on getting the Social Democratic party to promise to not introduce market rents. How little that was worth as now been proved.
Less than two weeks after the expulsion of Kristofer, the government launched a committee to prepare the law to introduce market rents. The traditional system of negotiated rents between housing companies and the tenants union will be replaced, starting with new-built housing. It is expected to lead to rent increases by 50% or more. This is another key element of the “Swedish model” of welfare, that has been undermined over many years that is now being finally smashed.
A radical change in the Union
Kristofer Lundberg was elected regional chair (president) of the Tenants Union in West Sweden in April 2018. It’s the second largest region with over 70,000 members out of a national membership of 540,000. The region consists of 13 districts that in turn has local unions.
Kristofer Lundberg’s election was the biggest challenge to the Social Democratic domination of the labour and social movement in Sweden for a very long time. Traditionally, the Social Democrats have purged trade unions and sister organisations of left and communist opposition, or “domesticated” them into silence.
However, this election was not a surprise. Through energetic work and successful local campaigns in the Sandeslätt-Hammarkullen local unions and the Angered district, a suburb of Gothenburg, together with his active support for other local unions, Kristofer was well-known among members who long for change. The Social Democrat’s attempts to slander him failed completely. At the region’s annual conference, Kristofer got over 60 percent of the votes with his Social Democratic opponent receiving less than 20 percent.
The local campaigns in Angered included victories such as the renovation of flats without rent increases, a private housing company being forced out and replaced by a council company, and the defeat of the city council’s housing privatisation plans, amongst many others. As Kristofer has explained many times, these campaigns used the methods and experience of our party to involve as many as possible in the struggle.
When he took over the leadership, the changes were very visible. The Tenants Union consciously turned to young tenants, women and immigrants, who had long been neglected. Hundreds attended meetings, the number of local unions in Angered increased from 14 to 19, there was a growing confidence that it was possible to win. The Union was democratised.
The right-wing attacks
The Social Democratic leaders, although far from all their members, have been planning to get rid of Kristofer Lundberg since his election. This, however, was not an easy task. A year ago, the regional committee, on Kristofer’s proposal, organised a rally with over 500 members that enthusiastically launched a campaign against the right-wing deal between the government and the two liberal parties.
The national leadership did whatever they could to derail or block a real campaign. The West region then launched 18th April this year as a date for a massive demonstration against market rents and the government’s program. The proposal got an echo in other regions and scared the leadership even more.
The position as regional president was due to be discussed at the region’s annual conference this April, although not held yet because of the Coronavirus. In February, a Social Democratic politician on the regional committee launched an attack in a big daily paper, accusing the Tenants Union of becoming a “revolutionary sect”. Kristofer Lundberg was named as a member of Rättvisepartiet Socialisterna — ISA in Sweden and attacked, for amongst other things, a solidarity video for the workers at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast. This attack, however, failed. On no occasion has Kristofer and our party ever hidden our political views, on the contrary. The rest of the committee, with one exception, wrote a reply under the head-line “We stand by Kristofer Lundberg”.
The bureaucracy therefore needed something more. They were assisted by an ad firm, which sent scam invoices to the Tenants Union. The invoices were addressed to Kristofer’s district, Angered, and paid by the regional office, without Kristofer having any knowledge of it. A big deficit was accumulated and then used to attack the regional committee and attack Kristofer for “financial irregularities”. The regional committee was suspended by the national committee and a huge slander campaign was launched.
The national leaders, all long-standing and highly paid Social Democrats, referred to the report of an “independent investigation”, which no-one, including the accused, has been allowed to read. The Angered district, on the other hand, conducted its own investigation, available to all to read, that proved that responsibility belonged to the regional office, and one individual in the Angered committee.
The liberal daily, GT-Expressen, carried another editorial, explaining that the expulsion would not save the Tenants Union from the question of how to respond to “a Social Democracy that pursues classic liberal policies”. They can’t keep using “financial irregularities”, it said, “to solve debates over market rents”.
The defence campaign and forward
There is very strong support both for Kristofer Lundberg and for the methods of struggle of the West region, as shown by the defence campaign against the attacks. The campaign stressed political differences — whether to fight against the government or support it?
Many understood that this was an attempt to expel Kristofer. 28 local tenants unions and districts voted unanimously for resolutions against the threat of expulsion, and 120 local unions agreed resolutions linking it to the need for demonstrations on 18th April, which had not then been postponed. 1,200 elected activists in the Union signed resolutions against the expulsion.
On the day of the expulsion, 9th April, Corona-safe protests were held in Stockholm and Gothenburg, receiving big attention. Major daily newspapers reported them, underlining the political issues involved.
On the 18th April, the demonstration was replaced by a video featuring Kristofer and the struggle, watched by over 34,000 people. Then, before May Day, a discussion article sharply criticising the government was published in the media, signed by Kristofer and the leaders of all the Tenants Union districts in Gothenburg, the centre of West Sweden.
Discussions continue on how to organise, with Kristofer having been expelled and a number of activists having left the Union in protest. The issue of housing is more important and urgent in Sweden than it has been for many decades. Alongside market rents, there are threats of continued privatisations, huge “normal” rent increases especially after fake renovations, shortage of housing and overcrowding — and now the extra burden of the Corona crisis. A preliminary date for protests has been set for 12th September.
The West region with Kristofer Lundberg at the head shocked the Tenants Union bureaucrats, housing companies and the government. It re-created the tradition of struggle and organising, something that can’t be erased. New chapters will follow.
