Away win in Sweden

In Sweden, we had a very full schedule. The bus and inflatable constitution made a total of 15 stops and travelled a distance of over 2300 kilometres. Five Swedes reinforced the bus’ four-member team from Germany, so that the bus was always snugly full. Since we were not on our home turf and the terrain was often unfamiliar, our team often had to resort to dramatic turning manoeuvres such as the U-turn à la Blair. Our captain Klaus took great joy in demonstrating his amazing driving skills to the cheering crowds at every opportunity.

The actions themselves...

... were similar: First the display of the constitution was inflated, then the public address system was set up. The Swedish democracy activists fanned out to gather signatures, while speakers took turns addressing the passers-by from the microphone. As a result of listening to these speeches, the word folkomröstning remains engraved in my memory. The campaign attracted considerable media attention because of the support of prominent figures from participating political parties. Above all, the founder and leader of the "June List" (see below), Nils Lungren, joined us at many actions. He is the former CEO of Sweden’s Nordic Bank. On an interesting side note, his son had previously taken part in our Europe-wide Day of Action. He can be seen in pictures on the ERC Website standing in the snow in Copenhagen holding up a sign.

Tour through Sweden: An enormous success

Measured by the amount of media resonance per Euro (or per Swedish Kroner) invested, the tour was an indisputable success. Flocks of journalists met the bus at each stop and the inflatable constitution appeared twice on television. We can’t even count the number of radio interviews that were done. The tour through Northern Europe put the topic on the political agenda. At the same time, thousands of signatures were gathered. However, there were no public panel discussions during the tour; these were to be organised after the bus’ visits by the newly founded local networks that sprung up in several places.

What are the chances now for a referendum? The Social Democrats currently lead a minority government in Sweden, supported by the Greens and the Left Party, which are part of the referendum network. Other members of the network include a union, a group called "Alternatives to the EU", and the June List. The June List is an interesting party. First founded in June 2005, it managed, with only €100,000 Euros and its EU-sceptical, neoliberal positions, to capture 14% of the vote in the last EU election. And now the big news: they are threatening the Social Democrats. According to them, either there will be a referendum on the EU constitution or they will run for Parliament in the next election! Two regional groupings of Social Democrats have already decided to press for a referendum. In sum: the chances for a referendum look good.

next: Finland - unusually open atmosphere