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EUROPE
IN
FERMENT!
by
Gene H. Hogberg
Remarkable shifts in political power,
left-right clashes over economic and military matters beset key
nations of Western Europe. Where
is an increasingly polarized and unstable Western Europe headed?
W
ESTERN EUROPE
is
in the t hroes of
a lmost whirlwind
political changes.
Sudden and often radical
sh ifts in government are becom–
ing the norm. Even more serious
is the growing phenomenon of
governmental instabi lity cou–
pled with extreme polarization
of political viewpoints.
Specific reasons behind the
political shifts vary from country to
country. In most cases, two funda–
mental issues stand out. The first is
Europe's prolonged recession, re–
sulting in record unemployment in
sorne countries.
The second issue, rapidly becom–
ing the more important of the two,
revolves around the broad spectrum
of East-West relations. Tt focuses
primarily on the emotional issue of
nuclear weapons.
T he Shift to the Left . ..
The French launched t he spate of
changes when Socialist President
Francois Mitterrand 's 1979 elec–
tion victory ended a two-decade–
long succession of conservat ive gov–
ernments. In an aftershock, Mr.
Mitterrand took four Communists
into his Cabinet, hoping to insure
peace wi th organized labor . This
action stunned cert ain of France's
Western a llies.
Mr. Mitterrand also ini t iated an
February 1983
expansionist economic policy with
large-scale public spending. But the
plummeting value of the French
franc has forced him to retreat to
an austerity program. As a result
the government is faced with wide–
spread worker unrest.
In Greece, Andreas Papandreou
led his Panhellenic Socialist Move–
ment to victory in October, 1981,
giving Greece its first nonconserva–
tive government in 16 years. Mr.
Papandreou promised major reforms
on the home front, and suggested
Greece would pull out ofNATO and
the Common Market. But he has
since moderated his views.
In Sweden, Olof Palme, prime
minister from 1969 to 1976, ushered
his Social Democrats back into
power in September 1982. This
switch ended liberal Sweden's brief
six-year-long experiment with mod–
erate conservatism. In his own
a ttempt to enliven the sluggish
Swedish economy, Mr. Palme is pro–
moting sorne of the most radical
socialized economic reforms ever
conceived.
•• . And Back to the Ríght
Voters in other European countries
have installed center to right-of–
center governme n ts in to office,
hoping that they might possess the
"magic cure" to salve intensifying
national problems.
In Denmark, the first Conserva–
tive prime minister in 8 1 years,
Poul Schleuter, immediately ini-
tiated an austerity program after
his election last September.
A similar situat ion prevails in
Norway where Kaare Willoch's
one-party minority government
represents the first time that con–
servatives have been in power in
that country in 50 years.
Finally, Belgian Premier Wil–
fried Martens, a Christian Demo–
crat, assumed power a year ago
campaigning on a platform of aus–
terity to defeat a center-left coali–
tion. Belgium's economy is one of
the weakest in Europe.
Elections also took place in the
Netherlands and ltaly in 1982.
1
n
each case, however, the prolifera–
tion of political parties prevents a
radical swing in either directión,
and also prevents stable govern–
ments from being formed. This
phenomenon virtually guarantees
new and inconcl us ive elections
every severaJ months.
Spaln Lurehes Leftw ard
The most dramatic reversals of polit–
ical orientat io n , however, have
occurred in Spain and West Germa–
ny.
Only seven years ago Spain
emerged from nearly four decades of
authoritarian rule. After the death of
Generalissimo F rancisco Franco,
Spain cautiously waded into the
democrat ic waters.
Since 1977, a political party in the
center dominated the government.
Then last October Pr ime Minister
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