Word: falldin
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...center-right government of Thorbjorn Falldin eventually foundered during the worldwide recession following the 1979 oil shocks, and in 1982 Palme and his socialists were returned to power. Palme's economic policies, especially the creation of controversial union-dominated investment funds, sparked angry protests. Nonetheless, his mandate was renewed again only last September in one of the sweetest electoral triumphs of his career. "We've won the victory for the welfare state," he exulted...
...economic realities of Reagan's budget are beginning to appear, and the American people are being faced with the realization the Swedes had last year: Sometimes the solution is worse than the problem. Like Falldin, Reagan is trapped between the firm, if unrealistic, demands of his conservative backers and the abyss of the national budget. He cannot compromise too far; he can only hope that by some miracle, supply-side economics will begin to work. Otherwise, he will learn a simple lesson: Voters are ready to give new things a try, but lose their nerve swiftly. When an experiment fails...
...Falldin did not have to deal with the extravagant military budget required by Reagan's friends in the military-industrial complex and rightist religious sects. His fiscal albatross was the heavy burden on the government's social programs, increased by the gradual failure of large Swedish industries such as shipbuilding, steel and iron one mining. The LO, the Swedish equivalent of the APL-CIO, complained fiercely even at the unemployment rise from 2 to 4 percent. The coalition tried to hold the brakes on social spending, but government service still grew to 65 percent of the GNP. At the same...
Finally, in 1981, the imbalance forced Falldin to compromise with the Social Democrats, who directly control the LO. He agreed to increase taxes in several areas. Rather than tolerate such weakness, the Conservatives left the coalition. Falldin resigned, and though other non-socialists succeeded him, the stage had been set for the return of the Social Democrats...
...raising some taxes. But the pressure for new taxes will continue as the projected deficit becomes a really and the patience of some of Reagan's Rightist supporters has already been stretched thin. Reagan's political strength comes from his clear separation from the policies of the Democrats: like Falldin, he cannot abandon the image he built in his campaigns and expect his support to remain intact...