Communist Influence in Western European Parties
Communism: Communist Influence in Noncommunist Countries Western Europe Other Western European Parties
The strongest Western European parties, other than the Italian and French, have been those of Greece, Finland, Portugal, and Spain. The Greek and Portuguese parties mirrored the intransigence of the French and refused to go the reformist route. The Finnish party generally adopted a neutral line toward the Soviets. The Spanish Communist Party, led by Santiago Carrillo, adopted Eurocommunism in the late 1970s but splintered into pro-Soviet and anti-Soviet factions in the 1980s. Communist parties in Sweden, Norway, Belgium, and Britain have been less influential but have enjoyed, at one time or another, representation in their respective parliaments. The smallest and least significant communist parties have been those of Austria, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, The Netherlands, and Switzerland, all of which generally supported Moscow. Almost everywhere in Western Europe, the declining electoral popularity of communist parties was accompanied by internal party dissension and, in some places, by splits into rival parties. The Belgian and Dutch parties dissolved in 1991. (1)
In this Section: Communist Influence, Communist Influence in United States, Communist Influence in Canada, Communist Influence in Former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, Communist Influence in Western Europe, Communist Influence in Italy, Communist Influence in France and Communist Influence in Western European Parties.