Saga - 2008, Qupperneq 55

Abstract
þór wh i t ehead
UNDER THE COMINTERN’S PRECONDIT IONS
The establishment of Iceland’s Socialist Unity Party, 1937–1938
In an article in Saga 2007(1), Jón Ólafsson claims that in 1938 the Communist
Party of Iceland (CPI) snubbed the Communist International, the Comintern, by
founding the Socialist Unity Party (SUP) without full involvement of the Labour
Party (LP).
In 1937, the Comintern had instructed the CPI to pursue unification with the
LP, upon the precondition that the united party strictly adhere to Marxism-
Leninism and stay absolutely loyal to the Soviet Union. As a consequence, the
“rightist” LP leadership was bound to split away from the party if unification
with the CPI was agreed on.
Until late summer 1938, the leader of the left wing in the LP seemed to be
swaying the party towards that goal. When the right wing unexpectedly pre-
vailed, however, the left wing by itself sought unification with the CPI. Faced
with this fait accompli, the Communists requested the Comintern’s consent for the
merger. The assumption was that the new unity party would be able to wrest
leadership from the LP both in the trade union movement and in parliament. The
CPI programme also met every precondition laid down by the Comintern.
Wilhelm Florin, in charge of Nordic affairs in the Comintern, reacted nega-
tively to the CPI’s request, as it would split the LP. However, his attitude must
be considered in light of his previous opposition to the popular front line, which
put him in mortal danger during Stalin’s great purge.
Jón Ólafsson implies that the Comintern leadership adopted Florin’s atti-
tude, citing as evidence the International‘s not sending any congratulatory
telegram to the founding congress of the SUP, as the Danish and Swedish
Communist parties did. These parties, Ólafsson suggests, were influenced by
Einar Olgeirsson, who he wrongly describes as a rebellious CPI leader.
These inferences, coupled with Ólafsson‘s misinterpretation of a newspaper
report on the Nordic congratulations, are completely unfounded. All of the
Nordic communist parties were equally subservient to Moscow. Indeed, the con-
gratulations from the Danes and Swedes amounted to a blessing of the SUP by
the Comintern, which secretly continued to direct the policies of Icelandic com-
munists without at all criticising their action.
Jón Ólafsson’s article is in keeping with his general minimizing of Icelandic
communists‘ dependence upon Moscow. This tendency sometimes leads him to
disregard standard scholarly method, resulting in misleading and paradoxical
assertions.
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