In 1960, the communist factions of the sailors’ and deckhands’ unions began publishing a newspaper called ‘Common Course’. Most prominent in these factions was the leader of the
Danish Seamens' Union,
Preben Møller Hansen. He was known for his outspoken way of expressing himself, frequently using
swear words, making broad generalizations and
anti-elitist statements. The supporters of Common Course were kicked out of the
Communist Party of Denmark (KPD) in 1979, after prolonged criticism of the party by Møller Hansen for its co-operation with the
Social Democrats. They formed the
Common Course Clubs, a movement representing mainly maritime workers and pensioners, but with the goal of creating a united front of progressive parties. In 1986, it became its own party, the Common Course Workers’ Party. In the
1987 general election, it won four seats in the Folketing, three of which were held by Seamens’ Union members. However, in the
1988 snap election, it fell below the electoral threshold by 0.1%, and lost its representation. The three contesting far-left parties, Common Course, the Communist Party and the
Left Socialists (VS), amassed a total of 3.33% of the votes. After the disappointing election, the Communists expressed their wish to build a common alliance of progressive parties, including the far-left, which echoed Common Course's original goals. However, negotiations to create this alliance were difficult. The Left Socialists, and the smaller
Socialist Workers Party (SAP), were critical of FK's opposition to migrant workers. Because of their previous grievances, much of the DKP did not want to associate with FK either. Serious doubt was also cast onto the longevity of a new left alliance, as the DKP's strict Marxism–Leninism clashed with VS's libertarian socialist factions. In a tactical move, for the
1990 elections, FK ran on a joint list with the small Welfare Party, led by
Mogens Glistrup, creator of the far-right
Progress Party from which he had been suspended. Not only did this lock them out of the eventual agreed left-wing alliance, the
Red-Green Alliance, but it led to another failure, as Common Course's list only won 1.79% of the vote, failing to pass into the Folketing yet again. This also ruined the Red-Greens’ chances, as they also fell short of the threshold. Common Course began to fall apart, losing the support of the Seamens’ Union in 1994, the same year they stood down from the general election. In the same election, the RGA won 6 seats in the Folketing, thanks to an influx of former voters from FK, but also the Socialist Peoples’ Party, who were criticised for their increasing acceptance of the EU. The party kept its sole seat, held by Møller Hansen, on the Copenhagen City Council until 2001. In 2003, its final conference was held, where Møller Hansen expressed his wishes for another communist party to rise in the country, and proclaimed that the dream for a ‘common course’ was still alive. == Ideology ==