| Swedish Parliament Sveriges riksdag |
|
|---|---|
| Type | |
| Type | Unicameral |
| Leadership | |
| Speaker | Per Westerberg, Moderate since 17 September 2006 |
| Structure | |
| Members | 349 |
| Political groups |
|
| Elections | |
| Voting system | Semi-open list proportional representation |
| Last election | 19 September 2010 |
| Meeting place | |
| Riksdag Building Helgeandsholmen Stockholm, 100 12 Kingdom of Sweden |
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| Website | |
| Swedish Parliament | |
The Riksdag (officially Swedish: riksdagen or Sveriges riksdag) is the national legislative assembly of Sweden. The riksdag is a unicameral assembly with 349 members (Swedish: riksdagsledamöter), who are elected on a proportional basis to serve fixed terms of four years. It is located in the Riksdag building (Riksdagshuset), on the island of Helgeandsholmen in Stockholm.
Contents |
Riksdag is the direct Swedish equivalent of the German Reichstag. In the Swedish constitution, the word is written with a lower-case “r”, thus marking that it is actually not a name of the parliament, but that it is just “the parliament”.
A precise English translation of this German-Nordic word does not actually exist, but "Meeting of the Realm" may serve as a literal translation, though perhaps "Diet of the Realm" would be more accurate (dag literally means "day", and is thus either cognate to the use of German tag for a Diet, or even a direct borrowing; the former comes from Latin dies with the same meaning). The word is also used by Swedish speakers for the parliaments of Finland (it is the official term used by the Swedish-speaking minority there) and Estonia, and for the old Reichstag of Germany as well as the parliament building in Berlin (reciprocally, "Reichstag" is the standard German translation of "riksdag"). In Sweden riksdag is today also frequently used to refer to the contemporary parliament house of Germany per se (but the Bundestag is called förbundsdag), and sometimes for national parliaments of other countries as well. The word is also used by Norwegian speakers with the same spelling; in Danish it is spelled rigsdag.
The riksdag performs the normal functions of a parliament in a parliamentary democracy. It enacts laws, amends the constitution and appoints a government. In most parliamentary democracies, the head of state commissions a politician to form a government. Under the new Instrument of Government[1] (one of the four fundamental laws of the Constitution) enacted in 1974, that task was removed from the Monarch of Sweden and given to the Speaker of the Riksdag. To make changes to the Constitution under the new Instrument of Government, amendments must be approved twice by Parliament, in two successive electoral periods with a regular general election held in between.
An amendment must be introduced into Parliament nine months prior to such an election unless a 5/6 majority of the Committee on the Constitution authorises it. If one tenth of the members motions for a referendum to block the amendment and one third of Parliament backs the motion, a referendum will be held. Such a referendum can only defeat a proposed amendment.
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After holding talks with leaders of the various party groups in the Riksdag, the Speaker of the Riksdag nominates a Prime Minister. The nomination is then put to a vote. Unless an absolute majority of the members (175 members) vote "no", the nomination is confirmed, otherwise it is rejected. The Speaker must then find a new nominee. This means the Riksdag can consent to a Prime Minister without casting any "yes" votes.
After being elected the Prime Minister appoints the Cabinet Ministers and announces them to the Riksdag. The new government becomes effective with a first meeting held before the head of state, the King of Sweden, at which the Speaker of the Riksdag announces to the King that the Riksdag has elected a new government.
Parliament can cast a vote of no confidence against any single member of the government, thus forcing a resignation. To succeed a vote of no confidence must be supported by an absolute majority (175 members) or it has failed.
If a vote of no confidence is cast against the Prime Minister (Sw. Statsminister), this means the entire government is rejected. A losing government has one week to call for a general election or else the procedure of nominating a new Prime Minister starts afresh.
Political parties are strong in Sweden, with members of the Riksdag usually supporting their parties in parliamentary votes. In most cases, governments can command the support of the majority in the Riksdag, allowing the government to control the parliamentary agenda.
For many years, no single political party in Sweden has managed to gain more than 50% of the votes, so political parties with similar agendas cooperate on several issues, forming coalition governments or other formalized alliances. Currently, two major blocs exist in parliament, the socialist/green Red-Greens and the conservative/liberal Alliance for Sweden. The latter, consisting of the Moderate Party, the Liberal People's Party, the Centre Party and the Christian Democrats, governs Sweden since 2006 - since 2010 through a minority government. The Red-Greens were disbanded on 26 October 2010 but is still considered to be the main opposition. The Sweden Democrats party is not a member of any of these blocs, although they often support the Alliance in their decisions according to Tidningarnas Telegrambyrå, TT[2] .
| Parties¹ | Leaders¹ | Seats² | Votes³ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Social Democratic Party | Håkan Juholt | 112 | 30.66% | |
| Moderate Party | Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt | 107 | 30.06% | |
| Green Party | Åsa Romson and Gustav Fridolin | 25 | 7.34% | |
| Liberal People's Party | Jan Björklund | 24 | 7.06% | |
| Centre Party | Annie Lööf | 23 | 6.56% | |
| Sweden Democrats | Jimmie Åkesson | 20 | 5.70% | |
| Christian Democratic Party | Göran Hägglund | 19 | 5.60% | |
| Left Party | Lars Ohly | 19 | 5.60% | |
| Total | 349 | 98.58% | ||
| Government Minority | 2 | 0.02% | ||
1/ Party name and leaders current as of 23 September 2010
2/ Seats as per the 2010 general election, current as of 23 September 2010
3/ Percentage of the votes received in the 2010 general election
4/ Members of governing coalition in bold
All 349 members of the Riksdag are elected in the general elections held every four years. Eligible to vote and stand for elections are Swedish Citizens who turn 18 years old no later than on the day of the election. A minimum of 4% of the national vote is required for membership in Parliament, alternatively 12% or more within a constituency. Substitutes for each deputy are elected at the same time as each election, so by-elections are rare. In the event of a snap election, the newly elected members merely serve the remainder of the four-year term.
The electoral system in Sweden is proportional. Of the 349 seats in the unicameral Riksdag, 310 are fixed constituency seats allocated to constituencies in relation to the number of people entitled to vote in each constituency. The remaining 39 adjustment seats are used to correct the deviations from proportional national distribution that may arise when allocating the fixed constituency seats. There is a constraint in the system that means that only a party that has received at least four per cent of the votes in the whole country participates in the distribution of seats. However, a party that has received at least twelve per cent of the votes in a constituency participates in the distribution of the fixed constituency seats in that constituency.[3]
As exit polls conducted by the national broadcaster Swedish Television predicted, the Sweden Democrats reached the 4% threshold to enter parliament for the first time.[5]
A preliminary count of 5,668 voting districts showed the Alliance of Fredrik Reinfeld ahead of the Red-Greens, with 172 seats.[6] This, however, fell short of the 175 seats needed for an absolute majority and the Sweden Democrats would apparently be holding the balance of power in the new parliament.[7][8] Reinfeld declared that he had no intention to cooperate with the Sweden Democrats.[9]
On 23 September, the final results showed the Centre Party gaining an adjustment seat in Dalarna, giving the Alliance a total seat count of 173, still two seats short of an absolute majority.[10] The Alliance's Liberal People's Party ended up only 7 and 19 votes short from gaining additional seats in Gothenburg and Värmland respectively,[11] but according to Svante Linusson, a mathematician and former politician for the Stockholm Party, the actual margin was still over 800 votes.[12][13]
| Parties and coalitions | Votes | Permanent seats | Adjustment seats | Total seats | seats %/votes % | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | ± | % | ±% | # | ± | # | ± | seats | swing | |||
| Swedish Social Democratic Party Socialdemokratiska arbetarpartiet |
1,827,497 | 115,128 | 30.66 | 4.33 | 112 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 112 | 18 | 1.05 | |
| Moderate Party Moderata samlingspartiet |
1,791,766 | 335,752 | 30.06 | 3.83 | 107 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 107 | 10 | 1.02 | |
| Green Party Miljöpartiet de Gröna |
437,435 | 146,314 | 7.34 | 2.09 | 19 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 25 | 6 | 0.98 | |
| Liberal People's Party Folkpartiet liberalerna |
420,524 | 2,129 | 7.06 | 0.48 | 17 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 24 | 4 | 0.97 | |
| Centre Party Centerpartiet |
390,804 | 46,585 | 6.56 | 1.32 | 21 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 23 | 6 | 1.01 | |
| Sweden Democrats Sverigedemokraterna |
339,610 | 177,147 | 5.70 | 2.77 | 14 | 14 | 6 | 6 | 20 | 20 | 1.01 | |
| Left Party Vänsterpartiet |
334,053 | 9,331 | 5.60 | 0.24 | 9 | 4 | 10 | 1 | 19 | 3 | 0.97 | |
| Christian Democrats Kristdemokraterna |
333,696 | 32,302 | 5.60 | 0.99 | 11 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 19 | 5 | 0.97 | |
| Pirate Party Piratpartiet |
38,491 | 3,573 | 0.65 | 0.02 | 0 | - | 0 | - | 0 | - | 0.00 | |
| Feminist Initiative Feministiskt initiativ |
24,139 | 13,815 | 0.40 | 0.28 | 0 | - | 0 | - | 0 | - | 0.00 | |
| Swedish Senior Citizen Interest Party Sveriges pensionärers intresseparti |
11,078 | 17,728 | 0.19 | 0.33 | 0 | - | 0 | - | 0 | - | 0.00 | |
| Rural Democrats Landsbygdsdemokraterna |
1,565 | 1,565 | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0 | - | 0 | - | 0 | - | 0.00 | |
| Socialist Justice Party Rättvisepartiet Socialisterna |
1,507 | 410 | 0.03 | 0.01 | 0 | - | 0 | - | 0 | - | 0.00 | |
| Norrland Coalition Party Norrländska Samlingspartiet |
1,456 | 1,456 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0 | - | 0 | - | 0 | - | 0.00 | |
| National Democrats Nationaldemokraterna |
1,141 | 1,923 | 0.02 | 0.04 | 0 | - | 0 | - | 0 | - | 0.00 | |
| Classical Liberal Party Klassiskt Liberala Partiet |
716 | 514 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0 | - | 0 | - | 0 | - | 0.00 | |
| Freedom Party Frihetspartiet |
688 | 688 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0 | - | 0 | - | 0 | - | 0.00 | |
| Party of the Swedes Svenskarnas Parti |
681 | 681 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0 | - | 0 | - | 0 | - | 0.00 | |
| Unity Enhet |
632 | 2,016 | 0.01 | 0.04 | 0 | - | 0 | - | 0 | - | 0.00 | |
| Parties with less than 500 votes | 2,929 | 1,837 | 0.05 | 0.03 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0.00 | |
| The Alliance Alliansen (Moderate Party, Liberal People's Party, Centre Party, Christian Democrats) |
2,936,790 | 258,994 | 49.27 | 1.03 | 156 | 3 | 17 | 2 | 173 | 5 | 1.01 | |
| Red-Greens Rödgröna (Social Democrats, Green Party, Left Party) |
2,598,985 | 40,517 | 43.60 | 2.48 | 140 | 11 | 16 | 4 | 156 | 15 | 1.03 | |
| All parties total | 5,960,408 | 409,130 | 100.00% | - | 310 | - | 39 | - | 349 | - | - | |
| Blank votes | 65,938 | 32,494 | 1.09 | 0.62 | ||||||||
| Other invalid votes | 2,336 | 120 | 0.04 | 0.00 | ||||||||
| Eligible voters | 7,123,651 | 231,642 | ||||||||||
| Turnout | 6,028,682 | 378,266 | 84.63% | 2.64 | ||||||||
Source: Valresultat
On the day after the election, anti-Sweden Democrat rallies took place in a number of Swedish cities. Reports indicated that 10,000 people were estimated to have marched in Stockholm under banners reading "We are ashamed", "No racists in Parliament",[14] and "Refugees – welcome!". In Gothenburg, 5,000 people took part in a "sorrow march against racism", and 2,000 people marched in Malmö. Support for the Sweden Democrats was strongest in the southernmost province Scania, where the party received about 10% percent of the vote, and in the neighbouring province Blekinge, where they received 9.8 percent; the foreign media quoted "some people" from further north of the country as calling for Scania to be handed back to Denmark, where the Danish People's Party were seen as an inspiration for the SD.
Liberal evening tabloid Expressen wrote in an editorial "The banner of tolerance has been hauled down and the forces of darkness have finally also taken the Swedish democracy as hostage. It's a day of sorrow." Liberal conservative morning newspaper Svenska Dagbladet said "[It is] time for the Swedes to get themselves a new national self-image [as the election] created a new picture of Sweden".[15]
As of 2008, 47 percent of the members of the riksdag are women. This is the world's second highest proportion of females in a national parliament—behind only Rwanda—and the highest in the industrialized world. According to a survey investigation by the sociologist Jenny Hansson,[16]
A member of the riksdag is working full time with his mandate and has a salary of 56 000 SEK (around $ 8,800) per month.[17] Swedish national parliamentarians have an average work week of 66 hours, including side responsibilities. Hansson's investigation further reports that the average Swedish national parliamentarian sleeps 6.5 hours per night.
Main articles: History of the Riksdag, Riksdag of the Estates
The roots of the modern Riksdag can be found in a 1435 meeting of the Swedish nobility in the city of Arboga. This informal organization was modified in 1527 by the first modern Swedish king Gustav I Vasa to include representatives from all the four social estates: the nobility, the clergy, the bourgeoisie (propertied commoners in the towns such as merchants, tradesmen, lawyers, etc.), and the peasantry (freehold yeoman farmers). This form of Ständestaat representation lasted until 1865, when representation by estate was abolished and the modern bicameral parliament established. Effectively, however, it did not become a parliament in the modern sense until parliamentary principles were established in the political system in Sweden, in 1917.
On 22 June 1866, the Riksdag decided to reconstitute itself as a bicameral legislature, consisting of Första kammaren or the First Chamber, with 155 members and Andra kammaren or the Second Chamber with 233 members. The First Chamber was indirectly elected by county and city councillors, while the Second Chamber was directly elected by universal suffrage. This reform was a result of great malcontent with the old Estates which were no longer able to represent the people.
By an amendment of the Swedish constitution the general election of 1970 was the first to a unicameral assembly with 350 seats. The following general election to the unicameral Riksdag in 1973 only gave the Government the support of 175 members, while the opposition could mobilize an equal force of 175 members. In a number of cases a tied vote ensued, and the final decision had to be determined by lot. To avoid any recurrence of this, the number of seats in Parliament was reduced to 349 from 1976.