Riksdag

Riksdag of Sweden
Sveriges riksdag

Coat of arms or logo

Type
Type
Leadership
Urban Ahlin, (S)
Since 29 September 2014
Tobias Billström, (M)
Since 29 September 2014
Björn Söder, (SD)
Since 29 September 2014
Esabelle Dingizian, (MP)
Since 29 September 2014
Structure
Seats 349
Current Structure of the Riksdag
Political groups

Government (138)

Opposition (The Alliance) (140)

Other Opposition (71)

Elections
Party-list proportional representation
Sainte-Laguë method
See Elections in Sweden
Last election
14 September 2014
Next election
9 September 2018
Meeting place
Parliament House, Stockholm
Parliament House
Helgeandsholmen
Stockholm, 100 12
Kingdom of Sweden
Website
http://www.riksdagen.se

The Riksdag (Swedish: riksdagen or Sveriges riksdag) is the national legislature and the supreme decision-making body of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral legislature with 349 members (Swedish: riksdagsledamöter), elected proportionally and serving, from 1994 onwards, on fixed four-year terms.

The constitutional functions of the Riksdag are enumerated in the Instrument of Government (Swedish: Regeringsformen), and its internal workings are specified in greater detail in the Riksdag Act (Swedish: Riksdagsordningen).[1][2]

The seat of the Riksdag is at Parliament House (Swedish: Riksdagshuset), on the island of Helgeandsholmen in the central parts of Stockholm. The Riksdag has its institutional roots in the feudal Riksdag of the Estates, by tradition thought to have first assembled in Arboga in 1435, and in 1866 following reforms of the 1809 Instrument of Government that body was transformed into a bicameral legislature with an upper chamber (Swedish: Första Kammaren) and a lower chamber (Swedish: Andra Kammaren).

The most recent general election was held on 14 September 2014.

The Old Parliament House on Riddarholmen was the seat of the Riksdag from 1833 to 1905.
Kulturhuset at Sergels torg served as a temporary seat for the Riksdag, from 1971 to 1983, while the Riksdag building on Helgeandsholmen underwent renovation.

Name

The Swedish word riksdag, in definite form riksdagen, is a general term for "parliament" or "assembly", but it is typically only used for Sweden's legislature and certain related institutions.[3][4][5] In addition to Sweden's parliament, it is also used for the Parliament of Finland and the Estonian Riigikogu, as well as the historical German Reichstag and the Danish Rigsdagen.[5] In Swedish use, riksdagen is usually uncapitalized.[6] Riksdag derives from the genitive of rike, referring to royal power, and dag, meaning diet or conference; the German word Reichstag and the Danish Rigsdag are cognate.[7] The Oxford English Dictionary traces English use of the term "Riksdag" in reference to the Swedish assembly back to 1855.[7]

History

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 burghers (property-owning commoners in the towns such as merchants etc.), and the yeomanry (freehold 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, following the changes brought by the beginnings of the industrial revolution, was no longer able to provide representation for large segments of the population.

By an amendment to the 1809 Instrument of Government, 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 reoccurrence of this unstable situation, the number of seats in the Riksdag was reduced to 349, from 1976 and onwards.

Powers and structure

The Riksdag performs the normal functions of a legislature 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[8] (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, in two successive electoral periods with a regular general election held in between.

There are 15 parliamentary committees in the Riksdag, including the Committee on the Constitution.[9]

Membership

As of February 2013, 44.7 percent of the members of the Riksdag are women. This is the world's fourth highest proportion of females in a national legislature—behind only the Parliaments of Rwanda, Andorra, and Cuba – hence the second-highest in the developed world and among parliamentary democracies.[10] Following the 2014 elections, in which the share of Liberal female MPs plunged (from 42% to 26%, mainly due to a reduction to a single seat in most constituencies) and the Sweden Democrats more than doubled their seats (though increasing the number of female MPs from three to eight), the figure dropped to 43,5%. Only the Left Party has a majority of female MPs; 12 of 21 as of 2014.[11]

Members of the Riksdag are full-time legislators with a salary of 56 000 SEK (around $8 800) per month.[12]

According to a survey investigation by the sociologist Jenny Hansson, Members of the Riksdag have an average work week of 66 hours, including side responsibilities. Hansson's investigation further reports that the average member sleeps 6.5 hours per night.[13]

The Swedish parliament voting in February 2009.
The former second chamber, nowadays used for committee meetings.
The Riksdag building exterior, from the west, at night.

Presidium

The presidium consists of a speaker and three deputy speakers. They are elected for a 4-years term.

Government

This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Sweden
Foreign relations

After holding talks with leaders of the various party groups in the Riksdag, the speaker of the Riksdag nominates a Prime Minister (Swedish: Statsminister literally minister of state). The nomination is then put to a vote. The nomination is rejected (meaning the Speaker must find a new nominee) only if an absolute majority of the members (175 members) vote "no"; otherwise, it is confirmed. 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 takes office at a special council held at the Royal Palace before the Monarch, at which the Speaker of the Riksdag formally announces to the Monarch that the Riksdag has elected a new Prime Minister and that the Prime Minister has chosen his cabinet ministers.

The Riksdag can cast a vote of no confidence against any single cabinet minister (Swedish: Statsråd), 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 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 anew.

Parties

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.

No single party has won a majority in the Riksdag since 1968. Political parties with similar agendas consequently cooperate on several issues, forming coalition governments or other formalized alliances. 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, Liberal, Centre Party, and Christian Democrats—governed Sweden from 2006 through most of 2014 (after 2010 through a minority government). The Red-Greens combination disbanded on 26 October 2010 but continued to be considered the main opposition.

The Sweden Democrats party is not a member of either bloc, although according to Tidningarnas Telegrambyrå the Sweden Democrats often support the Alliance.[14] The behavior of the Sweden Democrats, however, occasionally nudges Sweden Democrats into support of the Socialist Bloc in that the motivation of the Sweden Democrats lies in immigration concerns not encapsulated by the rationale of the two major blocs. After the Social Democrats took power in 2014 the Sweden Democrats have sided with the center-left government in most votes.[15]

Current party representation in the Riksdag
Parties1 Leaders Seats2 Votes3
  Social Democratic Party Prime Minister Stefan Löfven 113 31.0%
  Moderate Party Anna Kinberg Batra 84 23.2%
  Sweden Democrats Jimmie Åkesson
49 12.9%
  Green Party Isabella Lövin and Gustav Fridolin 25 7.34%
  Center Party Annie Lööf 22 6.11%
  Left Party Jonas Sjöstedt 21 5.72%
  Liberals Jan Björklund 19 5.42%
  Christian Democratic Party Ebba Busch Thor 16 4.57%
Total 349 98.58%
Government Minority 111 0.02%
Members of governing coalition in bold
1/ Party name and leaders current as of 24 December 2015
2/ Seats as per the 2014 general election, current as of 23 September 2014
3/ Percentage of the votes received in the 2014 general election

Elections

The offices of the parliament are housed in several buildings, including the former Royal mint on Mynttorget square.

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 a party to enter the Riksdag, 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.

Constituencies and national apportionment of seats

The electoral system in Sweden is proportional. Of the 349 seats in the unicameral Riksdag, 310 are fixed constituency seats allocated to 29 multi-member 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.[16]

2014 election

On September 14, 2014 an election was held. No party won an absolute majority but the center-left coalition led by the Social Democrats became the largest political grouping, with the Moderate Party and its center-right alliance falling to second place. The third largest party is the Sweden Democrats, widely described as "anti-immigration". The Social Democrats have said that they will seek to form a government, but will not work with the Sweden Democrats. Meanwhile, Reinfeldt announced he was stepping down as leader of the Moderate Party.[17]

Results
Party Votes % Seats +/–
Swedish Social Democratic Party1,932,71131.0113+1
Moderate Party1,453,51723.384–23
Sweden Democrats801,17812.849+29
Green Party429,2756.8250
Centre Party380,937 6.122–1
Left Party356,3315.721+2
Liberals337,7735.419–5
Christian Democrats284,8064.516–3
Feminist Initiative194,7193.100
Pirate Party of Sweden60,3260.900
Party of the Swedes00
Unity00
Swedish Senior Citizen Interest Party00
Christian Values Party0New
Landsbygdspartiet Oberoende0New
Djurens parti0New
Classical Liberal Party00
Direktdemokraterna0New
Framstegspartiet0New
Socialist Justice Party00
European Workers Party00
Invalid/blank votes58,443
Total6,290,0161003490
Registered voters/turnout7,330,43285.8
Source: Val.se

See also

References

  1. Instrument of Government, as of 2012. Retrieved on 2012-11-16. Archived October 8, 2014, at the Wayback Machine.
  2. The Riksdag Act, as of 2012. Retrieved on 2012-11-16. Archived February 1, 2013, at the Wayback Machine.
  3. Nöjd, Ruben; Tornberg, Astrid; Angström, Margareta (1978). "Riksdag (riksdagen)". Mckay's Modern English-Swedish and Swedish-English Dictionary. David Mckay. p. 147. ISBN 0-679-10079-2.
  4. Gullberg, Ingvar (1977). "Riksdag". Svensk-Engelsk Fackordbok. PA Norstedt & Söners Förlag. p. 741. ISBN 91-1-775052-0.
  5. 1 2 "Riksdag". Nationalencyklopedin. 2014. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
  6. Holmes, Philip; Hinchliffe, Ian (2013). Swedish: A Comprehensive Grammar. Routledge. p. 670. ISBN 1134119984. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  7. 1 2 "Riksdag, n.". Oxford English Dictionary. June 2012. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
  8. The Swedish Constitution, Riksdagen Archived January 10, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
  9. "The 15 parliamentary committees". Sveriges Riksdag / The Swedish Parliament. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  10. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on March 28, 2014. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
  11. http://www.dn.se/nyheter/politik/antalet-kvinnor-i-riksdagen-fortsatter-minska/
  12. Sveriges riksdag, pressmedelande Archived October 10, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
  13. "Hansson, Jenny (2008). De Folkvaldas Livsvillkor. Umea: Umea University." (PDF).
  14. "Alliansens femte parti". Aftonbladet. 2011-04-20.
  15. hannes.delling@svd.se, Hannes Delling |. "SD röstar mer som S än M". SvD.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 2017-08-10.
  16. See e.g.: SOU 2008:125 En reformerad grundlag (Constitutional Reform), Prime Ministers Office.
  17. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-29195683
Bibliography
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