Politics
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.
| Parties1 | Leaders | Seats2 | Votes3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Social Democratic Party | Stefan Löfven4 | 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 | Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Education Jan Björklund | 24 | 7.06% | |
| Center Party | Minister for Enterprise Annie Lööf | 23 | 6.56% | |
| Sweden Democrats | Jimmie Åkesson | 20 | 5.70% | |
| Christian Democratic Party | Minister for Health and Social Affairs Göran Hägglund | 19 | 5.60% | |
| Left Party | Jonas Sjöstedt | 19 | 5.60% | |
| Total | 349 | 98.58% | ||
| Government Minority | 2 | 0.02% | ||
Read more about this topic: Parliament Of Sweden
Famous quotes containing the word politics:
“They who have been bred in the school of politics fail now and always to face the facts. Their measures are half measures and makeshifts merely. They put off the day of settlement, and meanwhile the debt accumulates.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“The real grounds of difference upon important political questions no longer correspond with party lines.... Politics is no longer the topic of this country. Its important questions are settled... Great minds hereafter are to be employed on other matters.... Government no longer has its ancient importance.... The people’s progress, progress of every sort, no longer depends on government. But enough of politics. Henceforth I am out more than ever.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)
“The newspaper reader says: this party is destroying itself through such mistakes. My higher politics says: a party that makes such mistakes is finished—it has lost its instinctive sureness.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)