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54-643: The following is a summary of Sweden's Sixteen Environmental Quality Objectives (verbatim from the Agency's own website, July, 2008.): Each year, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency names a Swedish photographer "Nature Photographer of the Year". This article about government in Sweden is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about an environmental agency

108-529: A nuclear power phase-out should be completed by 2010. Following the recommendation of the 1980 referendum, two nuclear power reactors were closed by government decision in 1999 and 2005, respectively. However, in February 2009, the Swedish centre-right wing government announced that new nuclear power stations may be constructed if they replace old ones, thus ending the previous de facto phase out policy. As of 2005 ,

162-542: A crucial part of a policy deal with the SD. The highest executive authority of the state is vested in the government, which consists of a prime minister and roughly 22 ministers who head the ministries. The ministers are appointed at the sole discretion of the prime minister. The prime minister is nominated by the speaker and appointed following a vote in the Riksdag itself. The monarch plays no part in this process. The only way to oust

216-546: A government away (the Speaker is a Moderate), thus disrupting an already fragile Alliance . The vote was set to take place during the week of 12 November, before the budget debate on 15 November. On 14 November, Kristersson's proposed minority government of Moderates + Christian Democrats supported by Sweden Democrats failed the Riskdag confidence vote 195–154. The Center and Liberal parties broke their alliance, as they refused to accept

270-561: A government consisting of "the entire Alliance, solely the Moderates or those Alliance parties that would be willing to enter into an Alliance government led by myself." He informed the Speaker of the Riksdag that "there is currently no basis for any of these options at this time". The reason for the failure was that the Alliance had fewer seats than the red-greens , so the Sweden Democrats (or

324-417: A government is through a motion of no confidence ( misstroendevotum ) in the Riksdag. This motion must get a majority of the total number of votes in the Riksdag (at least 175). Another example of the power the legislature has given the government is the adoption of the budget in the Riksdag. The government's proposition to budget is adopted, unless a majority of the members of the Riksdag vote against it. This

378-403: A government that relied on the Sweden Democrats. The vote was marked the first time a candidate for prime minister was rejected by the Riksdag since the abolition of the bicameral legislature in 1971. The Swedish constitution stipulates that the Riksdag will have four chances to pass a confidence vote, after which a new election will be mandatory. On 15 November, Norlén tasked Lööf with forming

432-422: A government, and gave her a one-week extendable deadline. Norlén did not announce a date for a second Riksdag vote, stating only that there would be "one or more votes this autumn." Lööf stated that she wanted to construct a centrist government, and that she wanted the centre-right (M, KD, and L) and the centre-left (S and MP) to agree to negotiate with her about the possibility of forming a new government, excluding

486-694: A new coalition government with the Green Party was unsuccessful because her budget proposal failed to pass. On 18 October 2022, Ulf Kristersson of the Moderate Party became the new prime minister of Sweden. Kristersson's Moderates formed a centre-right coalition with the Christian Democrats and the Liberals . The new government is backed by the biggest right-wing party, Sweden Democrats (SD) led by Jimmie Åkesson , with tougher immigration policies being

540-566: A plurality (and sometimes a majority) in the Swedish parliament since 1917. General elections are held every four years. The Economist Intelligence Unit rated Sweden a "full democracy" its report for 2020. According to the V-Dem Democracy indices Sweden was 2023 the third most electoral democratic country in the world. According to Freedom House Sweden scored 40/40 for protection of political rights in 2020. The Constitution of Sweden consists of four fundamental laws. The most important

594-540: A snap election will be called immediately, and would likely take place on 7 April according to the Swedish Election Authority. On 11 January 2019, it was reported that the Social Democrats, Greens, Centre and Liberals had reached a deal to support Löfven as prime minister in order to end the deadlock. These cooperating parties have only 167 members of Riksdag, and need support from one more party. It

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648-428: A stable government. Norlén then took over the process of government formation directly, though he did not announce a deadline. As the budget must be renewed by 15 November, Swedish Government's finance ministry has been working on a "politically neutral" emergency bill that would avert a second budget crisis if the government is not formed by then. On 5 November, Norlén nominated Moderate leader Ulf Kristersson to lead

702-471: A survey investigation by the sociologist Jenny Hansson, 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. Sweden is divided into 21 counties. In each county there is a county administrative board and a county council . Each county contains several municipalities , in total 290. Stockholm

756-407: Is Crown Princess Victoria since 1980. The prime minister of Sweden is nominated by the speaker of the Riksdag and elected through negative parliamentarism. In practice, this means that the prime minister nominee is confirmed if fewer than 175 members of parliament vote 'no', regardless of the number of 'yes' votes or abstentions. Following a lengthy government formation process as a result of

810-474: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Politics of Sweden The politics of Sweden take place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic constitutional monarchy . Executive power is exercised by the government, led by the Prime Minister . Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament, elected within a multi-party system . The judiciary

864-542: Is a product of a stable development of successively added democratic institutions introduced during the 19th century up to 1921, when women's suffrage was introduced. The Government of Sweden has adhered to parliamentarism — de jure since 1975, de facto since 1917. Since the Great Depression , Swedish national politics has largely been dominated by the Social Democratic Workers' Party , which has held

918-443: Is independent, appointed by the government and employed until retirement. Sweden is formally a monarchy with a monarch holding symbolic power. Sweden has a typical Western European history of democracy, beginning with the old Viking age Ting electing kings, ending with a hereditary royal power in the 14th century, that in periods became more or less democratic depending on the general European trends. The current democratic regime

972-592: Is neither as codified as in France and other countries influenced by the Napoleonic Code , nor as dependent on judicial practice and precedents as in the United States . Government policy is carried out by the administrative authorities ( förvaltningsmyndigheter ) and government agencies of Sweden. These bodies are state-controlled and are formally headed by government-appointed directors-general but act independently from

1026-590: Is the Instrument of Government of 1974 which sets out the basic principles of political life in Sweden, defining rights and freedoms. The Act of Succession is a treaty between the old Riksdag of the Estates and House of Bernadotte regulating their rights to accede to the Swedish throne. The constitution differs from most other Western countries in aspects such as having a unicameral parliament , limited municipal autonomy , and

1080-573: Is the capital of Sweden. The king, the Riksdag and the government have their permanent seat in Stockholm . Up to 1968 when the Overgovernor's Office was incorporated into Stockholm County , it had a special status. As of the 1974 constitutional revision, the number of municipal divisions was reduced from several thousand to 290, while also removing previous functions of the municipal governments (such as local laws, local law enforcement, and more). After

1134-474: Is to make it possible to govern even in minority. The main functions of the government are to: The unicameral Riksdag has 349 members , popularly elected every four years. It is in session generally from September through mid-June. Legislation may be initiated by the Cabinet or by members of the Riksdag. Members are elected on the basis of proportional representation for a four-year term. The Riksdag can alter

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1188-455: Is tolerable by a majority of the parties, rather than a polarizing agreement that is liked by one side and hated by the other. With no political group or party having an outright majority, as well as a tangled web of conflicting interests among the parties, speculations were made around a number of possible compromises: Norlén was elected the Speaker of the Riksdag on 24 September 2018, following

1242-492: The 1973 oil crisis , the energy politics were determined to become less dependent on the import of petroleum . Since then, electricity has been generated mostly from hydropower and nuclear power. Sweden wants to be independent of petroleum use by 2020. The Three Mile Island accident (United States) prompted the Swedish parliament in 1980 after a referendum to decide that no further nuclear power plants should be built and that

1296-536: The Climate Change Performance Index until 2022, when it was displaced by Denmark. In March 2005, an opinion poll showed that 83% supported maintaining or increasing nuclear power. Since then however, reports about radioactive leakages at a nuclear waste store in Forsmark, Sweden, have been published. This does not seem to have changed the public support of continued use of nuclear power. Throughout

1350-554: The Constitution of Sweden , but only with approval by a supermajority and confirmation after the following general elections. The Swedish Social Democratic Party has played a leading political role since 1917, after Reformists confirmed their strength and the revolutionaries left the party. After 1932, the Cabinets have been dominated by the Social Democrats. Only six general elections (1976, 1979, 1991, 2006, 2010 and 2022) have given

1404-564: The Marshall Plan . In 1952, a Swedish DC-3 was shot down over the Baltic Sea while gathering reconnaissance. It was later revealed that the plane had been shot down by the Soviet Union. Another plane, a Catalina search and rescue craft, was sent out a few days later and shot down by Soviets warplanes as well. Sweden is also very active in international peace efforts, especially through

1458-655: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and International Monetary Fund . In May 2022, Sweden formally applied to join the NATO alliance. The public opinion in the Nordic region had changed in favour of joining NATO since Russia's Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine . Soon after his appointment in October 2022, new foreign minister, Tobias Billström , announced that Sweden will renounce " feminist foreign policy ", implemented by

1512-693: The United Nations , and in support to the Third World . In 1995 Sweden, together with Finland and Austria, joined the European Union which extended the number of member countries from 12 to 15. Membership and its issues are among the most important questions in Swedish politics. Apart from the European Union, Sweden is also an active member of the United Nations and several other organisations such as

1566-616: The general election held on 9 September 2018, Stefan Löfven of the Swedish Social Democratic Party was re-elected prime minister of Sweden for a second term by the new parliament on 18 January 2019, after initially being ousted by parliament. Together with the Green Party , Löfven presided over a minority government which relied on confidence and supply from the Centre Party and Liberals . The deputy prime minister

1620-471: The 20th century, Swedish foreign policy was based on the principle of non-alignment in peacetime, neutrality in wartime. This principle has often been criticised in Sweden, allegedly being a facade, claiming that the Swedish government had an advanced collaboration with western countries within NATO . During Cold War era politics, Sweden was not under the Warsaw Pact and received only minimal aid from

1674-571: The Social Democrats) must support government propositions or they would fail: such need for Sweden Democrat support was not tolerated by the Centre and Liberal parties. They proposed a government including the Social Democrats, which the Moderates rule out. Stefan Löfven was tasked with forming a government on 15 October 2018, giving him two weeks to construct a stable government coalition. On 29 October, Löfven announced that he too had failed to create

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1728-452: The Speaker of the House, Andreas Norlén , announced that he had tasked Moderate Party leader Ulf Kristersson with forming a government. On 14 October, Ulf Kristersson held a press conference, stating that he had notified the Speaker of the Riksdag that he is giving up his attempt at forming a government. Kristersson maintained that he still has the intention of becoming prime minister and leading

1782-408: The agreement as it stood, calling for further negotiations. Consequently, the speaker deferred the third prime ministerial vote scheduled for 16 January to instead take place on 18 January to allow Löfven and Sjöstedt to reach their own compromise. On 16 January, Sjöstedt told reporters his party would abstain from voting against Löfven but threatens to initiate a no-confidence vote against him in

1836-462: The centre-right Alliance led by Ulf Kristersson 's Moderate Party only got one seat less. The right-wing populist party Sweden Democrats , led by Jimmie Åkesson , came third. As a result, protracted negotiations were required before a new government formation . On 18 January 2019, Löfven was re-elected as prime minister. The table below lists parties' 2018 representation in the Riksdag . Under

1890-435: The centre-right bloc enough seats in the Riksdag to form a government. This is considered one reason for the Swedish post-war welfare state , with a government expenditure of slightly more than 50% of the gross domestic product . A general election is held alongside local and regional elections every four years. The last election was held on 11 September 2022. Swedish law, drawing on Germanic, Roman, and Anglo-American law,

1944-489: The executive and legislative branches of government. Ministerial governance ( ministerstyre ) is illegal; in accordance with 2 §, chapter 12 of the Instrument of Government , no member of the Riksdag or government may interfere in the day-to-day operation of an agency, nor in the outcome of individual cases. Sweden has a history of strong political involvement by ordinary people through its "popular movements" ( folkrörelser ),

1998-510: The first sitting of the Riksdag since the elections with 203 to 145 votes against Åsa Lindestam , who became First Deputy Speaker. Prime Minister Stefan Löfven lost the motion of no confidence against him and his cabinet on 25 September 2018, with 142 members of parliament voting to retain Löfven's cabinet and 204 voting against. Löfven stated in a subsequent press conference that he would not step down as Social Democratic party leader and that he

2052-435: The future if he supports policies that threaten worker's rights or if he puts forward proposals that further deregulate the rental market. That same day, the Speaker again formally nominated Löfven as a prime ministerial candidate, scheduling a vote in the Riksdag for 18 January. During the vote, Löfven was elected prime minister with 115 Riksdag members voting for him and 77 members who abstained (total of 192 votes). Due to

2106-474: The government. A nomination, in this case, means that the Riksdag will have a confidence vote, rather than merely continuing talks. Centre leader Annie Lööf was critical of the decision, as she had expected to become the third person tasked with forming a stable government coalition. Lööf was also critical of the Moderates as well as the Christian Democrats, accusing them of taking her opportunity of forming

2160-448: The lack of a supreme court with power to overturn legislature. Instead of checks and balances the executive power is entrusted to the politicians. The four fundamental laws are: A hereditary monarch , currently King Carl XVI Gustaf of the House of Bernadotte serves as head of state since 1973. His authority is formal, symbolic, and representational. Heiress apparent to the throne

2214-513: The low number of yes votes Löfven received, he has the third weakest government since the end of World War II as at the time of his election. The speaker of the Riksdag, Norlén, declared he would nominate Ulf Kristersson for prime minister had the investiture vote failed. This forced the Centre party and the Left party to choose between Löfven, Kristersson (with Åkesson support), and a snap election. The Left party did not want to risk Kristersson becoming

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2268-550: The most notable being trade unions , the women's movement , the temperance movement , and – more recently – sports movement. Election turnout in Sweden has always been high in international comparisons, although it has declined in recent decades, and is around 87%, (87.18% in the general election of 2018 ). Some Swedish political figures that have become known worldwide include Joe Hill , Carl Skoglund , Raoul Wallenberg , Folke Bernadotte , Dag Hammarskjöld , Olof Palme , Carl Bildt , Hans Blix , and Anna Lindh . According to

2322-416: The outcome of the vote remained uncertain. On the same day, the provisional budget was submitted by the caretaker government, but was defeated by an alternative budget created by the Moderates and Christian Democrats, as the Sweden Democrats supported it, and the Centre and Liberal parties decided to abstain from the final vote. On 14 December, Löfven lost the confidence vote. Norlén stated after

2376-448: The parties that are far-left (V) and far-right (SD). Lööf announced on 22 November that she would concede her attempt to form a government, blaming the Moderates and Social Democrats for being unwilling to compromise. The next day, Norlén nominated Löfven to be the prime minister, without a formally-set date for the vote. He also set the budget vote to occur on 12 December. The Centre Party stated that they may back Löfven (and thus give

2430-459: The previous left-wing government. Sweden joined NATO on 7 March 2024. 2018%E2%80%9319 Swedish government formation In the 2018 Swedish general election , no political group or party won an outright majority, resulting in a hung parliament . On 9 September, the Red-Greens , led by Stefan Löfven 's Social Democrats (S), emerged as the main political force in the Riksdag , while

2484-500: The prime minister, and the Centre and Liberal parties did not want a snap election, which, according to polls, could send the Liberals out of the Riksdag and give M+KD+SD a majority. On 21 January 2019, Löfven unveiled the members of his cabinet and presented his statement of government ( regeringsförklaringen ) to parliament. As was the case with his first government, the second one consisted of Social Democrats and Greens. They include

2538-448: The principle of negative parliamentarism, a government needs at least 175 members of parliament to not vote against it (such members should either vote 'yes' or abstain). The Swedish constitution creates a system known as "negative parliamentarianism", wherein "a prime ministerial candidate does not need to have the support of a majority, they only need to show that they do not have a majority of parliament against them." In other words,

2592-470: The red-greens 31 seats, exactly enough for a majority) if Löfven's cabinet agrees to some economic compromises. Soon after, the Liberal Party head Jan Björklund made a similar statement, although the party was internally divided on the matter. On 12 December, Norlén formally nominated Löfven. As the Centre and Liberals had stated earlier in the week that they were not satisfied with Löfven's negotiations,

2646-404: The use of renewables amounted to 26% of the energy supply in Sweden, most important being hydropower and biomass . In 2003, electricity from hydropower accounted for 53 TWh and 40% of the country's production of electricity with nuclear power delivering 65 TWh (49%). At the same time, the use of biofuels , peat etc. produced 13 TWh of electricity. Sweden was the highest ranked country in

2700-426: The vote of confidence in Sweden is in practice a vote of no confidence, wherein the burden of proof is on the opposition. Political parties can symbolically "abstain" from the vote, which in practice acts as a yes vote and shows that the party tolerates, or tacitly approves, a government formation without the associated baggage that comes with outright support. Thus, the status quo is to seek a government agreement that

2754-435: The vote that he would restart negotiations between the parties, while at the same time preparing for the possibility of a snap election. Norlén then created a finalized timeline for forming a government, and urged Kristersson and Löfven to find a compromise. Without nominating a new candidate, he set the next vote for a prime minister on 16 January, and a final vote on 23 January if the first vote fails. If neither vote succeeds,

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2808-470: Was Isabella Lövin of the Green Party. In August 2021, Prime Minister Stefan Löfven announced his resignation and Finance Minister Magdalena Andersson was elected as the new head of Sweden's ruling Social Democrats in November 2021. On 30 November 2021, Magdalena Andersson became Sweden's first female prime minister. She formed a minority government made up of only her Social Democrats. Her plan for forming

2862-442: Was assumed that the Left party would back a Social Democrat coalition by default, but the agreement text specifically excluded the Left party from participation on matters covered by the agreement, and left the party out of future coalition negotiations. The Left party criticized being expected to back a government which would leave them without a voice, and on 14 January, Left Party leader Jonas Sjöstedt stated that they would not back

2916-424: Was willing to partake in talks regarding the formation of a new government, but insisted that it was ultimately up to the Speaker of the Riksdag . Löfven also stated that he found it completely unbelievable that the Alliance could ever form a government if they keep their promise of not co-operating with the Sweden Democrats. 2 days later party negotiations for forming a new government commenced. and on 2 October

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