Swedish general elections of 2006

The general elections took place in Sweden the September 17th 2006 to renew the 349 member of the Riksdag (single Room of the Parlement).

Context

In Sweden, the general elections relate to the renewal of the members of the Parliament (to being known the 349 deputies of Riksdag), and that of the town councilors (boards of directors and local assemblies of the 20 counties and municipal councils of the 290 municipalities of the kingdom). September 17th, 2006, the 7 million Swedish having the right to vote thus had to choose their new national and local representatives at the same time. Concerning Riksdag, 310 seats are distributed between the 29 Circonscriptions, the 39 others, with the national row, called compensatory, being allotted to the various parties in order to ensure the most exact possible representativeness to them at the national level. The electoral system used is the representation proportional to the list system. Since the elections of 1998, the preferential vote is authorized.

Sweden is controlled by the left since 1994, the social democrat Parti the workers (S or SAP) holding since decades the relative majority of the seats of Riksdag, supported in its action by the Parti the left (V, old Swedish Communist party) and the Parti the environment them Verts (MP). If the social democrat had largely contributed to maintains majority at the time of the elections of 2002, gaining the 13 seats lost by the Party of the left (which had not succeeded in finding its historical score of 1998, namely 11,99% of the votes cast and 43 seats), the latter had practically not progressed, the greens gaining only one seat. Social democrat the Prime Minister, Göran Persson, posts some since 1996, must now deal with the wear of the capacity, the public opinion polls giving all the majority like the opposition to good match, with an economic situation favorable for the latter.

The aforementioned opposition is consisted of the 4 traditional parties of right-hand side: the Left the moderate gathering (M), left liberal-conservative, the Parti populates to them Libéraux (FP), left liberal center-right, the Christian Democratic party (KD) and finally the Parti the center (C), old agrarian party . During the legislative elections of 2002, the moderate ones, main force parliamentary line since the beginning of the years 1980, had wiped a demolished cuisante, losing 27 seats with the profit of the liberals, who gained 31 of them and missed little preceding the moderate ones in term of many elected candidates (48 against 55). The Christian Democrats had also suffered from this upheaval of the power struggles on the right, while the Party of the center, bailing out rather poor results since the end of the year 1980, started to go up the slope by gaining 4 seats.

The Swedish political scene deeply had also been upset as a whole at the time of the European elections of 2004, where the Liste of June, movement preserving deeply Eurosceptic, had carried out a phenomenal opening by gathering 14,4% of the votes cast and by carrying 3 of the 19 Swedish seats of the the European Parliament. The Extreme Swedish right-hand side, incarnated by the Democratic Swedish (DS), could also sow the disorder in Riksdag, tie profit of its small opening at the time of the elections of 2002 (1,44% of the votes cast, are a progression of more than one point and a very clear advance on the unit of the nonparliamentary parties). DS realized until there its best scores in the south of the country (9% of the votes and 4 seats at the Municipal council of Kavlinge at the time of the last municipal elections). Remain finally some marginal parties established locally, like the feminist Initiative, the Parti pirate, which requires the abrogation of the laws on the royalties or the Parti the interests the Swedish pensioners. But their very weak scores up to that point do not give them probably any serious chance to enter to the Parliament. Only the List of June seems to have its chances, but it will not profit, this time, of the very weak participation of the European elections (62,8% of the registered voters had indeed abstained from).

Countryside

The line tightens the rows

For the first time since the advent of the democracy in Sweden, the 4 right parties gathered in only one and even baptized coalition “Alliance for Sweden”. Carried out by the very popular president of the Party of the moderate gathering Fredrik Reinfeldt and by charismatic Lars Leijonborg, representative of the 3 other parties, this coalition was officially formed on August 31st, 2004 with Högfors, village where Maud Olofsson saw, leading Party of the center, and obtained a common program, to which the individual programs of each formation are added. The 4 leaders fell from agreement to choose a Prime Minister member of the component of the coalition which will collect the most voice.

Learning the lessons from the failure from moderated at the time of the poll of 2002, Fredrik Reinfeldt gave up their traditional programme of reduction of the national expenditure and falls of taxes to the profit of the defense of the Welfare state, until there exclusive domain of the left and thing to which Swedish is particularly attached.

Left, victim of the wear of the capacity

On the left, the social democrats were once again combined with the Party of the left and the greens, forming the “Coalition red-greens”. The main aim is to preserve the majority of the seats of Riksdag, more especially as in this case of figure the 3 parties tightened ready to take an active part in the new government. The coalition is légitimisée by the good assessment of the Prime Minister Göran Persson, who contributed, between 1995 and 2005, to make grow the Swedish Productivité in an important way (2,5% per annum), just as GDP (3%), success for which it is necessary to add a growth of 5,6% to the second quarters 2006, highest of the country since 6 years. The Inflation is it maintained in lower part of 1% and the national Debt for 3 years has fallen in 2005 in lower part from the 50% from the GDP. N the other hand, the Swedish tax rate is highest of the Europe and highest in the world with that of the Denmark.

In the event of victory, the majority promises the creation of tens of thousands of new employment (as well as the opposition) mainly in the public sector, a more strict regulation of the uses with Part time for the large companies (and not for the Small and medium-size companies (SME) at the request of the Party of the left and the greens), an increase in the subsidies for the recipients of pensions disease and better investments in the social security in residence. Göran Persson did not have of cease to criticize the moderate ones throughout the countryside, showing them to dissimilate their true projects (falls of taxes and reductions of the budget of the public service). To note however that the left was in a difficult situation: more no political party not speaking from now on to dismantle the Welfare state, it was to convince Swedish who the change in continuity could be possible…

The thorn-bush problême of unemployment

Unemployment was an important matter in the middle of the countryside, the social democrat government then places from there being perceived like having failed to contain gone up unemployment in the country in spite of the good health of the Swedish economy (on the scale of Europe). The opposition asserted that “true” unemployment is much more important than the official figure of 4,8% (in May 2006). They quote a figure of 1.037.000 people (or 17,9% of labor in January 2006) “apart from the job market because they do not have a work or study”, and if those which are “completely or partially apart from the job market” are then included this figure raises with 1.700.000 people. This disaster vision of the situation of unemployment was amplified in January by Jan Edling, a former economist for the Swedish Confédération of the trade unions (LO). However, compared with other countries of OECD, Sweden has a very low unemployment rate, like specified it Peter Eriksson Party of the environment during a debate.

Alliance for Sweden then proposed to regulate the problem by operating cuts in the Income tax (by increasing the Allocation S free from taxes) and in the Impôt on the wages (and even by abolishing it for certain parts of the service sector). The detractors of these tax reforms asserted that while being founded on reductions of the Allocation unemployment and pay disease, they will attack poorest in the company instead of helping it like would like it Alliance…

Moreover, the Party of the center had proposed on its side a new type of flexible work contract more for less than 26 years. One of the characteristics of this contract tightened the possibility for the Employeur of laying off the signatory at the end of two years of work. This discussed proposal (not retained by Alliance as a whole) would aim to increase the activity ratio of the young people while making it possible to the employers to take less risks by engaging new employees. The left parties did not have of cease to be caught some with this project, showing the centrists to want to plunge the young employees in the permanent insecurity. A similar contract presented by the French government (the Contrat first engages) had met the hostility of part of the population which had then organized vast social movements to prevent the law from coming into force.

A study undertaken by the Confédération of the Swedish company (Svenskt Näringsliv) indicates that 41% of the Swedish companies thought whereas such a contract would increase their will to engage the young people “largely” and that 51% thought that it would increase it “to a certain extent”. 7% of probed thought on the contrary that would not return them more not laid out…

Scandal in the liberals

September 4th, 2006, only two weeks before the elections, the social democrat Party deposited felt sorry for following a burgling of computer in the internal network of the social-democrat. It was reported thereafter that members of the Parti the people (FP) on the occasion to copy information hitherto a41dernier $c-b1, e,10 $c-b26 ce $c-b16 $c-b43, bn,84 held secret to counter the political proposals of the social democrat Party on at least two occasions. September 5th, the first secretary of the party, Johan Jakobsson, resigned of its own boss. The principal members of the party and those of its organization for young people were consequently supervised by the police force for suspections of criminal activities…

Results

In Riksdag

These final results were published Wednesday, September 20 by the Swedish electoral Autorité. Provisional results had already been published in the evening of the election (all 5.783 districts electoral having finished their first countings), but they did not include the votes by proxy and the vote of the expatriates.

The result was rather clear in the night of the election so that Fredrik Reinfeldt, president of Moderate states himself victorious and that Göran Persson announces to her resignation as a Prime Minister and as a first secretary of the Social democrats. The four parties of the center-right of Alliance for Sweden formed later a government with Fredrik Reinfeldt for Prime Minister. New the Riksdag met on October 2nd and the government was presented on October 6th. The result of the election is historical while being the worst score ever obtained by the social democrats in an general election by the vote for all (introduced in 1921) and the best result for the Moderate ones since 1928. But this progression of moderate will not have been without consequences on their allies, impressive the chutte to the liberal score and the rather reduced progression of the Party of the center testify some (which becomes despite everything the second political clout of the new parliamentary majority by gaining 7 seats) which is not even enough to compensate for the losses of the Party Christian Democrat, which continues its decline at the same rate/rhythm as the Party of the left, which finds its score of before 1998. With contrario, the greens save the pieces of furniture on the left by carrying 2 additional seats.

The minority parties obtained a total of 5,7% of the votes, which is a progression of 2,6 points compared to the elections of 2002. The only one of these parties to have crossed the bar of the 1% is once more the training of the Swedish Democrats, which has receuilli a total of 162.463 votes, that is to say 2,93% of the votes cast. On the other hand, the list from June collapses to 0,47% (26 072 votes), and the feminist Initiative, announced like a serious competitor for the traditional left parties, collects finally only 0,68% of the votes cast (37 954). The Pirate Party, which gathers on its behalf 34.918 votes (0,63% of the votes cast), is in sedimentation.

In the counties

The 21 Swedish counties are directed by a Board of directors of the county ( Länsstyrelse ) and by an Local assembly ( Landstinget ) elected every four years. Since 1975, the people of foreign nationality residing in the kingdom can vote and be elected with the Swedish local elections after three years of residence in the country.

Among the principal responsibilities for the County the health questions appear public, of regional development, cultural institutions and public transport. Swedish renewed the members of the boards of directors of their 21 counties (the county of Gotland does not have an local assembly, because the island forms only one commune ( Kommuner ), the commune of Gotland, at the local level). The way of voting is always the representation proportional plurinominale.

1: Average/Full number of conseillers

Paradoxically, these elections benefitted more with the left and the minority parties that with the Alliance for Sweden. The latter carries the counties of Halland, Jönköping, Kronoberg, Stockholm and Uppsala, while the Coalition red-greens preserves or conquers the counties of Blekinge, Gävleborg, Jämtland, Kalmar, Norrbotten, Södermanland, Värmland, Västerbotten, Västernorrland and Örebro, and comes very close to of a seat absolute majority in the Boards of directors of Dalécarlie and Västmanland.

The minority parties can benefit here from their local establishment to gain some successes scattered. The Party of health ( Sjukvårdspartiet ) carries a sometimes consequent number of seats in Dalécarlie, in Gävleborg, Värmland, Västernorrland, Västmanland, Västra Götaland and although in Norbotten the Norrbottens Sjukvårdsparti moves back, it carries all the same 13 seats in this county. The Démocrates Swedish carry some seats in the counties of Blekinge, Scanie and Örebro. The Parti the interests of the Swedish pensioners obtains as for him 2 seats with Halland. The presence of these parties in the certain Councils is sometimes so important that the latter strictly speaking do not have political majority, the left like the line not having an absolute majority of seats on which to rest to manage the county. It is the case in particular counties of Scanie, Västmanland, Västra Götaland and Östergötland.

In final the Swedish counties remain for a good part of them dominated by the left parties. One will note the particularly heterogeneous results of the social-democrat, which essuient a cuisante demolished in Stockholm while being preceded of more than 8 points by the moderate ones, the good strength of the Party of the left and the rather weak results of the greens in spite of a small progression to the national level. The liberals move back in an important way in all the counties, with the profit of the moderate ones which progress overall everywhere. Remain finally some local successes to allot to the Party of the center (20% in Jämtland) and to the Christian Democrats (16,6% in their historical stronghold of Jönköping).

Concerning the abstention, the inhabitants of Blekinge were disciplined (81,09% of participation), while those of Jämtland close walk (76,71% of participation).

In the communes

The municipal elections are a success for the Alliance for Sweden. By gathering 46,11% of the votes cast, it dominates from now on more half of the municipal councils of the country and carries 21 additional municipalities compared to the poll of 2002. The defeat of the left, not very visible of many voices (45,68% of the votes cast in favor of the candidates of the social democrat Party, of the Party of the left and the Greens), is indeed of many lost cities: 47 municipalities have thus escaped with the Social democrat Party. Let us note finally that 68 of the 290 communes do not have clear majority in their municipal council.

The lists of Alliance gained a sharp success in the capital of Stockholm: with 53,94% of the votes cast in their favor (37,25% for the Moderate ones, 9,64% for the liberals, 3,91% for the Christian Democrats and 3,14% for the centrists), the 4 right parties have allowed moderate the Kristina Axen Olin to supplant the social democrat Annika Billström at the post of mayor of the city. With Gothenburg, second city of the country, the left, carried out by the social democrat mayor Göran Johansson, important detractor of Göran Persson, carries it with a short advance (36,04% for SAP, are a progression of more than 4 points compared to 2002). The social democrat Party also preserves the town of Malmö in spite of an important retreat.

The municipalities can have sometimes well electoral behaviors with them. Thus, the results of very on the left the Fagersta (58,3% for the Party of the left) are contrary to those of very preserving the Vellinge (67,4% for the moderate ones)…

Of course, some local specificities exist in particular thanks to lists suitable for such or such commune that one does not find nowhere elsewhere and who collect excellent scores. The results by parties are extremely varied and it is thus difficult to establish a general assessment of the situation. Few municipal councils resemble each other and no political clout seems to override all the others, although the social-democrat often tend to being the only ones safe from catastrophic scores. The Démocrates Swedish gained a sharp success in the communes of the south of the country, carrying out scores turning around 10%, against a little less than 3% over the whole of the municipalities.

In addition to left/right cleavage, other strange phenomena can be observed, for example, in the commune of Kalix, where an exceptional transfer of voice took place greens towards the social-democrat: the first pass from 43,68% (in 2002) to 10,59% while the seconds pass from 34,70 to 57,89%… The voter turnout is overall high (75% great minimum), with peaks with nearly 86%.

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