You might have been given flyers on the street, your bike has possibly been attacked by a strange-looking saddle cover or even some party representative might have passed by your door: September 14th is Election Day in Sweden and it’s hard not to notice.
But what are these elections really about and what parties can one vote for?
Lundagard.net gives you a very basic introduction into Swedish politics.
Elections in Sweden
Elections are only held once in four years but when it finally is time, it’s for real: Swedes get all at the same time to vote for the Riksdagen (Parliament), län (region) and the kommun (municipality). While the people standing on Stortorget are obviously campaigning for Lund’s local politics, most people are primarily interested in the elections for the 349 seats of the Riksdag. Only Swedish citizens can vote for this. However, EU citizens with a personal number are allowed to vote for the region and the municipality.
The current government
The Moderates (Moderaterna), the Christian Democrats (Kristdemokraterna), the People’s Party (Folkpartiet) and the Center Party (Centerpartiet) have governed Sweden (and also Lund) for the last eight years. Within the coalition, the Moderates are by far the biggest (30%), while the other three parties are relatively small. The Alliance has driven right-wing, liberal-conservative politics and have lowered the taxes. With regards to policies that influence students, the coalition decided to introduce student fees for non-European students and they cancelled the compulsory military service. Unsurprisingly the Civil Alliance, as they are also known, would like to continue as a government, headed by Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt (Moderate party). However, the polls currently predict a considerable loss.
The opposition parties
In good old Scandinavian-socialist times, the Social Democrats (Socialdemokraterna) could count on becoming the biggest party: between 1932 and 1988 they never got under 40 percent of the national votes. Times have changed and since 2006 the party has been in the opposition. The Social Democrats hope to come back to power with the so-called red-green block, i.e. together with the Green Party (Miljöpartiet) and the Left Party (Vänsterpartiet). They campaign, amongst others, with promises for smaller school classes and higher investments in health care. The Social Democrats also promise investments for more places in higher education and tax reforms to what they consider a more equal division of welfare.
Fi and SD
A significant role in the elections is played by two relative new-comers in Swedish politics. Feminist Initiative (Feministiskt Initiativ), a left-wing party that focuses on feminism and equal treatment between men and women, was established about a decade ago. Headed by former Left Party MP Gudrun Schyman, Fi hopes to reach the four percent electoral threshold that is needed to enter the Parliament. For the national elections it will be a close call as the polls right now predict “around” percent for Fi. If they manage to enter, they might come to play a crucial role in helping the red-green block to form a majority coalition.
At the complete other side of the spectrum, one can find Swedish Democrats (Sverigedemokraterna): hated, debated and (in)famous even outside of Sweden’s borders. The SD is a nationalist, anti-immigrant and anti-Islam party that entered the Parliament in 2010 for the first time with over 5 percent of the votes. It has since then continued to stir up emotions almost continually. Despite a ‘zero racism policy’, SD-candidates regularly posts racist material on social media or make problematic statements. This leaves the party leadership with the hard choice of banning the candidate or diminishing the offense and saying that it wasn’t so ill-meant actually. In spite of this, the party of leader Jimmie Åkesson is predicted to almost double in size to about 10 percent.
A few issues highlighted
The most important national issue according to many in this election is education. Sweden has, like many European countries, always had a high standard for education and ended in the top of education rankings. This high position is since some years under pressure and general opinion thinks that much should be improved: teachers should be better paid, it should be harder to get into the education to become a teacher and the job of a teacher should regain status. Some parties also blame a reform some decades ago that made education to a large extent a local responsibility instead of a national one. Has this reform really contributed to better education?
On a local level, many students are concerned about the lack of student housing in Lund. All parties promise more (student) housing, but the big question is whether they should be built in the city or on farming land. Another issue is the planned construction of a tram line. This would run from Lund Central via the Hospital and LTH towards the new quarter Brunnshög and the ESS (European Spallation Source) that will be erected in Lund. The local party FörNyaLund (Renew Lund) is radically opposed to the tram plans, as are the Swedish Democrats. The other parties are (conditionally) supportive.
Valvaka
After all the campaigning, Sunday night at 8 PM the voting stations will close. Then the votes will be counted and the waiting begins with results gradually coming in: a phenomenon for which the Swedes even have a special word. So, install yourself in front of a television, invite a Swedish friend to translate and organize your own valvaka (“Election Vigil”).
It is after all about the future of our (host) country.
