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:
“...to many a mother’s heart has come the disappointment of a loss of power, a limitation of influence when early manhood takes the boy from the home, or when even before that time, in school, or where he touches the great world and begins to be bewildered with its controversies, trade and economics and politics make their imprint even while his lips are dewy with his mother’s kiss.”
—J. Ellen Foster (1840–1910)