Moderate Party
The
Moderate Coalition Party (in
Swedish:
Moderata samlingspartiet, commonly referred to as
Moderaterna) is a
Liberal conservative party in
Sweden. It is a member of the
International Democrat Union and
European People's Party.
The party was founded on
17 October 1904 in a restaurant called
Runan in
Stockholm. The intention was to start a campaign organisation in support of the group of Conservatives which had emerged in the
Riksdag. During the 19th century
Conservatives had organised themselves in the Riksdag but there was no party to support them. The Swedish right-wing were also threatened by the rise of the
Social Democrats (founded in
1889) and the
Liberals (
1902). The party was called the
General Electoral Union (
Allmänna valmansförbundet).
At first the party was clearly
nationalist and staunchly Conservative. The party opposed
universal suffrage,
workers' rights and
social spending. The Party wanted to protect the privileges of the upper class and objected the idea that workers, women and low-income people should be allowed to vote. The importance of a strong defence was underlined. In the defence policy crisis in
1914, the party sided with the
King.
Arvid Lindman (often called "The Admiral") became influential in the party and was
Prime Minister of Sweden twice. In
1907 he proposed universal male suffrage to the Riksdag. He was formally elected leader in
1912.
In
1928 the party achieved its best election result to date - 28%.
The
1930s saw the party in conflict over how to relate to
Nazism. Its youth organisation, the
National Youth League of Sweden (
Sveriges Nationella Ungdomsförbund) was openly pro-Nazi and set up uniformed "fighting groups" to combat political enemies on the streets. The mother party did not like this development and in 1933 the National Youth League was separated from the party. While the party set up a new youth league, which came to be called the
Moderate Youth League, the old one formed its own party which fought elections as a pro-Nazi party.
In 1934 the Social Democrats formed a new government. They came to stay in power until
1976, thus the party became a leading opposition party. In
1938 the party was renamed the
National Organisation of the Right (
Högerns riksorganisation). The Right helped govern with the Social Democrats during the
Second World War, when Sweden was neutral.
In
1952 the party was renamed the
Right-wing Party (
Högerpartiet). During the leadership of
Jarl Hjalmarson the party started to emerge as the leading opposition to the government. The turbulent year of
1968, with student revolts and an
absolute majority for the Social Democrats, made the party rename itself the
Moderate Unity Party (
Moderata samlingspartiet, generally just referred to as
Moderaterna) in
1969.
In
1970 Gösta Bohman was elected leader. During the leadership of the relatively young Bohman the party started its drift from traditionalist conservatism towards
liberalism which continues to this day.
In
1976 the opposition won an election and the Moderates joined the government under
Thorbjörn Fälldin, with Gösta Bohman as Minister of Economy. The non-socialist parties managed to remain in power until
1982 in different constellations. The election of
1979, however, made the Moderate Party the largest non-socialist party. Gösta Bohman was replaced by
Ulf Adelsohn.
In
1986,
Carl Bildt was elected leader of the party. A son-in-law of Bohman, he managed to lead the party to an election victory in
1991. The Moderate Party led a non-socialist coalition between 1991 and
1994 with Carl Bildt as
Prime Minister. The government did much to reform the Swedish government, cut
public spending and reduce
taxes. The negotiations for membership with the
EU was also finalised.
The party gained votes in 1994, but the governing coalition lost its majority. Bildt stayed on as the Moderate party leader, but the non-socialist parties lost the election in
1998 as well.
Bo Lundgren replaced him and led the party in the disastrous election of
2002.
Fredrik Reinfeldt was elected as the new party leader in
2003.
Under the leadership of
Fredrik Reinfeldt the party has abandoned its hardcore tax-cut politics and started to emphasize on issues such as education, health-care and the importance of blue-collar workers. Together with three other liberal and conservative opposition parties
Alliance for Sweden was formed during the fall of 2004 presenting a non-socialistic alternative to the current Social Democratic government. The Alliance rapidly gained public support much thanks to skillful rhetoric as well as a series of embarrassing
scandals shaking the Swedish Social Democratic government. In May 2005 the Alliance, supported by more than half of the Swedish voters according to the polls, had already gained a superior lead. As of 2006 the lead for the Alliance has decreased significantly in the polls, even though it is still ahead of the government and its supporting parties.
The party states that its ideology is a mix of
liberalism and
conservatism. The party emphasizes personal freedom, free markets,
privatization and reduction of the public-sector growth rate, while still supporting most of the social benefits introduced since the
1930s. The party also supports Sweden's membership of the
European Union. They campaigned for the
euro in
2003 referendum. Since
Fredrik Reinfeldt became party leader, the party has moved to the center and much of the
libertarianism has been replaced by a more
centrist policy. It is largely expected that this shift will favour the party in the forthcoming elections.
The Party is in favour of Swedish membership of
NATO and also seeks to decrease spending on
foreign aid, though it has said that if it takes power in the upcoming elections, it will keep the status quo and not push for NATO membership, even though it believes it's what's best.
The party is lead by the party chairman who is also leader of the party. He or she is assisted by the board of the party.
The party is organised on national, county and municipal level. Each county sends delegates to the Party Congress, which is held every second year.
Young members are organised in the
Moderate Youth League. There is no official student organisation although the views of the party are closest to those of the
Free Moderate Student League, which used to be tied to the party. Senior citizens can join
Moderate Seniors (
Moderata seniorer).
The party has its strongest base around
Stockholm and in
Skåne. It is generally weak in the north of Sweden. Typical Moderate voters are educated white-collar workers and other private sector workers, usually with a higher-than-average income. The party has a stronger electoral support amongst men than amongst women.
|
2002 parliamentary election results |
*
Fredrik Östberg (1904-1905)
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Axel Svedelius (1905-1906)
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Hugo Tamm (1907+)
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Fredrik Östberg (1908-1912)
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Arvid Lindman (1912-1917)
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Olof Jonsson i Nov (1917)
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Arvid Lindman (1917-1935)
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Gösta Bagge (1935-1944)
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Fritiof Domö (1944-1950)
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Jarl Hjalmarson (1950-1961)
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Gunnar Heckscher (1961-1965)
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Yngve Holmberg (1965-1970)
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Gösta Bohman (
1970-
1981)
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Ulf Adelsohn (
1981-
1986)
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Carl Bildt (
1986-
1999)
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Bo Lundgren (
1999-
2003)
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Fredrik Reinfeldt (
2003-present)
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Gunnar Svärd 1947-1961
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Yngve Holmberg 1961-1965
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Sam Nilsson 1965-1969
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Bertil af Ugglas 1969-1974
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Lars Tobisson 1974-1981
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Georg Danell 1981-1986
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Per Unckel 1986-1991
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Gunnar Hökmark 1991-1999
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Johnny Magnusson 1999-2003
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Sven-Otto Littorin 2003-
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Bernhard Johansson i Fredrikslund 1935
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Martin Skoglund i Doverstorp 1935-1956
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Leif Cassel 1956-1965
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Gösta Bohman 1965-1970
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Staffan Burenstam Linder 1970-1981
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Lars Tobisson 1981-1999
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Chris Heister 1999-2003
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Gunilla Carlsson 2003-
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Karl Magnusson i
Skövde 1935
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Fritiof Domö 1935-1944
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Jarl Hjalmarson 1944-1950
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Knut Ewerlöf 1950-1958
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Gunnar Heckscher 1958-1961
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Rolf Eliasson 1961-1965
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Yngve Nilsson i
Trobro 1965-1970
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Eric Krönmark 1970-1981
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Ella Tengbom-Velander 1981-1986
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Ingegerd Troedsson 1986-1993
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Gun Hellsvik 1993-1999
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Gunilla Carlsson 1999-2003
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Kristina Axén Olin 2003-
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Alliance for Sweden*
Politics of Sweden*
Prime Minister of Sweden*
Government of Sweden*
Parliament of Sweden*
Elections in Sweden*
Moderate Womens League of Sweden*
United States Department of State -
Sweden*
Moderata samlingspartiet *
The Swedish Parliament: The Moderate Party
