Sweden flag Sweden: Economic and Political Overview

The political framework of Sweden

Political Outline

Current Political Leaders
King: CARL XVI GUSTAF (since September 1973) – hereditary
Prime Minister: Ulf KRISTERSSON (since 18 October 2022) - Moderate Party
Next Election Dates
Parliamentary: 13 September 2026
Current Political Context
General elections were held in Sweden on 11 September 2022. The Social Democratic Party received the most votes (30.3%), although the right-wing, anti-immigration party Sweden Democrats was the main winner of the elections, expanding its vote share from 5.7% in 2010 to 20.5%, becoming the second-largest party, just ahead of the liberal-conservative Moderate Party (19.1%).
Despite her party receiving the most votes, Magdalena Andersson, the leader of the Social Democrats, decided to step down as prime minister. Following this decision, the parliament appointed the leader of the Moderate Party Ulf Kristersson as the new prime minister. Kristersson leads a right-wing minority government with the external support of the far-right Sweden Democrats.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sweden abandoned its tradition of neutrality and applied to become a member of NATO, although there were tensions with Turkey over Sweden’s protection of Kurdish refugees. Finally, at the end of 2023 the Turkish parliament's foreign affairs committee sent the request to the National Assembly for final approval. Nevertheless, Hungary continues to stall Sweden's bid, as Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said that his country is in no hurry to ratify Sweden’s bid to join NATO.
Main Political Parties

A party must gain 4% of the national vote or 12% of a constituency vote to enter the single-chamber parliament. Coalitions and minority governments are widespread. Social Democratic Party and Moderate Party are the largest parties in the parliament.

  • Social Democratic Party (SAP): centre-left, oldest and largest political party in Sweden; supports social democracy; its electoral base is among blue collar workers.
  • Moderate Party (M): centre-right; liberal-conservatism.
  • Sweden Democrats (SD): right-wing; anti-immigration; advocates social conservatism.
  • Centre Party (C): centre-right; ideology described as "eco-humanism,”; focuses on agricultural, environmental, and rural issues.
  • Left Party (V): left-wing; socialist and feminist.
  • Christian Democratic Party (KD): centre-right; looks to improve care of the elderly and family values; seeks to decrease corporate regulation and lowering taxes.
  • Liberals (L): centre-right; pushes for free market economy; supports the Eurozone, yet more recently has focused on gender equality issues and improving education.
  • Green Party: centre-left, based on green ideology.
Executive Power
The monarchy is hereditary. The King is Head of State but he exercises no political power and functions in an entirely ceremonial capacity. After a general election, the Prime Minister is first nominated by the parliamentary spokesperson before being confirmed for a four-year term by the Parliament (the King plays no role in this process). The Prime Minister is the head of the government and holds executive power. The Council of Ministers is nominated by the Prime Minister and then submitted for the approval of Parliament.
Legislative Power
The Swedish legislative power is unicameral. The Parliament, called Riksdag, has 349 seats and its members are elected by universal suffrage on the basis of proportional representation for a four-year term. The executive branch of government depends on the support of Parliament, often expressed by a vote of confidence. The Prime Minister can dissolve Parliament, even after receiving a vote of no confidence, unless elections took place less than three months before. Legislative power belongs both to the government and to Parliament. Swedish citizens enjoy considerable political rights.
 

Indicator of Freedom of the Press

Definition:

The world rankings, published annually, measures violations of press freedom worldwide. It reflects the degree of freedom enjoyed by journalists, the media and digital citizens of each country and the means used by states to respect and uphold this freedom. Finally, a note and a position are assigned to each country. To compile this index, Reporters Without Borders (RWB) prepared a questionnaire incorporating the main criteria (44 in total) to assess the situation of press freedom in a given country. This questionnaire was sent to partner organisations,150 RWB correspondents, journalists, researchers, jurists and human rights activists. It includes every kind of direct attacks against journalists and digital citizens (murders, imprisonment, assault, threats, etc.) or against the media (censorship, confiscation, searches and harassment etc.).

World Rank:
3/180
 

Indicator of Political Freedom

Definition:

The Indicator of Political Freedom provides an annual evaluation of the state of freedom in a country as experienced by individuals. The survey measures freedom according to two broad categories: political rights and civil liberties. The ratings process is based on a checklist of 10 political rights questions (on Electoral Process, Political Pluralism and Participation, Functioning of Government) and 15 civil liberties questions (on Freedom of Expression, Belief, Associational and Organizational Rights, Rule of Law, Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights). Scores are awarded to each of these questions on a scale of 0 to 4, where a score of 0 represents the smallest degree and 4 the greatest degree of rights or liberties present. The total score awarded to the political rights and civil liberties checklist determines the political rights and civil liberties rating. Each rating of 1 through 7, with 1 representing the highest and 7 the lowest level of freedom, corresponds to a range of total scores.

Ranking:
Free
Political Freedom:
1/7

Political freedom in the world (interactive map)
Source: Freedom in the World Report, Freedom House

 

Return to top

Any Comment About This Content? Report It to Us.

 

© eexpand, All Rights Reserved.
Latest Update: March 2024

Return to top