Jump to content

Green Party (Sweden)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Green Party
Miljöpartiet de gröna
AbbreviationMP
SpokespersonsDaniel Helldén
Amanda Lind
Founded20 September 1981;42 years ago(1981-09-20)
HeadquartersPustegränd 1-3,Stockholm
Youth wingYoung Greens
Membership(2020)Decrease9,530[1]
IdeologyGreen politics[2][3]
Ecofeminism[3][4]
Political positionCentre-left[5]
European affiliationEuropean Green Party
European Parliament groupGreens–European Free Alliance
International affiliationGlobal Greens
Nordic affiliationCentre Group
ColoursGreen
Riksdag[6]
18 / 349
European Parliament[7]
3 / 21
County councils[8]
48 / 1,696
Municipal councils[9]
395 / 12,700
Website
www.mp.se
Part ofa serieson
Green politics
Sunflower symbol
Core topics
Four pillars
Perspectives
Organizations
Related topics

TheGreen Party(Swedish:Miljöpartiet de grönalit. 'Environmental Party, the Greens',MP), commonly referred to asMiljöpartietin Swedish, is apolitical partyinSwedenbased ongreen politics.

Sparked by the anti-nuclear powermovement following the1980 nuclear power referendum,[10]the party was founded in 1981 out of a discontent with the existing parties' environmental policies. In1988 general electionthey won seats in theSwedish Riksdagfor the first time, capturing 5.5 percent of the vote, and becoming the first new party to enter parliament in seventy years.[11]Three years later, they dropped back below the 4 percentthreshold.

In 1994, they returned to parliament again and since have retained representation there. The party is represented nationally by two spokespeople, always one man and one woman. These roles are currently held byAmanda LindandDaniel Helldén.

Between 3 October 2014 and 30 November 2021, the Green Party was a part of theSocial Democraticled government. This was the first time the Greens have entered government in its history.[12]The Greens left the government after the right-wing opposition parties' budget for 2022 was passed in theRiksdag,and the government's own budget failed to pass.[13]

In the2018 general election,the Greens received 4.4% of the vote and 16 seats, making the party the smallest in theRiksdag.Despite this, the party was still able to maintain its place ingovernment.

Ideology[edit]

Fundamental principles[edit]

In their party platform, the Greens describe their ideology as being based on "a solidarity that can be expressed in three ways: solidarity with animals, nature, and the ecological system", "solidarity with coming generations", and "solidarity with all of the world's people". A Green analysis of society is based on a holistic view – everything is connected and interdependent.[14]

The platform then describes these solidarities being expressed in "several fundamental ideas", these beingparticipatory democracy,ecological wisdom,social justice,children's rights,circular economy,global justice,nonviolence,equalityandfeminism,animal rights,self-reliance and self-administration,freedom,andlong-sightedness.[15]The Swedish Green Party has its roots in the environmental, solidarity, women's rights and peace movements.

Climate change and the environment[edit]

The Green Party was the first political party in Sweden to raise the issue ofclimate change.[citation needed]Fighting climate change is a major policy issue for the party. For example, the party's main criticism ofThe Alliance's 2010 election manifesto was the "entirely astonishing" lack of effort in fighting climate change,[16]and in 2013, the party announced a budget proposal that was dominated by a 49 billionkronor"climate package".[17]The party supports a general shift in taxation policy, towards high taxes on environmentally unfriendly or unsustainable products and activities, hoping to thus influence people's behavior towards the more sustainable.[citation needed]

Nuclear power[edit]

The anti-nuclear movement was a major factor in the party's creation.[10]The party's party platform reads that "we oppose the construction of new reactors in Sweden, or an increase in the output of existing reactors, and instead want to begin immediately phasing out nuclear power."[15]MPPer Bolundclarified in 2010 that the party "does not propose shutting down nuclear power reactors today, but rather phasing them out as new and renewable electricity is phased in."[18]

European integration[edit]

The party was initially opposed to membership in theEuropean Union,and sought a new referendum on the issue. The party's EU-opposition captured them 17 percent of the votes in the1995 European Parliament election,the first following Sweden’s EU accession.[19]The Greens included withdrawal from the EU in their party platform as recently as 2006.[20]

This policy was abolished in a September 2008 internal party referendum.[21]However, the party remains somewhat Eurosceptic. The section of the party platform on the subject opens by citing how decentralization and making decisions as locally as reasonably possible is a central part of green politics. It continues to state that the Greens "are warm adherents to international cooperation. We want to see Europe as a part of a world of democracies, where people move freely over borders, and where people and countries trade and cooperate with each other."[15]

Symbol[edit]

The Green Party's party symbol is thedandelion.[22]

Leadership and organisation[edit]

The Greens, like many other green parties around the world, do not have a party leader in the traditional sense. The party is represented by two spokespeople, always one male and one female. The current spokespersons areMärta Stenevi[23]andDaniel Helldén.[24]The spokespeople are elected annually by the party congress, up to a maximum of nine consecutive one-year terms.[25]

The party congress, consisting of elected representatives of all of the party's local groups, is the highest decision-making organ in the Green Party. The congress, in addition to the two spokespeople, also fills many other important posts in the party, including a party board (Swedish:partistyrelse), which is the party's highest decision-making authority between party congresses, and the day-to-day operation of the party's national organisation. The congress also elects a party secretary (Swedish:partisekreterare), who is an internal, organisational leader for the party.[25]The current party secretary, initially elected by the 2021 party congress, is Katrin Wissing.

Spokespersons of the Green Party (1984–present)[edit]

Spokespersons Year
Ragnhild Pohanka Per Gahrton 1984–1985
Birger Schlaug 1985–1986
Eva Goës 1986–1986
Fiona Björling Anders Nordin 1988–1990
Margareta Gisselberg Jan Axelsson 1990–1991
Vacant 1991–1992
Marianne Samuelsson Birger Schlaug 1992–1999
Lotta Nilsson Hedström 1999–2000
Matz Hammarström 2000–2002
Maria Wetterstrand Peter Eriksson 2002–2011
Åsa Romson Gustav Fridolin 2011–2016
Isabella Lövin 2016–2019
Per Bolund 2019–2021
Märta Stenevi 2021–2023
Daniel Hellden 2023–2024
Amanda Lind 2024–present

Secretary-Generals (1985–present)[edit]

Secretaries-General Year
Kjell Dahlström 1985–1999
Håkan Wåhlstedt 1999–2007
Agneta Börjesson 2007–2011
Anders Wallner 2011–2016
Amanda Lind 2016–2019
Marléne Tamlin(acting) 2019
Märta Stenevi 2019–2021
Linus Lakso(acting) 2021
Katrin Wissing 2021–present

Current status[edit]

Currently, the Swedish Green Party has about 10 000 members, and is a popular party foremost among young people and women.

Organisations connected to the Swedish green party:

  • The Young Greens of Sweden(Grön ungdom)
  • The Green Students of Sweden (Gröna studenter)
  • The Green seniors of Sweden (Gröna seniorer)

The Swedish Green party is part of theEuropean Greens.

Criticism[edit]

Scandal involving Islamic extremism[edit]

The Green Party was hit by a political scandal in April 2016, as images emerged of Green Party housing ministerMehmet Kaplanattending a dinner party alongside leading members of the Turkish far-right extremist groupGrey Wolves.[26][27][28][29]Following attention to comments made by Kaplan in 2009 comparingIsraeltoNazi Germany,Kaplan resigned as minister, while still defended by the party leadership.[26][30]In 2014 during a seminar Kaplan equalized jihadists who travel to Syria with Swedish volunteers who fought on the Finnish side against the Soviet Union during the Winter War 1939-1940.[31]Kaplan later defended himself as being misunderstood and said he is against "young Swedes traveling to the war in Syria".[32]After his resignation, images emerged of Kaplan and other members of the Green Party displaying hand gestures associated with theMuslim Brotherhood.[26][30]Another controversy ensued as a rising Green-Party star,Yasri Khan,refused to shake hands with a female TV reporter.[28][30]Lars Nicander, director of the Centre for Asymmetric Threat Studies at theSwedish Defence University,compared the revelations with how theSoviet Unionsought to infiltrate democratic Western parties during theCold War,alleging that the Green Party similarly may have been "infiltrated by Islamists".[26][33]Yasri Khan was criticised by members within the party. He withdrew his candidacy for the Green Party executive board and also quit his seats on a regional board and city council.Spokesperson Fridolin said: men, especially those wanting to be in Swedish politics, should have no problems shaking a woman's hand.The Green Party's spokespersons also comment the debate saying there's no evidence of Islamists influencing party policies, but underlined the party needs a "reset" with greater focus on environmental issues.

In April 2016, Kamal al Raffi, a Green Party politician from the council ofBurlöv Municipalityas well as the chairman of the local Syrian community group invitedOsama bin Laden's former advisorSalman al-Oudato hold a lecture to be attended by his and two other community groups. This invitation was controversial in Sweden as Al-Ouda, a muslimsalafist,is known for openly antisemitic views and denying the Holocaust. The Green Party politician was suspended for a time by the party leadership.[34][35]During the scandal, the party secretary promised the party will better handle crises in the future.[36]

In May 2016, Green Party co-spokesperson and Environmental MinisterÅsa Romsonconfirmed she would resign from both positions as a result of her leadership during the party crisis, along with controversies of her own, such as referring to theSeptember 11 attacksas the 11 September "olycka" (which can be translated as "accident", or alternatively as "misfortune" which Romson later claimed as her intention) in a television interview.[37][38][39][40]

Romson later explained her comment, and said: "Of course, the attack on New York on 11 September 2001 is one of the biggest attacks, terror-actions and assaults on the peaceful and democratic world we have seen in modern times. I have no other opinion on this matter."

Electoral politics[edit]

Further information:Category:Members of the Riksdag from the Green Party
Green Party results by group,
VALU 2010[41]
Group Votes
(%) 		Avg. result
+/− (pp)
Students 19 +9
Members ofSACO 16 +6
Aged 18–21 16 +6
Aged 22–30 16 +6
First-time voters 16 +6
Government employees 12 +2
Public sectoremployees 12 +2
Local governmentemployees 12 +2
White-collar workers 11 +1
Employed persons 11 +1
Members ofTCO 11 +1
Females 11 +1
Unemployed 10 0
Private sectoremployees 9 -1
Males 9 -1
Aged 31–64 9 -1
Blue-collar workers 9 -1
Business owners 8 -2
Raised outside Sweden 7 -3
Members ofLO 7 -3
Onsick leave 7 -3
Aged 65+ 4 -6
Farmers 4 -6
All groups (total) 10 0

It is often believed that the party is situated on the left on a left-right scale due to its co-operation with theSocial Democratic Party.The party participated in apolitical and electoral coalitioncalled theRed-Greenswith theSocial DemocratsandLeft Partyfrom October 2008 until the2010 general electionin September 2010, and has vowed to co-operate with the Social Democrats until 2020.[42]In several municipalities, however, the Greens cooperate with liberal and conservative parties, and the party does not define itself as left, nor right. Rather, they place themselves on one end of a scale between sustainability and growth. In an article published in 2009, Maria Wetterstrand, then party co-spokesperson, defined the party as a natural home also for green-mindedsocial liberalsandlibertarian socialists,by referring to its liberal policy regarding immigration and its support of personal integrity, participation and entrepreneurship, among other issues.[43]

Church politics[edit]

The party does not directly participate in elections to theChurch of Sweden.However,Greens in the Church of Sweden,an independentnominating group,participates in church elections at all levels.

Relationship with other parties[edit]

The Green Party has a good relationship with theSocial Democrats,and to a lesser extent, with theLeft Party.The party does not rule out participation in a government with the minorliberalandcentre-rightparties in Sweden. The Green Party on first entering the Riksdag, allied with the Conservative Bloc in opposition to the Social Democrats. The Green Party has made clear that its preference among cooperative arrangements with the Conservative Bloc does not include support of a government led by the liberal-conservativeModerate Party.However, historically there have been political deals concluded with the parties forming the centre-rightAllianceas an example concerning education. Co-operation with the Moderate Party on the municipal level are relatively frequent.[citation needed]

Membership[edit]

Historical membership in 1-year intervals, 1987–Present
YearPop.±%
19875,500—
19888,500+54.5%
19898,000−5.9%
19907,600−5.0%
19916,900−9.2%
19926,400−7.2%
19935,300−17.2%
19946,500+22.6%
19955,600−13.8%
19966,950+24.1%
19977,500+7.9%
19987,900+5.3%
19997,285−7.8%
20006,918−5.0%
20016,701−3.1%
20028,011+19.5%
20037,483−6.6%
20047,178−4.1%
20057,249+1.0%
20069,543+31.6%
20079,045−5.2%
20089,111+0.7%
200910,635+16.7%
201015,544+46.2%
201114,648−5.8%
201213,354−8.8%
201313,760+3.0%
201420,214+46.9%
201516,735−17.2%
201613,689−18.2%
201710,719−21.7%
201812,418+15.9%
201910,588−14.7%
20209,530−10.0%
source[44]—

Electoral results[edit]

Parliament (Riksdag)[edit]

Election Votes % Seats +/– Status
1982 91,787 1.7 (#7)
0 / 349
 Extra-parliamentary
1985 83,645 1.5 (#7)
0 / 349
 Extra-parliamentary
1988 296,935 5.5 (#6)
20 / 349
 Increase20 Opposition
1991 185,051 3.4 (#8)
0 / 349
 Decrease20 Extra-parliamentary
1994 279,042 5.0 (#6)
18 / 349
 Increase18 Opposition
1998 236,699 4.5 (#7)
16 / 349
 Decrease2 External support
2002 246,392 4.7 (#7)
17 / 349
 Increase1 External support
2006 291,121 5.2 (#7)
19 / 349
 Increase2 Opposition
2010 437,435 7.3 (#3)
25 / 349
 Increase6 Opposition
2014 408,365 6.8 (#4)
25 / 349
 Steady0 Coalition
2018 285,899 4.4 (#8)
16 / 349
 Decrease9 Coalition(2018-2021)
External support(2021-2022)
2022 329,242 5.1 (#7)
18 / 349
 Increase2 Opposition

Regional councils[edit]

Election Votes % Seats +/–
1982 98,042 1.9
0 / 1,717
1985 104,166 2.0
0 / 1,733
1988 237,556 4.8
73 / 1,743
 Increase73
1991 156,594 3.1
34 / 1,763
 Decrease39
1994 236,666 4.6
78 / 1,777
 Increase44
1998 226,398 4.4
70 / 1,646
 Decrease8
2002 204,169 3.9
55 / 1,656
 Decrease15
2006 256,547 4.74
68 / 1,656
 Increase13
2010 398,782 6.9
104 / 1,662
 Increase36
2014 442,760 7.2
106 / 1,678
 Increase2
2018 265,522 4.1
48 / 1,696
 Decrease58
2022
31 / 1,696
 Decrease17

Municipal councils[edit]

Election Votes % Seats +/–
1982 91,842 1.6
129 / 13,500
 Increase129
1985 142,498 2.5
237 / 13,520
 Increase108
1988 302,797 5.6
693 / 13,564
 Increase456
1991 199,207 3.6
389 / 13,526
 Decrease304
1994 298,044 5.3
616 / 13,550
 Increase230
1998 252,675 4.8
559 / 13,388
 Decrease8
2002 227,189 4.2
443 / 13,274
 Decrease116
2006 269,560 4.8
436 / 13,092
 Decrease7
2010 418,362 7.1
686 / 12,978
 Increase250
2014 483,529 7.7
732 / 12,780
 Increase46
2018 301,825 4.6
395 / 12,700
 Decrease337

European Parliament[edit]

Year Votes % Seats +/–
1995 462,092 17.2
4 / 22
1999 239,946 9.5
2 / 22
 Decrease2
2004 149,603 6.0
1 / 19
 Decrease1
2009

2011 		349,114 11.0
2 / 18
2 / 20
 		Increase1
Steady0
2014 572,591 15.4
4 / 20
 Increase2
2019

2020 		478,258 11.5
2 / 20
3 / 21
 		Decrease2
Increase1
2024 581,322 13.85
3 / 21
 Steady0

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^"15 000 medlemmar lämnade Socialdemokraterna"[15 000 members leave the Socialdemocrats].Sveriges Radio(in Swedish). 29 January 2021.Retrieved24 May2021.
  2. ^Nordsieck, Wolfram (2018)."Sweden".Parties and Elections in Europe.Retrieved31 August2018.
  3. ^ab"Vad står Miljöpartiet för? – Riksdagsval.info".
  4. ^"Feminism utan feminism är ingenting alls, KD".
  5. ^"The Greens – The Green Alternative".The Democratic Society. 3 February 2014. Archived fromthe originalon 8 April 2019.Retrieved10 October2018.
  6. ^"2018: Val till riksdagen – Valda"(in Swedish).Valmyndigheten.Archived fromthe originalon 12 May 2019.Retrieved8 July2019.
  7. ^"Election results for the European Parliament 2019".Valmyndigheten.Retrieved8 July2019.
  8. ^"2018: Val till landstingsfullmäktige – Valda"(in Swedish).Valmyndigheten.Archived fromthe originalon 30 September 2018.Retrieved8 July2019.
  9. ^"2018: Val till kommunfullmäktige – Valda"(in Swedish).Valmyndigheten.Archived fromthe originalon 30 September 2018.Retrieved8 July2019.
  10. ^abLjunggren, Stig-Björn (2010)."Miljöpartiet De Gröna. Från miljömissnöjesparti till grön regeringspartner".Statsvetenskaplig Tidskrift.112(2).Retrieved1 October2013.
  11. ^"Allmänna valen, 1988, Del 1 Riksdagsvalet"(PDF).Statistics Sweden.
  12. ^Sveriges Radio (3 October 2014)."Sweden gets a new government".Sveriges Radio.Retrieved24 February2015.
  13. ^"MP kan lämna regeringen – om de inte får igenom budgeten".expressen.se(in Swedish).Retrieved24 November2021.
  14. ^"Miljöpartiet de gröna – Uppslagsverk – NE.se".ne.se.Retrieved6 November2022.
  15. ^abc"Party Platform 2013"(PDF).Miljöpartiet de gröna.
  16. ^Hernadi, Alexandra (26 August 2010). "Wetterstrand:" Fullständigt häpnadsväckande "".Svenska Dagbladet.
  17. ^"MP föreslår klimatpaket".Svenska Dagbladet.30 September 2013.
  18. ^"Miljöpartiet chattade om kärnkraften".Dagens Nyheter. 26 May 2010. Archived fromthe originalon 22 September 2013.Retrieved1 October2013.
  19. ^Burchell, Jon (1996). "No to the European union (EU): Miljöpartiet's success in the 1995 European parliament elections in Sweden".Environmental Politics.5(2): 332–338.doi:10.1080/09644019608414268.
  20. ^"Miljöpartiet la fram valmanifest".Dagens Nyheter.20 April 2006.
  21. ^"Mp skippar krav på EU-utträde".Sveriges radio(in Swedish). 6 October 2008.Retrieved1 February2021.
  22. ^"Registrerade partibeteckningar".val.se(in Swedish).Retrieved6 November2022.
  23. ^Crofts, Maria; Nilsson, Owe (21 May 2011)."Fridolin och Romson nya språkrör".Dagens Nyheter(in Swedish).Tidningarnas Telegrambyrå.Retrieved21 May2011.
  24. ^Alström, Vivvi (18 November 2023)."Daniel Helldén blir nytt språkrör i Miljöpartiet".SVT Nyheter(in Swedish).Retrieved19 November2023.
  25. ^ab"Stadgar"[Constitution] (in Swedish). Miljöpartiet de gröna.Retrieved8 July2019.
  26. ^abcd"Sweden's Green Party hit by religious row".Al Jazeera. 27 April 2016.
  27. ^"Housing minister, Turkish extremists dined together".Radio Sweden.14 April 2016.
  28. ^ab"Swedish cabinet member compared Israel with Nazi-Germany".Svenska Dagbladet.17 April 2016.
  29. ^"Sweden's housing minister Mehmet Kaplan quits after his Nazi comparison to Israel".International Business Times.18 April 2016.
  30. ^abc"Green Party leaders: We have no plans to resign".The Local.25 April 2016.
  31. ^"Mehmet Kaplan avgår efter kritiken".Aftonbladet(in Swedish). 18 April 2016.Retrieved13 January2021.
  32. ^Kaplan, Mehmet (3 October 2014)."Angående Mehmet Kaplans uttalande om svenskar som stred i Finland".Miljöpartiet.Retrieved13 January2021.
  33. ^"Green Party may have been infiltrated by Islamists".The Local.23 April 2016.
  34. ^"Tre olika Malmöföreningar ville lyssna på bin Ladins förra mentor".Sydsvenskan. 28 April 2016.Retrieved16 April2017.
  35. ^"Efter skandalinbjudan – Miljöpartisten tar time-out".Sveriges Television www.svt.se. 27 April 2016.Retrieved16 April2017.
  36. ^"MP: Inget tyder på att islamistisk infiltration är reell".Svenska Dagbladet(in Swedish). 24 April 2016.
  37. ^"Swedish deputy premier resigns amid Green Party crisis".Yahoo News/AP.9 May 2016.
  38. ^"Green leader steps down as government minister".The Local.9 May 2016.
  39. ^"Lövin recommended to replace Romson".Radio Sweden.9 May 2016.
  40. ^"Swedish Greens vote in their new co-leaders".The Local.13 May 2016.
  41. ^Holmberg, Sören; Näsman, Per; Wänström, Kent (2010).Riksdagsvalet 2010 Valu(PDF)(Report).Sveriges Television.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 12 June 2011.Retrieved30 September2010.
  42. ^"Partiledarna litar inte på Lars Ohly".Aftonbladet(in Swedish). 3 October 2008.Retrieved21 May2011.
  43. ^Wetterstrand, Maria (17 November 2009)."Wetterstrand: De gröna ett naturligt hem för socialliberaler".Newsmill(in Swedish). Archived fromthe originalon 28 July 2011.Retrieved21 May2011.
  44. ^"Historical Membership Numbers".Green Party of Sweden.Retrieved11 December2020.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Green_Party_(Sweden)&oldid=1233105906"