Sweden’s Center-Right Wins Close General Election

Sweden’s general election yesterday brought an end to 12 years of Social Democrat rule, and Prime Minister Goran Persson will resign shortly. Fredrik Reinfeldt’s Moderate Party led the polling with a 1% margin. He said in claiming victory, “"We ran in the election as the New Moderates, we have won the election as the New Moderates and we will also together with our Alliance friends govern Sweden as the New Moderates.” It was a moderately inspiring statement.

These New Moderates are not going to overthrow the social welfare state that Sweden has built. However, they do have some criticisms that appear valid. First, the Social Democrats (who have governed the country for 79 of the last 89 years) have let Swedish competitiveness slide. Second, the unemployment rate is higher than necessary because of a rigid labor market. Third, the public sector (which employs 30% of the work force) is too big. All of this, according to Mr. Reinfeldt’s team, needs changing.

What is interesting is that the New Moderates have decided that the welfare state in Sweden needs reform to remain competitive. It does not need abolishing, as a more Thatcherite view of the world would have it. The argument seems to be that there is no point in having social programs that one cannot afford to fund. The economy needs some room to breathe in order to retain the social benefits Swedes have traditionally enjoyed.

The New Moderates won’t get everything they want, though. They ran in the election as one of four parties in the Alliance for Sweden. As a result, they will share various ministries with the Folk Liberal Party, the Centre Party and the Christian Democrats. However, the coalition looks pretty stable with 178 seats in Sweden's 349-seat parliament – seven more than the Social Democrats and their allies.

Four years ago, the Moderates got 15.3% of the vote, promising a radical reduction in the welfare state and huge tax cuts. This time, they won with about 26% of the vote, with Mr. Reinfeldt saying, “The Nordic welfare model is in many aspects a good model but it needs more of a choice for individuals.” Sometimes, the most revolutionary thing in politics is not a revolution.

© Copyright 2006 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

Home