Red-Greens (Sweden)
Encyclopedia
The Red-Greens was the name of a co-operation of red-green
political parties in Sweden
, publicly launched on 7 December 2008, largely based on the Norwegian
ruling Red-Green Coalition
. It consisted of the three parties in the Riksdag
(Parliament of Sweden), sitting in opposition
to the Alliance coalition government
. The parties, which faced the voters as three separate parties in the 2010 general election
, aimed to reach agreement on significant areas of policy before the election. The parties aimed to achieve a majority at the following Swedish general election on 19 September 2010, in the unsuccessful bid to form a coalition government. The Red-Green pact was put to a pause on 26 October 2010, and completely dissolved (according to a spokesperson for the Green Party) on 26 November.
. The cooperation represented a significant development since the Social Democrats, especially the party leadership of Mona Sahlin
, previously have been sceptical about too close a co-operation with the Left Party, which was officially communist until 1990. The Social Democratic minority government led by Göran Persson
before the 2006 election had much closer cooperation with the Green Party than with the Left Party.
In October 2008 a deeper co-operation between the Social Democrats and the Green Party was announced, and a common shadow budget for 2009 was presented. In December 2008, the Left Party was included in the co-operation and the Red-Greens was launched.
The Green Party
made a significant transformation from the smallest elected party to the third largest party during the term, overtaking the Left Party
, the Christian Democrats
, the Liberals
and even the Centre Party
.
The Red-Green pact was put to a pause on 26 October 2010, and completely dissolved (according to a spokesperson for the Green Party) on 26 November.
Two political events are considered to have had a strong negative effect on public perception of the Red-Green coalition:
The coalition was planned to provide a sort of "division of labour" between parties in targeting the electorate. The Greens should have attracted young, environmentally aware, urbanites who would have traditionally voted centre-right; the Social Democrats would have retained their traditional electorate of middle-class voters.
Polls following the elections proved that the coalition had in effect more distortive than beneficial effects. The Greens mostly attracted previous Social Democrat voters, while not affecting centre-right electorate. The Social Democrats lost supports of Northern Sweden voters, scared that Green politics may affect their ways of life, and of urban middle-class voters, who could not agree with Left Party views on taxes, economy and foreign policy and still mistrusted it for its Communist past. The Social Democrats remained attractive only for voters depending on the provisions of the welfare states.
Red-green alliance
In politics, a red-green alliance is an alliance of "red" social-democratic or democratic socialist parties with "green" environmentalist parties. The alliance is often based on common left political views, especially a shared distrust of corporate or capitalist institutions...
political parties in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, publicly launched on 7 December 2008, largely based on the Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
ruling Red-Green Coalition
Red-Green Coalition (Norway)
The Red-Green Coalition is a centre-left coalition of Norwegian parties, formed by the Labour , the Socialist Left Party , and the Centre Party. Unlike many other Red-Green coalitions, the "Green" here is the colour of a centrist party rather than an actual Green party...
. It consisted of the three parties in the Riksdag
Parliament of Sweden
The Riksdag is the national legislative assembly of Sweden. The riksdag is a unicameral assembly with 349 members , who are elected on a proportional basis to serve fixed terms of four years...
(Parliament of Sweden), sitting in opposition
Opposition (politics)
In politics, the opposition comprises one or more political parties or other organized groups that are opposed to the government , party or group in political control of a city, region, state or country...
to the Alliance coalition government
Coalition government
A coalition government is a cabinet of a parliamentary government in which several political parties cooperate. The usual reason given for this arrangement is that no party on its own can achieve a majority in the parliament...
. The parties, which faced the voters as three separate parties in the 2010 general election
Swedish general election, 2010
A general election to the Riksdag, parliament of Sweden, was held on . The main contenders of the election were the governing centre-right coalition the Alliance and the oppositional centre-left Red-Greens coalition A general election to the Riksdag, parliament of Sweden, was held on . The main...
, aimed to reach agreement on significant areas of policy before the election. The parties aimed to achieve a majority at the following Swedish general election on 19 September 2010, in the unsuccessful bid to form a coalition government. The Red-Green pact was put to a pause on 26 October 2010, and completely dissolved (according to a spokesperson for the Green Party) on 26 November.
Parties
The coalition consisted of three parties;- The Social DemocratsSwedish Social Democratic PartyThe Swedish Social Democratic Workers' Party, , contesting elections as 'the Workers' Party – the Social Democrats' , or sometimes referred to just as 'the Social Democrats' and most commonly as Sossarna ; is the oldest and largest political party in Sweden. The party was founded in 1889...
led by Mona SahlinMona SahlinMona Ingeborg Sahlin is a Swedish politician and the former leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party.Sahlin has been a Member of Parliament, representing Stockholm County, from 1982 to 1996 and again since 2002. She has also held various ministerial posts in the Swedish government from 1990...
, a social democraticSocial democracySocial democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
party which had 130 of 349 seats in the Riksdag before the 2010 general election. - The Green PartyGreen Party (Sweden)-External links:**...
represented by spokespersons Peter Eriksson and Maria WetterstrandMaria WetterstrandIngrid Maria Wetterstrand is a Swedish politician. Between 2002-2011 she was one of the spokespersons of the Green Party alongside with Peter Eriksson...
, a greenGreen politicsGreen politics is a political ideology that aims for the creation of an ecologically sustainable society rooted in environmentalism, social liberalism, and grassroots democracy...
party which had 19 of 349 seats in the Riksdag. - The Left PartyLeft Party (Sweden)The Left Party is a socialist and feminist political party in Sweden, from 1967 to 1990 known as the Left Party – The Communists .On welfare issues, the party opposes privatizations...
led by Lars OhlyLars OhlyLars-Magnus Harald Christoffer Ohly is a Swedish politician, currently serving as party chairman of the Swedish Left Party, in August 2011 Ohly announced his resignation. He was elected party chairman on 20 February 2004, succeeding Ulla Hoffmann....
, a socialist party which had 22 of 349 seats in the Riksdag.
Background
The Red-Greens took their cue from Alliance for Sweden, the co-operation between four centre-right parties which is considered to have contributed to these parties' success in the 2006 general electionSwedish general election, 2006
A general election was held in Sweden on 17 September 2006, to elect members to the Swedish parliament. All 349 seats were up for election: 310 "fixed seats" in 29 constituencies and 39 members at a national level for what are called "adjustment seats", used to ensure that parties have...
. The cooperation represented a significant development since the Social Democrats, especially the party leadership of Mona Sahlin
Mona Sahlin
Mona Ingeborg Sahlin is a Swedish politician and the former leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party.Sahlin has been a Member of Parliament, representing Stockholm County, from 1982 to 1996 and again since 2002. She has also held various ministerial posts in the Swedish government from 1990...
, previously have been sceptical about too close a co-operation with the Left Party, which was officially communist until 1990. The Social Democratic minority government led by Göran Persson
Göran Persson
Hans Göran Persson was the Prime Minister of Sweden from 1996 to 2006 and the leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party from 1996 to 2007. Conceding defeat in the September 2006 general election, he announced that he would resign as party leader, and Mona Sahlin was elected to succeed him as...
before the 2006 election had much closer cooperation with the Green Party than with the Left Party.
In October 2008 a deeper co-operation between the Social Democrats and the Green Party was announced, and a common shadow budget for 2009 was presented. In December 2008, the Left Party was included in the co-operation and the Red-Greens was launched.
Outcomes
The Social Democrats lost 5% in comparison with 2006 elections, thus scoring their worst result since 1911.The Green Party
Green Party (Sweden)
-External links:**...
made a significant transformation from the smallest elected party to the third largest party during the term, overtaking the Left Party
Left Party (Sweden)
The Left Party is a socialist and feminist political party in Sweden, from 1967 to 1990 known as the Left Party – The Communists .On welfare issues, the party opposes privatizations...
, the Christian Democrats
Christian Democrats (Sweden)
The Christian Democrats ) is a political party in Sweden. The party was founded in 1964 but did not enter parliament until 1985 in an electoral cooperation with the Centre Party and on the Christian Democrats' own accord in 1991. The leader since April 3, 2004 is Göran Hägglund. He succeeded Alf...
, the Liberals
Liberal People's Party (Sweden)
The Liberal People's Party is a political party in Sweden. The party advocates social liberalism and is part of the governing centre-right coalition The Alliance, which achieved a majority in the general election of 17 September 2006...
and even the Centre Party
Centre Party (Sweden)
The Centre Party is a centrist political party in Sweden. The party maintains close ties to rural Sweden and describes itself as "a green social liberal party". The ideology is sometimes called agrarian, but in a European context, the Centre Party can perhaps best be characterized as social...
.
The Red-Green pact was put to a pause on 26 October 2010, and completely dissolved (according to a spokesperson for the Green Party) on 26 November.
Two political events are considered to have had a strong negative effect on public perception of the Red-Green coalition:
- In October 2008 Mona SahlinMona SahlinMona Ingeborg Sahlin is a Swedish politician and the former leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party.Sahlin has been a Member of Parliament, representing Stockholm County, from 1982 to 1996 and again since 2002. She has also held various ministerial posts in the Swedish government from 1990...
launched the alliance between Social Democrats and Greens. The explicit exclusion of the Left Party resulted unpopular in the party's circle, and Sahlin had to change its policy and welcome the post-communists in the team - In May 2010, six months before the elections and in the grim climate of the economic crisis, the coalition presented a shadow budget. Public opinion's reception was cold, providing a fatal blow for the coalition. The budget didn't appear responsible and competent, in comparison with the reigning Alliance government.
The coalition was planned to provide a sort of "division of labour" between parties in targeting the electorate. The Greens should have attracted young, environmentally aware, urbanites who would have traditionally voted centre-right; the Social Democrats would have retained their traditional electorate of middle-class voters.
Polls following the elections proved that the coalition had in effect more distortive than beneficial effects. The Greens mostly attracted previous Social Democrat voters, while not affecting centre-right electorate. The Social Democrats lost supports of Northern Sweden voters, scared that Green politics may affect their ways of life, and of urban middle-class voters, who could not agree with Left Party views on taxes, economy and foreign policy and still mistrusted it for its Communist past. The Social Democrats remained attractive only for voters depending on the provisions of the welfare states.