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Green Party (Sweden)

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The Green Party (Swedish: Miljöpartiet de gröna, lit. 'Environmental Party, the Greens', MP), commonly referred to as Miljöpartiet in Swedish, is a political party in Sweden based on green politics.

Green Party
Miljöpartiet de gröna
AbbreviationMP
SpokespersonsDaniel Helldén
Amanda Lind
Founded20 September 1981; 43 years ago (1981-09-20)
HeadquartersPustegränd 1-3, Stockholm
Youth wingYoung Greens
Membership (2023)Decrease 12,877[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
Colours  Green
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

Sparked by the anti-nuclear power movement following the 1980 nuclear power referendum,[10] the party was founded in 1981 out of a discontent with the existing parties' environmental policies. In the 1988 general election they won seats in the Swedish Riksdag for 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 percent threshold.

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 by Amanda Lind and Daniel Helldén.

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

In the 2018 general election, the Greens received 4.4% of the vote and 16 seats, making the party the smallest in the Riksdag. Despite this, the party was still able to maintain its place in government.

Ideology

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Fundamental principles

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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 being participatory democracy, ecological wisdom, social justice, children's rights, circular economy, global justice, nonviolence, equality and feminism, animal rights, self-reliance and self-administration, freedom, and long-sightedness.[15] The Swedish Green Party has its roots in the environmental, solidarity, women's rights and peace movements.

Climate change and the environment

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The Green Party was the first political party in Sweden to raise the issue of climate change.[citation needed] Fighting climate change is a major policy issue for the party. For example, the party's main criticism of The 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 SEK 49 billion "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

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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] MP Per Bolund clarified 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

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The party was initially opposed to membership in the European Union, and sought a new referendum on the issue. The party's EU opposition captured them 17 percent of the votes in the 1995 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

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

Leadership and organisation

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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 are Märta Stenevi[23] and Daniel 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 [sv].

Spokespersons of the Green Party (1984–present)

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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

Secretaries-general (1985–present)

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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

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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 the European Greens.

Criticism

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Scandal involving Islamic extremism

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The Green Party was hit by a political scandal in April 2016, as images emerged of Green Party housing minister Mehmet Kaplan attending a dinner party alongside leading members of the Turkish far-right extremist group Grey Wolves.[26][27][28][29] Following attention to comments made by Kaplan in 2009 comparing Israel to Nazi Germany, Kaplan resigned as minister, while still defended by the party leadership.[26][30] During a seminar in 2014, 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 the Muslim 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 the Swedish Defence University, compared the revelations with how the Soviet Union sought to infiltrate democratic Western parties during the Cold 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.[34] 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 of Burlöv Municipality as well as the chairman of the local Syrian community group invited Osama bin Laden's former advisor Salman al-Ouda to hold a lecture to be attended by his and two other community groups. This invitation was controversial in Sweden as Al-Ouda, a muslim salafist, is known for openly antisemitic views and denying the Holocaust. The Green Party politician was suspended for a time by the party leadership.[35][36] During the scandal, the party secretary promised the party will better handle crises in the future.[37]

In May 2016, Green Party co-spokesperson and Environmental Minister Åsa Romson confirmed 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 the September 11 attacks as the 11 September "olycka" ('accident' or 'misfortune', Romson later claimed she had meant the latter) in a television interview.[38][39][40][41]

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

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Further information: Category:Members of the Riksdag from the Green Party
Green Party results by group,
VALU 2010[42]
Group Votes
(%) 		Avg. result
+/− (pp)
Students 19 +9
Members of SACO 16 +6
Aged 18–21 16 +6
Aged 22–30 16 +6
First-time voters 16 +6
Government employees 12 +2
Public sector employees 12 +2
Local government employees 12 +2
White-collar workers 11 +1
Employed persons 11 +1
Members of TCO 11 +1
Females 11 +1
Unemployed 10 0
Private sector employees 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 of LO 7 -3
On sick 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 the Social Democratic Party. The party participated in a political and electoral coalition called the Red-Greens with the Social Democrats and Left Party from October 2008 until the 2010 general election in September 2010, and has vowed to co-operate with the Social Democrats until 2020.[43] 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-minded social liberals and libertarian socialists, by referring to its liberal policy regarding immigration and its support of personal integrity, participation and entrepreneurship, among other issues.[44]

Church politics

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

Relationship with other parties

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The Green Party has a good relationship with the Social Democrats, and to a lesser extent, with the Left Party. The party does not rule out participation in a government with the minor liberal and centre-right parties 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-conservative Moderate Party. However, historically there have been political deals concluded with the parties forming the centre-right Alliance as an example concerning education. Co-operation with the Moderate Party on the municipal level are relatively frequent. [citation needed]

Membership

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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[45]—    

Election results

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Parliament (Riksdag)

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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
   20 Opposition
1991 185,051 3.4 (#8)
0 / 349
   20 Extra-parliamentary
1994 279,042 5.0 (#6)
18 / 349
   18 Opposition
1998 236,699 4.5 (#7)
16 / 349
   2 External support
2002 246,392 4.7 (#7)
17 / 349
   1 External support
2006 291,121 5.2 (#7)
19 / 349
   2 Opposition
2010 437,435 7.3 (#3)
25 / 349
   6 Opposition
2014 408,365 6.8 (#4)
25 / 349
   0 Coalition
2018 285,899 4.4 (#8)
16 / 349
   9 Coalition (2018-2021)
External support (2021-2022)
2022 329,242 5.1 (#7)
18 / 349
   2 Opposition

Regional councils

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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
   73
1991 156,594 3.1
34 / 1,763
   39
1994 236,666 4.6
78 / 1,777
   44
1998 226,398 4.4
70 / 1,646
   8
2002 204,169 3.9
55 / 1,656
   15
2006 256,547 4.74
68 / 1,656
   13
2010 398,782 6.9
104 / 1,662
   36
2014 442,760 7.2
106 / 1,678
   2
2018 265,522 4.1
48 / 1,696
   58
2022
31 / 1,696
   17

Municipal councils

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Election Votes % Seats +/–
1982 91,842 1.6
129 / 13,500
   129
1985 142,498 2.5
237 / 13,520
   108
1988 302,797 5.6
693 / 13,564
   456
1991 199,207 3.6
389 / 13,526
   304
1994 298,044 5.3
616 / 13,550
   230
1998 252,675 4.8
559 / 13,388
   8
2002 227,189 4.2
443 / 13,274
   116
2006 269,560 4.8
436 / 13,092
   7
2010 418,362 7.1
686 / 12,978
   250
2014 483,529 7.7
732 / 12,780
   46
2018 301,825 4.6
395 / 12,700
   337

European Parliament

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Year List leader Votes % Seats +/– EP Group
1995 Per Gahrton 462,092 17.22 (#3)
4 / 22
 New G
1999 239,946 9.49 (#5)
2 / 22
   2 Greens/EFA
2004 Carl Schlyter 149,603 5.96 (#7)
1 / 19
   1
2009 349,114 11.02 (#4)
2 / 18
   1
2011
2 / 20
 		  0
2014 Isabella Lövin 572,591 15.41 (#2)
4 / 20
   2
2019 Alice Bah Kuhnke 478,258 11.52 (#4)
2 / 20
   2
2020
3 / 21
 		  1
2024 581,322 13.85 (#3)
3 / 21
   0

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Medlemsras för Liberalerna – störst tapp bland riksdagspartierna". SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). 13 October 2024. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
  2. ^ Nordsieck, Wolfram (2018). "Sweden". Parties and Elections in Europe. Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
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  17. ^ "MP föreslår klimatpaket". Svenska Dagbladet. 30 September 2013.
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  24. ^ Alström, Vivvi (18 November 2023). "Daniel Helldén blir nytt språkrör i Miljöpartiet". SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 19 November 2023.
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