A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
All 349 seats to the Riksdag 175 seats are needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
_(cropped).jpg)
_(cropped).jpg)
_(4712312068)_(cropped).jpg)
.jpg)
-riksdagasman_(cropped).JPG)
_(cropped).jpg)
General elections were held in Sweden on 19 September 2010 to elect the 349 members of the Riksdag. The main contenders of the election were the governing centre-right coalition the Alliance, consisting of the Moderate Party, the Centre Party, the Liberal People's Party and the Christian Democrats; and the opposition centre-left coalition the Red-Greens, consisting of the Social Democrats, the Left Party and the Green Party.
The Alliance received 49.27 percent of the votes (an increase by 1.03 pp from the previous election) and 173 seats in the parliament (a decrease by 5 seats and 2 short of an overall majority), while the Red-Greens received 43.60 percent of the vote (a decrease by 2.48 pp) and 156 seats (a decrease by 15 seats).[1] The election also saw the nationalist Sweden Democrats entering parliament for the first time, as the sixth largest and only non-aligned of the eight parties elected to the parliament, by receiving 5.70 percent of the votes (an increase by 2.77 pp) and 20 seats.[1] Both in terms of percentage share; 30.06%, and the actual vote; 1,791,766, the Moderate Party had its strongest election of the unicameral parliamentary era, narrowly missing out on beating the Social Democrats to become the largest party.[2] The Alliance dominated the Stockholm capital region of the municipality and county and made further gains in South Sweden including narrowly flipping Malmö blue as well as winning pluralities in traditionally red towns such as Kalmar, Landskrona and Trelleborg.[1]
The Alliance lost its absolute majority in the parliament but continued to govern as a minority government. The new parliament held its opening session on 5 October, with Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt presenting the annual government policy statement, along with changes to his cabinet.[3]
This was the first time in almost a century that a Swedish centre-right government that had served a full term was reelected.[4]
Campaign
 | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2010) |
One of the main campaign themes was the Economy of Sweden.[5]
The Sweden Democrats (SD) stated that it wished to cut political asylum and family reunification immigration by 90 percent.[6] The SD leader Jimmie Åkesson wrote, in an opinion piece for the social-democratic tabloid Aftonbladet that the growth of the country's Muslim population "is the greatest foreign threat to Sweden since the Second World War."[7][8]
The parties already represented in the Swedish parliament, along with the Swedish television networks, excluded minor parties from the televised political debates. The excluded minor parties included the Sweden Democrats,[9] the June List, the Feminist Initiative, and the Pirate Party.[citation needed]
Polling
After the election in September 2006, the Alliance slipped well behind the opposition in the polls. A Sifo poll conducted in February 2008 showed the opposition leading the Alliance by 19.4%. However, this lead steadily eroded during the second half of the Alliance's term, despite the opposition's uniting in the Red-Green co-operation in December 2008.
▄ Red-Green coalition █ Social Democratic Party ▄ The Alliance █ Moderate Party
The Sweden Democrats were expected to enter the Parliament for the first time, as the party's polling results had exceeded the 4% entry threshold since June 2009. The Green Party had also 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 in most polls following the 2006 election.
█ Green Party █ Liberal People's Party ▄ Centre Party █ Left Party ▄ Christian Democrats █ Sweden Democrats █ Other
Controversy about Sweden Democrats
The Sweden Democrats generated controversy before the election.[9] Both the Alliance and the Red-Greens pledged not to seek support from the SD,[7] with Reinfeldt ruling out forming a government in cooperation with the Sweden Democrats.[5]
A privately owned television network, TV4, refused to air a SD campaign video, which was then uploaded to YouTube and viewed more than one million times. The SD video portrayed a track-meet, in which the race is for pension funds. In the video, a Swedish pensioner is outrun by burka-clad women with prams.[9][10]
Several politicians in Denmark, initially from the Danish People's Party and later from the governing Venstre and the Conservative People's Party, reacted to TV4's refusal to air the video by calling for international election observers to be sent to Sweden.[11][12] Pia Kjærsgaard, leader of the Danish People's Party, claimed that the election reminded her of "Eastern Europe", and that Sweden was the "banana republic" of the Nordic countries.[11] Per-Willy Amundsen of the Norwegian Progress Party also criticised the decision as a "violation of democratic rules."[13]
Violence
On 13 September in Gothenburg, about 500 counter-demonstrators prevented the Sweden Democrats from making a planned election rally.[14] Police used pepper spray to disperse the counter-demonstration, which lacked a permit, and seven counter-demonstrators were detained.[14] On 14 September, the Sweden Democrats cancelled planned rallies in three cities, Eskilstuna, Karlstad, and Uddevalla, because of security concerns. Similarly, concerns about security led to an election tour being cancelled on 15 September in Norrköping.[15][16]
After these cancelled election rallies, the National Police Commissioner Bengt Svenson severely criticized the county police for failing to safeguard the Sweden Democrats: "If it is not possible to protect them , the police have failed in its planning and execution of its mission. It is a serious problem when such meetings cannot be held, because it is our absolute duty to ensure that the constitutionally guaranteed rights be maintained and that all meetings can be held".[17]
Consequences
These attempts to limit the SD message were described by Al Jazeera as counterproductive, in that they enabled the SD to portray itself as a victim of censorship.[9]
Similarly, Hanne Kjöller of Dagens Nyheter hypothesised that the attacks strengthened the Sweden Democrats rather than hurting the party's support base. "Jimmie Åkesson becomes a poor underdog and the picture of a party that is holding some dangerous but important truth is enhanced. The Sweden Democrats should send flowers to the left-wing extremists, thanking them for the publicity."[18]
Results
- Red‑Greens
- Equal
- The Alliance
There were 5,960,408 valid ballots cast for a turnout of 84.63%.[20]
 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | |
| Swedish Social Democratic Party | 1,827,497 | 30.66 | 112 | –18 | |
| Moderate Party | 1,791,766 | 30.06 | 107 | +10 | |
| Green Party | 437,435 | 7.34 | 25 | +6 | |
| Liberal People's Party | 420,524 | 7.06 | 24 | –4 | |
| Centre Party | 390,804 | 6.56 | 23 | –6 | |
| Sweden Democrats | 339,610 | 5.70 | 20 | +20 | |
| Left Party | 334,053 | 5.60 | 19 | –3 | |
| Christian Democrats | 333,696 | 5.60 | 19 | –5 | |
| Pirate Party | 38,491 | 0.65 | 0 | 0 | |
| Feminist Initiative | 24,139 | 0.40 | 0 | 0 | |
| Swedish Senior Citizen Interest Party | 11,078 | 0.19 | 0 | 0 | |
| Rural Democrats | 1,565 | 0.03 | 0 | New | |
| Socialist Justice Party | 1,507 | 0.03 | 0 | 0 | |
| Norrländska Coalition | 1,456 | 0.02 | 0 | New | |
| National Democrats | 1,141 | 0.02 | 0 | 0 | |
| Classical Liberal Party | 716 | 0.01 | 0 | 0 | |
| Freedom Party | 688 | 0.01 | 0 | New | |
| Party of the Swedes | 681 | 0.01 | 0 | 0 | |
| Unity | 632 | 0.01 | 0 | 0 | |
| Communist Party | 375 | 0.01 | 0 | 0 | |
| Spirits Party | 237 | 0.00 | 0 | New | |
| European Workers Party | 187 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | |
| Health Care Party | 185 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | |
| Alliance Party | 87 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | |
| Direct Democrats | 76 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | |
| National Democratic Party | 63 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | |
| Population Party | 35 | 0.00 | 0 | New | |
| Communist League | 26 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | |
| Freedom and Justice Party | 19 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | |
| Scania Party | 17 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | |
| Republicans | 14 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | |
| Republican Party | 10 | 0.00 | 0 | New | |
| Nordic Union | 5 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | |
| Alexander's Lista | 4 | 0.00 | 0 | New | |
| Li Yu Chen Andersson Party | 4 | 0.00 | 0 | New | |
| Rikshushållarna | 3 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | |
| Labour Market Party UPI | 2 | 0.00 | 0 | New | |
| Parties not on the ballot | 1,580 | 0.03 | 0 | – | |
| Total | 5,960,408 | 100.00 | 349 | 0 | |
| Valid votes | 5,960,408 | 98.87 | |||
| Invalid/blank votes | 68,274 | 1.13 | |||
| Total votes | 6,028,682 | 100.00 | |||
| Registered voters/turnout | 7,123,651 | 84.63 | |||
| Source: Val | |||||