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Sweden is a constitutional monarchy, in which King Carl XVI Gustaf is head of state, but royal power has long been limited to official and ceremonial functions. The nation's legislature is the Swedish Parliament (Riksdag), with 349 members. Parliamentary elections are held every four years. Legislation may be initiated by the Cabinet or by members of Parliament. Members are elected on the basis of proportional representation for a four-year term. The Constitution of Sweden can be altered by the Riksdag, which requires a super majority and confirmation after the following general elections. Sweden has three other constitutional laws: the Act of Royal Succession, the Freedom of Press Act and the Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression. The Swedish Social Democratic Party has played a leading political role since 1917, after Reformists had confirmed their strength and the revolutionaries left the party. After 1932, the Cabinets have been dominated by the Social Democrats. Only three general elections (1976,1979 and 1991) have given the center-right bloc enough seats in Parliament to form a government. It is considered the reason for the Swedish post-war welfare state, with a government expenditure of slightly more than 50% of the gross domestic product. In May 2006, the following political parties held seats in the Riksdag (the most recent elections were held in September 2002; the next elections will be held in September 2006): Socialdemokraterna (s, Social Democrats): 144 seats, 39.8% of votes Moderaterna (m, Moderates): 55 seats, 15.2% of votes Folkpartiet liberalerna (fp, Liberal Party): 48 seats, 13.3% of votes Kristdemokraterna (kd, Christian Democrats): 33 seats, 9.1% of votes Vänsterpartiet (v, Left Party): 28 seats, 8.3% of votes Centerpartiet (c, Center Party): 22 seats, 6.1% of votes Miljöpartiet (mp, Greens): 17 seats, 4.6% of votes (There are also 2 members of parliament who have left their respective parties during this term and are therefore not counted above.) Sweden has a history of strong political involvement by ordinary people through its "popular movements" (Folkrörelser in Swedish), the most notable being trade unions, the women's movement, the temperance movement, and -- more recently -- sports movement. Election turnout in Sweden has always been high in international comparisons, although it has declined in recent decades, and is currently around 80 per cent (80.11 in Sweden general election, 2002). Some Swedish political figures that have become known worldwide include Joe Hill, Carl Skoglund, Raoul Wallenberg, Folke Bernadotte, Dag Hammarskjöld, Olof Palme, Carl Bildt, Hans Blix, and Anna Lindh. |
After the 1973 oil crisis, the energy politics were determined to become less dependent on the import of petroleum. Since then, electricity has been generated mostly from hydropower and nuclear power. Sweden wants to be independent of petroleum use by 2020. Accidents at the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station (USA) prompted the Swedish parliament in 1980 after a referendum to decide that no further nuclear power plants should be built and that a nuclear power phase-out should be completed by 2010. As of 2005, the use of renewable's amounted to 26% of the energy supply in Sweden, most important being hydropower and biomass. In 2003, electricity from hydropower accounted for 53 TWh and 40% of the country's production of electricity with nuclear power delivering 65 TWh (49%). At the same time, the use of bio fuels, peat etc. produced 13 TWh of electricity. In March 2005, an opinion poll showed that 83% supported maintaining or increasing nuclear power. Since then however, reports about radioactive leakages at a nuclear waste store in Forsmark, Sweden, have been published #. This doesn't seem to have changed the public support of continued use of nuclear power. Sweden decided to phase out nuclear fission before 2020, although it is very unlikely that this will happen.
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Throughout the 20th century, Swedish foreign policy was based on the principle of non-alignment in peacetime, neutrality in wartime. During Cold War era politics, Sweden was not under the Warsaw Pact and received only minimal aid from the Marshall Plan. Sweden was also known to be the first western nation to detect unusually high radiation levels in the atmosphere, which later was confirmed to have been the residual nuclear fallout from the Chernobyl accident. A Swedish DC-3 was shot down over the Baltic sea by a Soviet Fighter. Later investigations revealed that the plane was actually gathering information for NATO. Another plane, a Catalina search and rescue craft, was sent out a few days later and shot down by the Soviets as well. Since 1995 Sweden has been a member of the European Union, and as a consequence of a new world security situation the country's foreign policy doctrine has been partly modified, with Sweden playing a more active role in European security cooperation as well. Sweden is also very active in international peace efforts, especially through the United Nations, and in support to the Third World. |
Sweden Information: Inside
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