Centre Party (Sweden)

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"Centerpartiet" and "Centern" redirect here. For the Finnish Centre Party which in Swedish goes by the same names, see Centre Party (Finland).
Centre Party
Centerpartiet
Leader Annie Lööf
Founded 1913
Headquarters Stora Nygatan 4, Gamla stan, Stockholm
Youth wing Centre Party Youth
Membership 37,340 (2009)[1]
Ideology Liberalism,
Social liberalism,[2]
Green liberalism,
Nordic agrarianism,
Decentralization politics
Political position Centre-right[3]
National affiliation The Alliance
International affiliation Liberal International
European affiliation Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party
European Parliament group Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
Colors Green
Parliament
23 / 349
European Parliament
1 / 20
Counties:[4]
121 / 1,662
Municipalities:[4]
1,399 / 12,978
Mayors:[4]
36 / 290
Website
http://www.centerpartiet.se/

Politics of Sweden
Political parties
Elections

The Centre Party[5] (Swedish: Centerpartiet, abbreviated C) is a centrist,[6] agrarian[6][7][8] and liberal[6][7][8] political party in Sweden. The party maintains close ties to rural Sweden and describes itself as "a green social liberal party".[9] The ideology is sometimes called agrarian, but in a European context, the Centre Party can perhaps best be characterised as social liberal,[2] focusing on agricultural, environmental, and rural questions. Long-term key issues have been opposition to nuclear power and proposals to decentralise governmental authority. The Centre Party is currently a minor party in the centre-right Alliance coalition government lead by Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt.

The party was founded in 1913 as the Farmers' League (Swedish: Bondeförbundet). In 1922 it merged with Jordbrukarnas Riksförbund (National Farmers Union). The name of the party changed from Bondeförbundet in 1957. It had then been the closest ally of the Social Democrats for 25 years, and coalition partners 1936–1945 as well as 1951–1957, but has since revised this strategy in order to establish a closer long-term alliance between the centre-right (Swedish borgerlig, lit. "bourgeois" or "nonsocialist") parties, that succeeded the Social Democratic cabinets 1976–1982 and 1991–1994. The Swedish Prime Minister Torbjörn Fälldin was the leader of the Centre Party and Prime Minister in 1976-1982, excepting a short interregnum in 1978-1979 by Liberal People's Party leader Ola Ullsten.

The Centre Party joined a centre-right government once again following the 1991 election, however, this government was led by the Moderate Party leader Carl Bildt. In recent years, the party has changed direction to become a more classical liberal party, which has attracted interest from voters in urban areas.[citation needed] In 2006 the Centre Party was the fastest growing party in Stockholm.[citation needed]

In 2005 the Centre Party sold its ownership of the newspaper group Centertidningar AB for 1.8 billion SEK,[10] thus making it the richest political party in the world.[11]

Contents

2006 Election[edit]

The 2006 Swedish election was a success for the Centre Party. Their support had been slowly increasing through the past elections. In 1998, the Centre Party received 5.1% of the votes, and support increased to 6.2% in 2002.[12] In the 2006 elections, 7.88% of the vote went to the Centre Party, entitling them to 29 of the 349 seats in the Swedish Riksdag.[13] Furthermore, their alliance with the other parties in the Alliance for Sweden, a coalition which won a majority of parliament seats in this election, meant that the Centre Party shared the ministry posts with their Alliance for Sweden allies: the Moderate Party, the Liberal People's Party and the Christian Democrats.

Specific standpoints[edit]

Immigration[edit]

Centerpartiet is a pro-immigration party, and in their campaign for the Swedish general election, 2006, they have proposed to double the number of immigrants entering Sweden to 90 000 persons, or 1 per cent of the Swedish population. This will be facilitated by issuing green cards.[14]

In late 2012, the party began opposing all limits on immigration, such as the requirement for some degree of job skills and a clean criminal record. It supports a plan that would see Sweden's population quadrupled to 40 million inhabitants.[15]

European Union[edit]

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 This article is outdated. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (November 2010)

Centerpartiet advocates a federative model for the European Union, governed by the principle of subsidiarity.[citation needed] The party is against the introduction of the Euro in Sweden, and was a part of the winning no-side in the Euro referendum in 2003.

In the European Parliament the Centre Party is a member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party.[16]

Election results[edit]

Election year # of
overall votes		  % of
overall vote		 # of
overall seats won		 +/– Government
1914 (Sep) 1,507 0.2 (#4)
0 / 230
 0 in opposition
1917 39,262 5.3 (#5)
9 / 230
 Increase 9 in opposition
1920 52,318 7.9 (#4)
20 / 230
 Increase 11 in opposition
1921 192,269 11.0 (#4)
21 / 230
 Decrease 9 in opposition
1924 190,396 10.8 (#4)
23 / 230
 Increase 2 in opposition
1928 263,501 11.2 (#4)
27 / 230
 Increase 4 in opposition
1932 321,215 14.1 (#3)
36 / 230
 Increase 9 in opposition
1936 418,840 14.4 (#3)
36 / 230
 Steady 0 in opposition
1940 344,345 12.0 (#3)
28 / 230
 Decrease 8 in government
1944 421,094 13.6 (#3)
35 / 230
 Increase 7 in government
1948 480,421 12.4 (#3)
30 / 230
 Decrease 5 in opposition
1952 406,183 10.7 (#4)
26 / 230
 Decrease 4 in government
1956 366,612 9.5 (#4)
19 / 231
 Increase 7 in government
1958 486,760 12.7 (#4)
32 / 231
 Increase 13 in opposition
1960 579,007 13.6 (#4)
34 / 232
 Increase 2 in opposition
1964 559,632 13.2 (#4)
36 / 233
 Increase 1 in opposition
1968 757,215 15.7 (#2)
39 / 233
 Increase 3 in opposition
1970 991,208 19.9 (#2)
71 / 350
 Increase 32 in opposition
1973 1,295,246 25.1 (#2)
90 / 350
 Increase 19 in opposition
1976 1,309,669 24.1 (#2)
86 / 349
 Decrease 4 in government
1979 984,589 18.1 (#3)
64 / 349
 Decrease 22 in government
1982 859,618 15.5 (#3)
56 / 349
 Decrease 8 in opposition
1985 490,999 8.8 (#4)
43 / 349
 Decrease 13 in opposition
1988 607,240 11.3 (#4)
42 / 349
 Decrease 1 in opposition
1991 465,356 8.5 (#4)
31 / 349
 Decrease 11 in government
1994 425,153 7.7 (#3)
27 / 349
 Decrease 4 in opposition
1998 269,762 5.1 (#5)
18 / 349
 Decrease 9 in opposition
2002 328,428 6.19 (#6)
22 / 349
 Increase 4 in opposition
2006 437,389 7.88 (#3)
29 / 349
 Increase 7 in government
2010 390,804 6.56 (#5)
23 / 349
 Decrease 6 in government

Voters[edit]

Centre Party election results for 2006, showing the significant focus of Centre Party support in rural areas.
  0-4.9%
  5-7.8%
  8-11.9%
  12-15.9%
  16%+

Traditionally, many of the voters come from rural areas and quite a few are farmers or small businessmen. In recent years however, since the takeover of Maud Olofsson the party has been attracting liberal voters from urban areas. It is believed that voters from the Liberal People's Party have been moving to the Centre Party due to changes in both parties.[17]

Party Leaders[edit]

Current Members of Parliament[edit]

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 This article's factual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (March 2012)

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Cederholm, Robert; Eliasson, Anders (15 March 2010). "Partierna tappar medlemmar". SVT. 
  2. ^ a b Slomp, Hans (2011). Europe, A Political Profile: An American Companion to European Politics: An American Companion to European Politics, Volume 1. ABC-CLIO. p. 433. ISBN 9780313391828. Retrieved August 15, 2012. 
  3. ^ http://www.thelocal.se/41924/20120709/
  4. ^ a b c "Allmänna val, valresultat". Statistics Sweden. 
  5. ^ http://www.centerpartiet.se/Anpassad-information/Other-languages/
  6. ^ a b c Parties and Elections in Europe: The database about parliamentary elections and political parties in Europe, by Wolfram Nordsieck
  7. ^ a b Svante Ersson; Jan-Erik Lane (28 December 1998). Politics and Society in Western Europe. SAGE. p. 108. ISBN 978-0-7619-5862-8. Retrieved 17 August 2012. 
  8. ^ a b T. Banchoff (28 June 1999). Legitimacy and the European Union. Taylor & Francis. pp. 123–. ISBN 978-0-415-18188-4. Retrieved 26 August 2012. 
  9. ^ Centre Party website
  10. ^ Så styckas Centertidningar - Reklam & Media - E24.se
  11. ^ Privata Affärer - Centern blir världens rikaste politiska parti
  12. ^ Väljarbarometern samtliga
  13. ^ Allmänna val 17 september 2006
  14. ^ Centern vill fördubbla invandringen - Sverige - Sydsvenskan - Nyheter dygnet runt
  15. ^ Aftonbladet - C vill ha helt fri invandring
  16. ^ http://www.aldeparty.eu/en/members/political-parties
  17. ^ "Towards a two-party system? The Swedish parliamentary election of September 2006", Nicholas Aylott and Niklas Bolin, West European Politics, 2007 forthcoming

External links[edit]
Riksdag
(349 seats)
The Alliance
Opposition
European Parliament
(20 of 751 seats)
Minor parties1
1 by % of vote in most recent general election.
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