2010-09-02
Light Rain Shower
Now: 13°C
RSS-feed Subscribe via RSS


News

Guide to the Swedish EU Parliament election

Politics | 2009-05-31 | 3 comments

Guide to the June 7th EU election.
Photo: Steve Cadman
 
Sunday June 7th is the Election Day to the EU Parliament. The intense campaigning seems to lead to a record high election turnout. Since May 20th it has been possible to give postal votes and two days ago 185 000 already had voted, compared to 100 000 the same time in the last election five years ago.


Stockholm News gives you this guide to the different parties and their top candidates.

Social Democratic Party 
(Socialdemokratiska Arbetarpartiet)

The Social Democrats campaign slogan is “jobs first”. By reducing the EU agricultural subsidies the Social Democrats want to invest in education, research, infrastructure and actions against climate change. They also want tough common requirements for energy efficient construction. 

Marita Ulvskog.
Photo: Marcus Kurn
Marita Ulvskog, 57 years-old, is the former party secretary who now is the top candidate for the Swedish Social Democrats in the election to the EU Parliament. She wants EU to invest in research and new jobs and reduce gaps between people.

Olle Ludvigsson, 60 years-old, is a trade union Chairman from Gothenburg. He wants to strengthen the collective labour agreement and fight for just work conditions.

Åsa Westlund, 32 years-old, joined the EU Parliament in 2004 after a successful individual campaign. She wants to increase the EU’s ambitions considering climate politics, invest in biodiversity and reduce the amount of dangerous chemicals.

According to the Koho Volit Project the Social Democrats are the Swedish party with the most centralist view on EU and are on the middle of the traditional left-right scale. They belong to the PSE Group.

 

Moderate Party
(Moderata Samlingspartiet/Nya Moderaterna)

Employment, crime fighting and the environment, those are the main areas that the Moderate Party has chosen to focus on in the election campaign this year. The Moderates want to secure the ‘Swedish Model’ of collective labour agreement by not lifting the issue to a European level. They also want better co-operation among police agencies and decrease the emission of green house gases.

Gunnar Hökmark.
Photo: Emilia Öije
Gunnar Hökmark, 56 years-old, entered the EU Parliament in 2004 and is Vice-Chairman of the EPP-ED Group. He wants EU to be contributing to transparency and lessen bureaucracy. EU should be a force for a better environment and important values as freedom and democracy.

Anna Ibrisagic, 42 years-old, is an MEP since 2004. She thinks EU should be a strong voice for peace, security, democracy, human rights and international solidarity. She wants to continue a responsible expansion of the union and strengthen the common foreign and security policy.

Christofer Fjellner, 32 years-old, has a chair in the EU Parliament since 2004. He takes a strong stand for free trade; want EU to take a leading position in the fight against environmental problems and he also stands for EU to take fiscal responsibility and to be economically efficient.

According to the Koho Volit Project the Moderates are the Swedish party placed most to the traditional right and is in the middle on the scale between those with a centralists contra an decentralist view on EU. They belong to the EPP-ED Group.

 

Green Party
(Miljöpartiet)

The Green Party is EU sceptic and only lately decided to stop demanding Sweden to leave the union. They want EU to re-prioritise from free trade and economic growth to environmental responsibility and better social conditions. They want to drastically toughen the goals for the EU climate policy, want EU to have a humane immigration policy and redo the European policy on fishing.

Carl Schlyter.
Photo: Frederik Hjerling
Carl Schlyter, 42 years-old, is an MEP since 2004. His prioritised issues are climate policy, political matters concerning food and animals. He also wants to strengthen integrity on the cost of surveillance and work for transparency in the EU bureaucracy.

Isabella Lövin, 46 years-old, is a journalist and author. She wants to see an end of EU’s ‘destructive fishing policy’. She also wants to strengthen animal welfare and protection.

According to the Koho Volit Project the Greens are together with the Left Party the Swedish party most to the traditional left in the parliament and lean to a centralist view on EU. They belong to the EFA Group.

 

Liberal Peoples Party
(Folkpartiet Liberalerna)

The Liberals want EU to combat climate change and reduce pollution with the help of nuclear power and renewable energy. They want to fight crime, especially trafficking, terrorism and organised crime with the institution of a ’European FBI’. They also want better and a common information and improved food safety.

Marit Paulsen.
Photo: Peter Knutson
Marit Paulsen, 69 years-old, was an MEP from 1999 to 2004 and now returns from retirement for another turn in the EU Parliament. She prioritises political matters on food safety, animal welfare, agriculture, forest management and public health.

Olle Schmidt, 60 years-old, has been in the EU Parliament from 1999 to 2004 and since 2006 up till now. As an MEP he has worked with human right issues, asylum and immigration policy, matters on equality. Economy and finance are other political issues he prioritises.

According to the Koho Volit Project the Liberals are right-to-centre on the traditional left-right scale and lean to a centralist view on EU. They belong to the ADLE Group.

 

Left Party
(Vänsterpartiet)

The Left Party is currently the only of the established parties who still wants Sweden to leave the European Union. They want to fight for trade union rights in the EU Parliament and protect the Swedish collective labour agreement. Welfare and agricultural politics is a national matter, climate policy shall be prioritised and immigration policy should be eased, they propose.

Eva-Britt Svensson.
Photo: Jann Lipka
Eva-Britt Svensson, 62 years-old, is a political secretary and top candidate for the Left Party. Her main issues concerns feminism, welfare, the environment and transparency. Also trade union rights are an important matter for Svensson.

Hanna Löfqvist, 32 years-old, is a political secretary who wants to fight tendencies of supranationalism in EU and defend the Swedish collective labour agreement. She also promotes women’s rights, equality and regulation of the European inner market.

According to the Koho Volit Project the Left Party are together with the Green Party the Swedish party most to the traditional left in the Parliament and lean to a centralist view on EU. They belong to the GUE/NGL Group.

 

Pirate Party
(Piratpartiet)

The Pirate Party takes a strong position against ‘The Big Brother Society’, with surveillance by the state, computer storage and laws who violate personal integrity. They want to fundamentally reform copyright law, get rid of the patent system, and ensure that citizens´ rights to privacy are respected. 

Christian Engström.

Christian Engström, 49 years-old, is an entrepreneur and activist who is the top candidate for the Pirate Party in the election to the EU Parliament. He wants to fight for freedom on the internet and an open and democratic society. He believes that culture and knowledge should be free.

Amelia Andersdotter, 21 years-old, is a student who wants to balance copyright regulations, increase transparency in the EU and among else abolish patent on medications.

The Pirate Party does so far not belong to any group in the European Parliament. Their strategy is to enter the party group who can promise them the most influence for their main issues, they will vote as that group on all other issues. 

  

Centre Party
(Centerpartiet)

The Centre Party wants to have an open, tolerant, welcoming and humane EU where man and his inviolable freedom come first. They want to increase the use of renewable energy, while using energy more efficiently at the same time. The Centre Party also think that the business climate must be improved for small and medium-sized companies.

Lena EK.
Lena Ek, 51 years-old, has been a MEP since 2004. Her main political issues in the EU Parliament are peace and security, climate policy and environmental issues, protection of human rights and mobility in Europe.
 
Kent Johansson, 58 years-old, is currently county commissioner. He wants to see more co-operation in the EU when it comes to the environment and climate. He also wants to influence matters on agriculture, the structural funds and fishing. 
 
According to the Koho Volit Project the Centre Party are right-to-centre on the traditional left-right scale and lean to a centralist view on EU. They belong to the ADLE Group.
 
 
Christian Democrats
(Kristdemokraterna)
 
The campaign slogan of the Christian Democrats is ’Our route to a safe Europe’. They want public health to be coordinated at an EU level and take measures to reduce the consequences of alcohol use. The EU must put a larger portion of its budget into measures to stop climate change, play a more active role in order to resolve the financial crisis and have a more humane immigration policy, they think.

Ella Bohlin.
Photo: Kristdemokraterna
Ella Bohlin, 30 years-old, want to work with issues concerning the labour market, food safety and the environment. Other affairs of the heart are reduction of alcohol injuries and criminalisation of sexual services.

Sofia Modigh, 38 years-old, is an opinion-maker of the Swedish temperance movement. Her main political issues are public health, alcohol and drug restriction, consumer power and food safety.

According to the Koho Volit Project the Christian Democrats are right-to-centre on the traditional left-right scale and lean to a centralist view on EU. They belong to the EPP-ED Group.

 

Sweden Democrats
(Sverigedemokraterna)

The Sweden Democrats wants to support and return to ‘the firmly established, intergovernmental European co-operation based on democracy, voluntarism, bilateral respect and agreement’. They want Sweden to leave the union, want ´a responsible immigration policy´, opposes a possible membership of Turkey and want tougher boarder control. 

Sven-Olof Sällström.
Photo: Björn Bergman
Sven-Olof Sällström, 40 years-old, is a shop manager who is the top candidate for the Sweden Democrats to the EU Parliament. His main political issue is for Sweden to leave the union in order to uphold the national sovereignty, the Swedish state, the Swedish language and the Swedish culture. 
 
If the Sweden Democrats get enough votes to enter the EU Parliament they will join the AEN Group.
 
 
June List
(Junilistan)
 
The June List is a EU sceptic cross-party who wants the EU to work with border-crossing environmental problems and make it easier to travel and make business between the EU member countries. They also work for economic efficiency when it comes to the unions spending and they want to half the amount the member countries pay. 

Sören Wibe.
Sören Wibe, 62 years-old, is a professor and former politician of the Social Democratic Party. He wants to reform the European Union in order to make the democratic elements stronger. He want political matters to be handled as close to the voters as possible.

According to the Koho Volit Project the June List are the Swedish Party who have the most decentralist view on the EU and has been represented on both sides of the traditional left-right scale. They belong to the IND/DEM Group.

 

Feminist Initiative
(Feministiskt Initiativ)

The Feminist Initiative believes that the EU needs policies who strengthen the rights of women and counteract all forms of discrimination. They want to expand social reforms, modernise family legislation, secure the right to abortion, criminalise sexual services and promote EU as an secular state form.

Gudryn Schyman.
Photo: Stefan Borgius
Gudrun Schyman, 60 years-old, is the former party leader for the Left Party who nowadays is the leading voice of Feminist Initiative. She want to work with defending the right to unionize, act for the right to abortion to be defined as a human right and stop the militarization of the EU.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Note
 
This guide was organised in the way that the different parties are listed in the order they received voter support in the latest opinion survey by polling company SIFO, May 30th. Three top candidates are shown for the two major parties, one candidate for the three smallest parties and two candidates for the rest.
 
Result of the SIFO poll
 
Social Dem. 31.7%
Moderate Party 22.6%
Green Party 10.2%
Liberal P. Party 10.1%
Left Party 6.5%
Pirate Party 6%
Centre Party 5.2%
Christian Dem. 3.1%
Sweden Dem. 2.3%
June List 1.9%

 This would lead to the following distribution of seats

Social Dem. 6
Moderate Party 5
Green Party 2
Liberal P. Party 2
Left Party 1
Pirate Party 1
Centre Party 1
Christian Dem. 0
Sweden Dem. 0
June List 0

Sources: Swedish Election Authority, the different parties, SIFO, kohovolit.eu and Peter J Olsson, political editor at newspaper Kvällsposten.

David Jonasson
david.jonasson@stockholmnews.com 

       Print Print article

Readers' comments

2009-06-03 20:01 Robert wrote:
Lancelot, yes but it is a bit late for them to think about that now. If a person who is EU-citizen but not Swedish citizen wanted to vote here they had to register with the election authority before May 8.
2009-06-01 20:03 amarjyoti acharya wrote:
Lovely to find the defense of freedom and freedom from piracy by others of that freedom! Environmental issues, of governance and the protection of the collective labour agreement come across as important. Issues over crime and terror are imperative to achieve any of the aims and objectives of the parties listed here. Communities at the neighbourhood form watchdogs by themselves - delinquency needs be discouraged at every level since it eats into the social capital. The EU issue is of concern.
2009-05-31 17:28 Lancelot wrote:
Thanks for a good guide. But it´s important to say that these persons are not automatically elected. In Sweden it is possible to put a cross at another person in the party list. Secondly it might be good to know for expats in Sweden that if you are an EU-citizen and is registered in Sweden as a permament resident, than you can vote in the Swedish EU-election.


Write a comment

All comments are reviewed by the moderator before they are posted. Only comments in English written in a respectable tone will be published.
Read a full description of our policy for comments.



Name:
  

Latest headlines




Question

Sweden recently decided to start taking admission fees for non-EU students starting in the fall semester 2011. What do you think of this?

News in short
TODAY
2010-09-01
2010-08-31
2010-08-30
2010-08-28

More...
Reader's comment
Stockholm Calendar
Sep 3
Sep 5 - Sep 11
Sep 7
Sep 12
Sep 16
Sep 17
Sep 19
Sep 22
Oct 8 - Oct 9
Oct 20 - Oct 22
Oct 27
Oct 29 - Oct 30
Nov 13 - Nov 14
Nov 26 - Nov 28