Red-Greens (Sweden)
The Red-Greens De Rödgröna | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 7 December 2008 |
| Dissolved | 26 November 2010 |
| Political position | Centre-left |
| Colours | Red, Green |
The Red-Greens (Swedish: De rödgröna[1]) was a political and electoral alliance of political parties in Sweden, publicly launched on 7 December 2008,[2] largely based on the Norwegian ruling Red-Green Coalition.[3] It consisted of the three parties in the Riksdag (Parliament of Sweden), sitting in opposition to the centre-right Alliance coalition government. The three component parties of the Red-Greens, which faced the voters as three separate parties in the 2010 general election, aimed to reach agreement on significant areas of policy before the election. The parties aimed to achieve a majority at the following Swedish general election on 19 September 2010, in the unsuccessful bid to form a coalition government. The Red-Green pact was put to a pause on 26 October 2010,[4] and completely dissolved (according to a spokesperson for the Green Party) on 26 November.[5]
Parties
The coalition consisted of three parties;
- The Social Democrats led by Mona Sahlin, a social-democratic party which had 130 of 349 seats in the Riksdag before the 2010 general election.
- The Green Party represented by spokespersons Peter Eriksson and Maria Wetterstrand, a green party which had 19 of 349 seats in the Riksdag.
- The Left Party led by Lars Ohly, a socialist party which had 22 of 349 seats in the Riksdag.
Background
The Red-Greens took their cue from the Alliance for Sweden, the co-operation between four centre-right parties which is considered to have contributed to these parties' success in the 2006 general election. The cooperation represented a significant development since the Social Democrats, especially the party leadership of Mona Sahlin, previously have been sceptical about too close a co-operation with the Left Party, which was officially communist until 1990. The Social Democratic minority government led by Göran Persson before the 2006 election had much closer cooperation with the Green Party than with the Left Party.
In October 2008 a deeper co-operation between the Social Democrats and the Green Party was announced, and a common shadow budget for 2009 was presented. In December 2008, the Left Party was included in the co-operation and the Red-Greens was launched.
Outcomes
The Social Democrats lost 5% in comparison with 2006 elections, thus scoring their worst result since 1914.
The Green Party 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 the Centre Party.
The Red-Green pact was put on pause on 26 October 2010,[4] and completely dissolved (according to a spokesperson for the Green Party) on 26 November.[5]
See also
References
- ↑ Kärrman, Jens; Stiernstedt, Jenny (8 December 2008). "Namnet är spikat". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 11 December 2008.
- ↑ Landes, David (7 December 2008). "Opposition parties to build coalition". The Local. Tidningarnas Telegrambyrå. Retrieved 11 December 2008.
- ↑ Iversen, Ivar A. (4 July 2009). "Norskesuget". Dagsavisen. Retrieved 19 September 2010.
- 1 2 http://www.thelocal.se/29832/20101026/
- 1 2 http://www.dn.se/nyheter/politik/det-borde-bara-ha-varit-vi-och-s-1.1216242, in Swedish