Carlsson I cabinet
Ingvar Carlsson's second cabinet | |
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Single-party minority government | |
Opposition party | Moderate Party Centre Party People's Party |
Opposition leader | Ulf Adelsohn Carl Bildt |
History | |
Legislature term(s) | 1985-1988 Ingvar Carlsson's second cabinet |
The first cabinet of
In the course of the first cabinet of Ingvar Carlsson, Sweden — as well as most other western countries in the late 80s — enjoyed a period of economic expansion. The cabinet undertook a reform of the Swedish tax system, which meant that more income tax went directly to the municipalities, instead of the state. The reform also meant that a flat capital gains tax was implemented. During these years Sweden saw two widely publicised political scandals; the Ebbe Carlsson affair and the Bofors scandal.
Politics
After the assassination of prime minister Olof Palme on 28 February 1986, the second cabinet of Palme continued to serve as an interim cabinet (sv. expeditionsregering) led by Deputy Prime Minister Ingvar Carlsson until 12 March 1986. The cabinet of Carlsson acceded formally that day, after Carlsson had been elected prime minister by the parliament with 178 votes for and 0 against. 159 members refrained from voting, and 12 were not present.
Apart from the new prime minister, the first cabinet of Carlsson was almost identical with the second cabinet of Palme. However the Minister for
Foreign Affairs
Between 14 and 17 April 1986 the Prime Minister made a visit to Moscow. The purpose of the visit was to discuss the ongoing border dispute between Sweden and Soviet in the Baltic Sea. The exact stretch of the border had been a matter of disagreement since the late 1960s. Both parties wanted to draw the border through the middle of the Baltic Sea, however they did not agree on what constituted the middle. They disputed area consisted of 13 500 km².
Sweden wanted to draw the border in a middle, calculated between Gotland and the Baltic states, while Soviet wanted to the count from the Swedish mainland. The Soviet proposal would have meant a borderline stretching just east of Gotland.
In January 1988, the Premier of the Soviet Union, Nikolai Ryzhkov made an official visit to Stockholm. Among the issues discussed was the border dispute. It was decided that Sweden were to be given seventy-five percents of the disputed area, while the Soviet Union received the remaining twenty-five percents. Furthermore, the two parties agree on a transition of fishing regulations for the coming twenty years.
In the middle of 1986 a debate concerning whether or not Sweden should implement a complete
Import of agricultural products had already been prohibited on 1 January 1986. The Prime Minister, however, wanted to wait on the decision of the United Nations Security Council. On 12 March 1987 the decision to implement a complete trade embargo towards South Africa and Namibia, starting on 1 July the same year, was taken.
In May 1988, Carlsson traveled to the capitols of several of the member states of the European Economic Community (EEC). The Prime Minister visited Madrid, Brussels, Bonn and London. The purpose of the visits was to explain Sweden's attitude towards the EEC. Carlsson line was that Sweden was to collaborate with the EEC in all areas except, foreign policy, where Sweden's policy of neutrality hindered it from participate. Therefore, Sweden could not become a member of the EEC.
Early in 1988 the Minister of Foreign Affairs Sten Andersson visited Syria, Jordan and Israel. On 6 December 1988 the chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization Yasser Arafat visited Sweden on an official state visit to Stockholm. During his visit, Arafat acknowledge Israel's right to exist and condemned terror as a weapon.
In November the following year Sten Andersson visited the Baltic states, where he declared that the Baltic states were not occupied by the Soviet Union. For this statement Andersson received severe criticism in Sweden. In his memoirs the minister defends his statement, writing that the Baltic states were
The Ebbe Carlsson affair and the Bofors scandal
Several widely publicised political scandals took place during 1987. In March the Indian newspapers the
During the night between 5 and 6 October Stig Bergling, a former officer in the Swedish Security Service who had been convicted of espionage on behalf of the Soviet Union, managed to escape while on furlough. After receiving heavy criticism, the Minister of Justice Sten Wickbom resigned on 19 October. During the year the much troubled police investigation of the assassination of Olof Palme lingered on. Due to failure to present results the Stockholm county administrative chief of police Hans Holmér was forced to resign.
On 1 June 1988 the Ebbe Carlsson affair started, when the newspaper Expressen revealed that the publisher Ebbe Carlsson had been given access to top secret documents concerning the Palme investigation. The new Minister of Justice Anna-Greta Leijon, who had authorised Ebbe Carlsson's involvement in the investigation, resigned on 7 June.
Energy and Environment policy
Shortly before Christmas 1985, the Minister of the
In 1988 the
Social policy
During February 1986 the cabinet held negotiations about with the conservative opposition about social policy. The Social Democratic Party wanted to raise child allowances and extend parental allowance. By 28 February the Moderate Party, the Centre Party, and the Liberal People's Party had left the negotiations. The Centre Party later returned to negotiations, and with support from them and the Left Party the proposition passed. The new law[3] meant that child allowance was raised from 400 SEK/month to 485 SEK/month.
General election, 1988
Before the general election in 1988, the three conservative parties agree on a proposal to implement a taxed health care allowance on 15 000 SEK per child and year. Cost of childcare up to the same amount would be deductible in the declaration. In total the proposal would have costed 8 billion Swedish crowns. The social democrats instead wanted to extend parental allowance during a period of three years, from nine to eight months. The Social Democrat's proposal were to cost 5,5 billions. The Social Democratic Party lost three seats in the election. The communistic Left Party gained one seat. The
Economic policy
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Resignation of the cabinet
Labor market debate, 1990
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Ministers
Portfolio | Minister | Took office | Left office | Party | |||||
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Prime Minister | 12 March 1986 | 27 February 1990 | Social Democrats | ||||||
Minister for Foreign Affairs | 12 March 1986 | 27 February 1990 | Social Democrats | ||||||
Minister for Finance | 12 March 1986 | 16 February 1990 | Social Democrats | ||||||
16 February 1990 | 27 February 1990 | Social Democrats | |||||||
Minister for Education | 12 March 1986 | 29 January 1989 | Social Democrats | ||||||
29 January 1989 | 27 February 1990 | Social Democrats | |||||||
Minister for Justice | 12 March 1986 | 19 October 1987 | Social Democrats | ||||||
19 October 1987 | 7 June 1988 | Social Democrats | |||||||
7 June 1988 | 30 September 1988 | Social Democrats | |||||||
Ingvar Carlsson (acting) | 30 September 1988 | 4 October 1988 | Social Democrats | ||||||
4 October 1988 | 27 February 1990 | Social Democrats | |||||||
Minister for Health and Social Affairs | 12 March 1986 | 29 January 1989 | Social Democrats | ||||||
29 January 1989 | 11 January 1990 | Social Democrats | |||||||
11 January 1990 | 27 February 1990 | Social Democrats | |||||||
Minister for Employment | 12 March 1986 | 19 October 1987 | Social Democrats | ||||||
19 October 1987 | 11 January 1990 | Social Democrats | |||||||
11 January 1990 | 27 February 1990 | Social Democrats | |||||||
Minister for Agriculture | 12 March 1986 | 10 October 1986 | Social Democrats | ||||||
10 October 1986 | 27 February 1990 | Social Democrats | |||||||
Minister for Defence | 12 March 1986 | 27 February 1990 | Social Democrats | ||||||
Georg Andersson | 29 January 1989 | 27 February 1990 | Social Democrats | ||||||
Minister for Civil Service Affairs | 12 March 1986 | 4 October 1988 | Social Democrats | ||||||
4 October 1988 | 27 February 1990 | Social Democrats | |||||||
Minister for Housing | 12 March 1986 | 4 October 1988 | Social Democrats | ||||||
4 October 1988 | 27 February 1990 | Social Democrats | |||||||
Minister for the Environment and Energy | 12 March 1986 | 27 February 1990 | Social Democrats | ||||||
Minister for Enterprise | 12 March 1986 | 30 September 1988 | Social Democrats | ||||||
Ingvar Carlsson (acting) | 30 September 1988 | 4 October 1988 | Social Democrats | ||||||
4 October 1988 | 11 January 1990 | Social Democrats | |||||||
11 January 1990 | 27 February 1990 | Social Democrats | |||||||
Ministers without portfolio | |||||||||
Sports, Tourism and Youth | 10 October 1986 | 4 October 1988 | Social Democrats | ||||||
School | 12 March 1986 | 29 January 1989 | Social Democrats | ||||||
29 January 1989 | 27 February 1990 | Social Democrats | |||||||
Culture | 12 March 1986 | 29 February 1990 | Social Democrats | ||||||
Foreign Trade | 12 March 1986 | 10 October 1986 | Social Democrats | ||||||
10 October 1986 | 27 February 1990 | Social Democrats | |||||||
Nordic Cooperation | 12 March 1986 | 10 October 1986 | Social Democrats | ||||||
10 October 1986 | 4 October 1988 | Social Democrats | |||||||
4 October 1988 | 27 February 1990 | Social Democrats | |||||||
Salaries and Consumer | 12 March 1986 | 4 October 1988 | Social Democrats | ||||||
Consumer and Youth | 4 October 1988 | 27 February 1990 | Social Democrats | ||||||
Budget | 12 March 1986 | 16 February 1990 | Social Democrats | ||||||
International Development Cooperation | 12 March 1986 | 27 February 1990 | Social Democrats | ||||||
Family and Disabled | 12 March 1986 | 27 February 1990 | Social Democrats | ||||||
Equality | 12 March 1986 | 10 October 1986 | Social Democrats | ||||||
10 October 1986 | 19 October 1987 | Social Democrats | |||||||
19 October 1987 | 29 January 1989 | Social Democrats | |||||||
29 January 1989 | 27 February 1990 | Social Democrats | |||||||
Migration | 12 March 1986 | 10 October 1986 | Social Democrats | ||||||
10 October 1986 | 29 January 1989 | Social Democrats | |||||||
29 January 1989 | 27 February 1990 | Social Democrats | |||||||
Church | 12 March 1986 | 4 October 1988 | Social Democrats | ||||||
4 October 1988 | 27 February 1990 | Social Democrats |
Secretaries of State
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Bibliography
- ISBN 92-64-17175-4.
- Mayadas, M. (1999). How the Bofors Affair Transformed India, 1989–1999. Lancer Publishing. ISBN 1-897829-64-7.
Notes
- ^ The Swedish Instrument of Government, which is one out of four parts of the Constitution of Sweden, states in Chapter 6, Art. 7, that “If the Prime Minister is discharged or dies, the Speaker shall discharge the other ministers.”
- ^ "Rediff On The NeT: Vir Sanghvi looks back at the Bofors scandal".
- ^ Lag (1986:378) om förlängt barnbidrag. [Law (1986:378) regarding extended child benefit].