History of the Riksdag
The
The national legislatures of Estonia and Finland are also called Riksdag in Swedish.
The Old Riksdag
The precursor to the modern Riksdag was the
The New Riksdag
On the basis of the
The revolution was that citizens could participate and vote in the elections without regard to which Estate they had hitherto belonged; instead there were new requirements on income or wealth, i.e.
Democracy emerges
From the second half of the 19th century, when the Riksdag was founded, until the early 20th century, Swedish society underwent a number of fundamental changes that impacted on the political system. Political demands, but also sheer economic progress, increased the share of citizens eligible to vote and have a direct influence on the political system. This in turn also sponsored the emergence and growth of political parties. The Riksdag had also been able to assert itself against the Royal authority and a de facto
The last time the king attempted to exercise political authority was in February 1914 when King
Constitutional reform
In the 1960s, debates intensified over constitutional reform in Sweden. The fundamental question was over the system of government. Even though a de facto parliamentary system was firmly established, somewhat similar to the situation in the United Kingdom, there were demands for a more democratic constitution. One of the main issues was whether the monarchy would survive constitutional reform and this blocked the issue for a long time.
Effective from 1970, a reform of the Riksdag had been agreed upon. Though not technically part of the constitution it showed that the parties in the Riksdag were able to agree upon fundamental changes of the political system, which transformed the Riksdag from a bicameral legislature into a unicameral one.[3] This would have 350 seats, all of which would be filled by direct election.[4] However, the second general election to the unicameral Riksdag only gave the government support from 175 members, while the opposition could mobilize an equal force of 175 members, resulting in what became known as the "lottery Riksdag", in which the Speaker had to draw lots to resolve deadlocked votes.[5] In 1974, it was decided that the number of seats from 1977 were to be reduced to 349.
Present
In 1974, a new
See also
- Government of Sweden
- Politics of Sweden
- Riksdagsmusiken
References
- ^ riksdagen.se
- .
- SELIBR 5791923.
riksdag bicameral.
- SELIBR 5117677.
- SELIBR 6470870.