Template:Short description Template:Distinguish Template:Redirect2 Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox political party
The Centre Party (Template:Langx {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, C) is a liberal<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Nordsieck">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> political party in Sweden, founded in 1913.
The party focuses on the national economy, the environment, political decentralisation and social integration. It is represented in all of the Riksdag's parliamentary committees, currently holding 24 seats. From 2019 to 2021, it provided confidence and supply to the Löfven II cabinet.
Traditionally part of the Nordic agrarian family of political parties, the Centre Party has increasingly switched focus towards economic liberalism, environmental protection, equality of the sexes and decentralisation of governmental authority.<ref name="SR">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="BischoffWind2015">Template:Cite book</ref> The party describes itself as liberal feminist,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> campaigning for policies which enhance gender equality on an individualist basis. Its environmental policies stress the importance of consent and voluntary action,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> including working with foresters and private landowners to promote biodiversity within a mutually agreeable framework.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The Centre Party has produced two prime ministers of Sweden, who served a total of three terms; Thorbjörn Fälldin was the last Centre Party prime minister, and held the post for a total of five years, from 1976 to 1978 and then again from 1979 to 1982. It is a member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, the Liberal International and Renew Europe. It was originally named the Farmers' League (Template:Langx {{#invoke:IPA|main}}; B).
HistoryEdit
The party was founded in 1913 as the Farmers' League (Template:Langx, B). In 1922, it merged with the Template:Ill (Template:Langx {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, JR), and adopted its current name in 1957. At that time, it had been the closest ally of the centre-left Swedish Social Democratic Party (SAP) for twenty-five years, and one of the SAP's coalition partners between 1936 and 1945 as well as between 1951 and 1957. However, it later revised this strategy in order to establish a closer long-term alliance between the centre-right borgerlig ("bourgeois" or "nonsocialist") parties that achieved power between 1976 and 1982 and between 1991 and 1994.
Thorbjörn Fälldin served as Leader of the Centre Party and Prime Minister of Sweden from 1976 until 1982, except for a short interregnum between 1978 and 1979 led by Liberal People's Party leader Ola Ullsten. The Centre Party joined another centre-right government following the 1991 general election, led by Moderate Party leader Carl Bildt. During the leaderships of Maud Olofsson and Annie Lööf in the 2000s, the party positioned itself clearly on the political right as a small-business-friendly party, advocating market liberal policies and viewing the Social Democrats as its main opponent.<ref name="DN">"Guide: Centerpartiets historia och ideologi ", DN, 2011-04-18</ref><ref name="SR"/><ref name="local">"'The Centre Party is a confused party': expert Template:Webarchive", The Local, 14 January 2013</ref>
In 2005, the Centre Party sold the newspaper group it owned, Centertidningar AB, for 1.8 billion SEK,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> which made it the richest political party in the world at the time.<ref>Privata Affärer – Centern blir världens rikaste politiska parti Template:Webarchive</ref> In 2022, Annie Lööf resigned her position as Leader of the Centre Party.
Ideology and political positionEdit
The Centre Party sits on the centre<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> to centre-right<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Bittner2011">Template:Cite book</ref> of the political spectrum. The party has also described as economically liberal,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and "ecological-liberal".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It describes itself as a green-liberal party,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> while it has been traditionally associated with agrarianism and the Nordic agrarian party family.<ref name="ErssonLane">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="MarksWilson">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Blandford">Template:Cite book</ref> Former party leader Demirok had pledged to end neoliberalism in the party.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
National economyEdit
The party has been described as one of Sweden's most market liberal parties in liberal, socialist and conservative media.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Full citation needed</ref> It describes itself as "a party with a green, social and decentralised liberalism".<ref name="centerpartiet.se">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The party advocates lower taxes, greatly reduced employer contributions, a freer market and an increased Template:Ill. The party is a major supporter of the interests of small businesses, farmers and entrepreneurs.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It also favours investments in infrastructure and transportation, to allow employees to work in bigger cities but still live in the rural areas and vice versa. On economic policy, it views the Social Democrats and the Sweden Democrats as its opponents, though it supported a government led by the Social Democrats till 2022.
ImmigrationEdit
The party is liberal on immigration, seeking to combine a generous immigration policy with an initially more restrictive contribution policy to the immigrants. After the European migrant crisis, the party proposed to replace the existing establishment grants with establishment loans, similar to the Swedish student loans.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The balance of the state responsibility of accepting refugees with their responsibility for integration into Swedish society is at the core of the party policy. In January 2016, the party for example proposed to give all immigrants compulsory civic education in both rights and expectations from the society.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
European UnionEdit
The party is a decentralist pro-European<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> party that considers the European Union important for the preservation of peace, freedom and trade in Europe. The party also advocates a smaller but sharper European Union focused on promoting democracy, peace, free movement, free trade, vigorous action against climate change and collaboration against organized crime, while also believing that Sweden should stay outside the Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union and keep the krona as its currency.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Dead link</ref>
The party is a member of the ALDE Party and its affiliated European Parliament group Renew Europe.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In the European Committee of the Regions, the Centre Party sits with the Renew Europe CoR group with one full and one alternate member for the 2020-2025 mandate.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
PublicationsEdit
The Centre Party owned a media consortium called Centertidningar AB. It included newspapers that the party had either started on their own or brought from competitors. It included Hallands Nyheter, Södermanlands Nyheter, Länstidningen i Södertälje, Nynäshamns Posten, Norrtelje Tidning, Lidingö Tidning, Ljusdalsposten, Östersunds-Posten, Hälsingekuriren and Hudiksvalls Tidning. The consortium was split in 2005 and sold to Mittmedia, Stampen Group and VLT for a total of 1.815 billion Swedish kronor.
Election resultsEdit
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RiksdagEdit
European ParliamentEdit
| Election | List leader | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | EP Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Karl Erik Olsson | 192,077 | 7.16 (#5) | Template:Composition bar | New | ELDR |
| 1999 | 151,442 | 5.99 (#7) | Template:Composition bar | Template:Decrease 1 | ||
| 2004 | Lena Ek | 157,258 | 6.26 (#6) | Template:Composition bar | Template:Steady | ALDE |
| 2009 | 173,414 | 5.47 (#7) | Template:Composition barTemplate:Composition bar | Template:Steady Template:Steady | ||
| 2014 | Kent Johansson | 241,101 | 6.49 (#6) | Template:Composition bar | Template:Steady | |
| 2019 | Fredrick Federley | 447,641 | 10.78 (#5) | Template:Composition bar | Template:Increase 1 | RE |
| 2024 | Emma Wiesner | 306,227 | 7.29 (#6) | Template:Composition bar | Template:Steady |
Voter baseEdit
Template:LegendTemplate:LegendTemplate:LegendTemplate:LegendTemplate:Legend
Traditionally, most of the party's voters come from rural areas and include farmers and agricultural producers. Since the takeover of Maud Olofsson in recent years, the party has been attracting liberal voters from urban areas in central Sweden. It is believed that voters from the Liberals have been moving to the Centre Party due to changes in both parties.<ref>"Towards a two-party system? The Swedish parliamentary election of September 2006", Nicholas Aylott and Niklas Bolin, West European Politics, 2007 forthcoming</ref>
Leaders of the Centre PartyEdit
The Leader of the Centre Party is its highest political and organisational officer, its president in the National Executive Board and representative of the party in the media, in public and with other parties.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The party leader has often held an important cabinet portfolio when the party has been part of a coalition.
Current Members of the Swedish ParliamentEdit
Current Members of the Swedish Parliament:<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Daniel Bäckström, parliamentary leader, spokesperson for rural affairs, member for Värmland
- Ulrika Heie, first deputy parliamentary leader and spokesperson for infrastructure policy, member for Västra Götalands läns östra
- Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist, second deputy parliamentary leader, spokesperson for enterprise, member for Stockholms stad
- Anders W. Jonsson, spokesperson för healthcare policy, member for Gävleborg
- Alireza Akhondi, spokesperson for housing, member for Stockholms län
- Anders Karlsson, member for Jönköpings län
- Anders Ådahl, spokesperson for science and higher education, member for Västra götalands läns västra
- Anna Lasses, spokesperson for international aid, member for Stockholms län
- Anne-Li Sjölund, spokesperson for sports, member for Västernorrland
- Catarina Deremar, spokesperson for culture, member for Uppsala län
- Christofer Bergenblock, spokesperson for elderly care and disability rights, member for Halland
- Helena Lindahl, spokesperson for taxation, member for Västerbotten
- Helena Vilhelmsson, spokesperson for gender equality, member for Örebro län
- Jonny Cato, spokesperson for employment, member for Skåne läns västra
- Kerstin Lundgren, third deputy speaker of the Riksdag, spokesperson for foreign policy, member for Stockholms län
- Malin Björk, spokesperson for constitutional affairs, member for Stockholms stad
- Martin Ådahl, spokesperson for economic policy, member for Stockholms stad
- Martina Johansson, spokesperson for social security, member for Södermanland
- Mikael Larsson, spokesperson for defence, member for Västra Götalands läns södra
- Muharrem Demirok, member for Östergötland
- Niels Paarup-Petersen, spokesperson for education policy, member for Malmö
- Rickard Nordin, spokesperson for energy and climate policy, member for Gothenburg
- Stina Larsson, spokesperson for environmental policy, member for Skåne läns södra
- Ulrika Liljeberg, spokesperson for legal policy, member for Dalarna
Substitutes:
- Mona Smedman (January - May 2024), for Daniel Bäckström
- Emelie Nyman (January - June 2024), for Niels Paarup-Petersen
Party leadershipEdit
The current party leadership includes:<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Anna-Karin Hatt, chairperson of the Centre Party<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Rickard Nordin, deputy chairperson of the Centre Party<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Daniel Bäckström, parliamentary leader and spokesperson for rural policy<ref name=":0" />
- Ulrika Liljeberg, member of parliament and spokesperson for legal policy<ref name=":0" />
- Martin Ådahl, member of parliament and spokesperson for economic policy
- Madelaine Jacobsson, mayor of the Nordmaling Municipality
- Karin Ernlund, Secretary-General of the Centre Party
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
Template:Alliance for Sweden Template:European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party Template:Renew Europe Template:ELDR member parties Template:Swedish political partiesTemplate:Authority control