Editing Moderate Party (section)

=== Moderate Party (1969–present) ===
[[File:Carl Bildt under den politiska Almedalsveckan 2016.jpg|thumb|left|Carl Bildt, leader of the party between 1986 and 1999, was [[Prime Minister of Sweden|Prime Minister]] between 1991 and 1994. In addition he was [[Minister for Foreign Affairs (Sweden)|Foreign Minister]] between 2006 and 2014.|373x373px]]
By 1968, the dominance of the [[Swedish Social Democratic Party|Social Democratic Party]] and 24 years of trailing the liberal [[People's Party (Sweden)|People's Party]] among the opposition bloc had pushed the party to the edge of political relevance. Seeking to shed its conservative image, in 1969, the party changed its name to the '''Moderate Coalition Party''' ({{langx|sv|Moderata samlingspartiet|links=no}}, generally just referred to as {{lang|sv|Moderaterna}}) or just the Moderate Party.

In 1970, [[Gösta Bohman]] was elected leader of the Moderate Party. During his leadership the party continued its gradual movement from nationalist [[traditionalist conservatism]] towards internationalist [[liberal conservatism]], calling for Swedish membership in the [[European Union|EEC]] since the 1960s and in practice adopting most policies affiliated with [[classical liberalism]]. It also adopted a much more liberal social outlook, which was seen as a key factor in the foundation of the [[Christian Democrats (Sweden)|Christian Democratic Gathering]] in 1964, a [[social conservatism|socially conservative]] party. Bohman proved a successful leader, and helped lead the non-socialist opposition to victory in the 1976 election.

The Moderate Party joined the government under [[Thorbjörn Fälldin]], with Gösta Bohman as Minister of Economy. The non-socialist parties managed to remain in power until 1982 in different constellations, but the election of 1979 again made the Moderate Party become the second most popular after the Social Democrats, a position it has held since then. Gösta Bohman was in 1981 replaced by [[Ulf Adelsohn]].

In 1986, [[Carl Bildt]] was elected leader of the party. A son-in-law of Bohman, he managed to lead the party to an [[1991 Swedish general election|election victory in 1991]]. The Moderate Party led a center-right coalition between 1991 and 1994, with Bildt serving as the first conservative Prime Minister since [[Arvid Lindman]]. The [[Bildt Cabinet|cabinet of Carl Bildt]] did much to reform the Swedish government: they cut taxes, cut [[public spending]], introduced voucher schools, made it possible for counties to privatize health care, liberalised markets for telecommunications and energy, and privatised former publicly owned companies (further deregulations and privatisations were carried out by the following Social Democratic [[Cabinet of Göran Persson]]). The negotiations for membership with the [[European Union]] were also finalized.
[[File:Fredrik Reinfeldt - Sveriges statsminister 2006-2014.jpg|thumb|[[Fredrik Reinfeldt]], leader of the party between 2003 and 2015.|369x369px]]
The party gained votes in 1994, but the governing coalition lost its majority. While Bildt stayed on as the Moderate Party leader, failing to unite with the [[Green Party (Sweden)|Greens]], the non-socialist parties failed to return to government after the election in 1998 as well. [[Bo Lundgren]] replaced him and led the party in the disastrous [[2002 Swedish general election|general election of 2002]], much owed to his alleged [[neoliberal]] stances, for which Lundgren continued to receive praise from younger members. Former head of the Moderate Youth [[Fredrik Reinfeldt]] was elected as the new party leader in 2003.

Prior to the [[2006 Swedish general election|2006 general election]], the Moderate Party adjusted its position in the political spectrum, moving towards the [[centre-right]]. To reflect these changes, the party's unofficial name was altered to The New Moderates (Swedish: {{lang|sv|De Nya Moderaterna}} {{IPA|sv|dɔm ˈnŷːa mʊdɛˈrɑ̌ːtɛɳa||Sv-De Nya Moderaterna.ogg}}).<ref name="Lees-MarshmentRudd2009">{{cite book|author1=Jennifer Lees-Marshment|author2=Chris Rudd|author3=Jesper Stromback|title=Global Political Marketing|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=12SPAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA52|year=2009|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-26140-5|page=52}}</ref> This has included focus on proactive measures against unemployment, lower taxes combined with reforms to strengthen the [[Swedish welfare state]]. The Moderate Party has since 2006 used the slogan "the Swedish Workers' Party", a slogan formerly synonymous with the [[Swedish Social Democratic Party|Social Democrats]].

In the [[2006 Swedish general election|2006 general election]], the Moderate Party enjoyed its best result since 1928 with 26.2% of the votes. The Moderate Party had formed the [[Alliance (Sweden)|Alliance for Sweden]], a [[political coalition|political and electoral alliance]], along with the [[Centre Party (Sweden)|Centre Party]], the [[Liberals (Sweden)|Liberal People's Party]] and the [[Christian Democrats (Sweden)|Christian Democrats]] prior to this election. After the election, the [[Alliance for Sweden]] was able to form a [[coalition government]]. Party leader [[Fredrik Reinfeldt]] took office as [[Prime Minister of Sweden]] on 6 October 2006 along with his [[Reinfeldt cabinet|cabinet]]. In the [[2010 Swedish general election|2010 general election]], the Moderate Party performed their best results, since the introduction of [[universal suffrage]] in 1919, with 30.1% of the votes. However, the minor parties in the [[Alliance (Sweden)|Alliance]] performed relatively poorly, and the [[Reinfeldt cabinet]] continued in office as a [[minority government]].
[[File:Ulf Kristersson on 29 June 2023.jpg|thumb|left|Ulf Kristersson, the current leader of the party since 2017.|336x336px]]
He is the longest-serving non–[[Swedish Social Democratic Party|Social Democrat]] Prime Minister since [[Erik Gustaf Boström]] who left office in 1900.

In the [[2014 European Parliament election in Sweden|2014 European elections]], the Moderate Party came in third place nationally with 13.6% of the vote, returning three MEPs.

In the [[2014 Swedish general election|2014 general election]], the [[Red-Greens (Sweden)|Red-Green]] coalition outpolled Reinfeldt's incumbent [[Alliance (Sweden)|Alliance]] coalition, prompting its resignation. The Social Democrat [[Stefan Löfven]] became Prime Minister on 3 October 2014. The Moderate Party performed reasonably well also in the 2014 election, making Reinfeldt its most successful leader with three of their four best election results since 1932.{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}} [[Anna Kinberg Batra]] was elected to succeed Reinfeldt as party leader on 10 January 2015. [[Ulf Kristersson]] succeeded Kinberg-Batra on 1 October 2017.

The Moderate Party made its worst election result since 2002 in the [[2018 Swedish general election|2018 general election]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.dn.se/nyheter/politik/samsta-valet-for-m-sedan-2002-kan-anda-bli-vinnare/|author1=Josefin Sköld|title=Kristersson: "Nu har vi gått första ronden mot en ny regering"|date=2018-09-09|newspaper=Dagens Nyheter|language=sv|access-date=2019-04-05|archive-date=7 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607042852/https://www.dn.se/nyheter/politik/samsta-valet-for-m-sedan-2002-kan-anda-bli-vinnare/|url-status=live}}</ref> Ulf Kristersson announced that the party would "create a new Swedish Model" at the Moderate Party Congress on 5 April 2019 and also that the party would be phasing out the New Moderates name. The party also presented its new logo, the old ''M'' logo which was used between 1972 and 2006 was adopted again.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.dn.se/nyheter/politik/moderaterna-vill-skapa-en-ny-svensk-modell/|url-access=subscription|title=Moderaterna vill skapa en ny svensk modell|date=2019-04-05|newspaper=Dagens Nyheter|language=sv|access-date=2019-04-05|archive-date=6 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190406102844/https://www.dn.se/nyheter/politik/moderaterna-vill-skapa-en-ny-svensk-modell/|url-status=live}}</ref> The change in logo was seen by analysts as a way to show that the party breaks with Reinfeldt's policies.<ref name="GP190401">{{Cite web |url=http://www.gp.se/1.14313704 |title=Svårt att se hur Moderaterna ska ena borgerligheten |last=Larsson |first=Arne |website=Göteborgs-Posten |url-access=subscription |date=April 2019 |language=sv |access-date=2019-04-06 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201119221011/https://www.gp.se/nyheter/sv%C3%A5rt-att-se-hur-moderaterna-ska-ena-borgerligheten-1.14313704 |archive-date= Nov 19, 2020 }}</ref> Ulf Kristersson has also been critical of [[multiculturalism]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dn.se/debatt/en-integrationskommission-ska-ta-fram-genomforbara-reformer/|url-access=subscription|title=DN Debatt. "En integrationskommission ska ta fram genomförbara reformer"|date=2019-04-04|website=[[Dagens Nyheter]]|language=sv|access-date=2019-04-04|archive-date=6 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190406100150/https://www.dn.se/debatt/en-integrationskommission-ska-ta-fram-genomforbara-reformer/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Kristersson held a meeting in December 2019 with [[Jimmie Åkesson]], leader of the [[Sweden Democrats]], and said that he would cooperate with them in parliament. The anti-immigration party had previously been subject to a ''[[cordon sanitaire (politics)|cordon sanitaire]]'' by all other parties, with Kristersson himself ruling out dialogue with them ahead of the 2018 elections. According to Ann-Cathrine Jungar of [[Södertörn University]], this put Sweden in line with several other European countries in which the centre-right and nationalist-right parties cooperate.<ref name="Milne 2019"/>

In October 2022, the [[Tidö Agreement]] was formed, which led to the formation of the [[Kristersson Cabinet]] as Sweden's government.<ref>{{cite news |title=Coalition agreement shows far right has a tight grip on Sweden's new government |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2022/10/15/coalition-agreement-shows-far-right-has-a-tight-grip-on-sweden-s-new-government_6000472_4.html |work=Le Monde.fr |date=15 October 2022 |language=en |first1=Anne-Françoise |last1=Hivert |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821084206/https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2022/10/15/coalition-agreement-shows-far-right-has-a-tight-grip-on-sweden-s-new-government_6000472_4.html |archive-date= Aug 21, 2023 }}</ref> On 18 October 2022, [[Ulf Kristersson]] became the new Prime Minister of Sweden.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://sverigesradio.se/artikel/ulf-kristersson-names-ministers-in-his-three-party-government|title=Ulf Kristersson names ministers in his three-party government|first=Radio|last=Sweden|date=18 October 2022|access-date=18 October 2022|newspaper=Sveriges Radio|archive-date=18 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221018101540/https://sverigesradio.se/artikel/ulf-kristersson-names-ministers-in-his-three-party-government|url-status=live}}</ref> The Moderates formed a centre-right coalition with the Christian Democrats and the Liberals, backed by the Sweden Democrats.<ref>{{cite news |title=Ulf Kristersson: Swedish parliament elects new PM backed by far right |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63289903 |work=BBC News |date=17 October 2022 |access-date=25 October 2022 |archive-date=17 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221017154017/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63289903 |url-status=live }}</ref> Soon after his appointment as foreign minister, [[Tobias Billström]] of the Moderate Party, announced that Sweden will renounce "[[feminist foreign policy]]", implemented by the previous left-wing government.<ref>{{cite news |title=Sweden ditches 'feminist foreign policy' |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63311743 |work=BBC News |date=19 October 2022 |access-date=25 October 2022 |archive-date=24 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221024023028/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63311743 |url-status=live }}</ref> 

In 2024, new laws proposed by the Kristersson Cabinet to combat Sweden's criminality crisis took in effect including harder penalties against weapons offences, breach of the permit obligation for explosive goods, arms smuggling and smuggling of explosive goods.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Johansson |first=Tommy |date=2024-01-02 |title=Här är de nya lagarna som träder i kraft under 2024 |url=https://socionomen.se/aktuellt/har-ar-de-nya-lagarna-som-trader-i-kraft-under-2024/ |access-date=2024-03-23 |website=Socionomen |language=sv-SE |archive-date=23 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240323212825/https://socionomen.se/aktuellt/har-ar-de-nya-lagarna-som-trader-i-kraft-under-2024/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Other laws gave increased opportunities to the police to use covert means of coercion to prevent and investigate serious crime, tougher border controls and extended power to security guards.<ref name=":0" /> On 20 February 2024, the Kristersson cabinet sent the largest military support package to [[Ukraine]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Regeringskansliet |first=Regeringen och |date=2024-02-20 |title=Government presents largest military support package to Ukraine to date |url=https://www.government.se/press-releases/2024/02/government-presents-largest-military-support-package-to-ukraine-to-date/ |access-date=2024-03-23 |website=Regeringskansliet |language=en}}</ref> During Kristerssons Premiership, Sweden ended longstanding neutrality to become a NATO member on 7 March.<ref>{{Cite news |first1=Fouad |last1=Youcefi |first2=Linnea |last2=Carlén |first3=Natalie |last3=Radlovacki |date=2024-03-07 |title=Sverige formellt medlem i Nato – Kristersson: ”Djupt tacksamma” |url=https://www.svt.se/nyheter/utrikes/sverige-blir-medlem-i-nato-i-dag-kristersson-moter-blinken |access-date=2024-03-23 |work=SVT Nyheter |language=sv |archive-date=17 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240317103637/https://www.svt.se/nyheter/utrikes/sverige-blir-medlem-i-nato-i-dag-kristersson-moter-blinken |url-status=live }}</ref>