Centre Party (Sweden)

Infobox Political party
name_english = Centre Party
name_native = Centerpartiet
party_
chairman = Maud Olofsson
foundation = 1913
ideology = Centrism, agrarianism, social liberalism
international = Liberal International
european = European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party (ELDR)
europarl = Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE)
colours = Green
colorcode = #009D57
headquarters = Stora Nygatan 4, Gamla stan, Stockholm
website = [http://www.centerpartiet.se/ www.centerpartiet.se]

The Centre Party ("Centerpartiet", abbreviated "c") is a centrist political party in Sweden. The party maintains close ties to rural Sweden and describes itself as "a green social liberal party". [ [http://www.centerpartiet.se/defaultnormal.aspx?id=31852 Centre Party website] ] The ideology is sometimes called agrarian, but in a European context, the Centre Party can perhaps best be characterized as social liberal focusing on agricultural, environmental, and rural questions. Longterm key issues have been opposition to nuclear power and proposals to decentralize governmental authority.

The party was founded in 1913 as "Bondeförbundet" (Farmers' League). In 1922 it merged with "Jordbrukarnas Riksförbund" (National Farmers Union). The name of the party changed from "Bondeförbundet" in 1957. It had then been the closest ally of the Social Democrats for 25 years, and coalition partners 1936–1945 as well as 1951–1957, but has since revised this strategy in order to establish a closer longterm alliance between the Centre-right (Swedish borgerlig, lit. "bourgeois") parties, that succeeded the Social Democratic cabinets 1976–1982 and 1991–1994. The Swedish Prime Minister Torbjörn Fälldin was the leader of the Centre Party.

In recent years the party has changed direction to become a more classical liberal party, which has attracted interest from voters in urban areas. In 2006 the Centerpartiet was the fastest growing party in Stockholm.Fact|date=October 2007

In 2005 the Centre Party sold its ownership of the newspaper group Centertidningar AB for 1.8 billion SEK, [ [http://www.e24.se/dynamiskt/nyheter/did_10849780.asp Så styckas Centertidningar - Reklam & Media - E24.se ] ] thus making it the richest political party in the world. [ [http://www.privataaffarer.se/newstext.asp?s=pa&a=7950 Privata Affärer - Centern blir världens rikaste politiska parti ] ]

2006 Election

The 2006 Swedish election was a success for the Centre Party. Their support had been slowly increasing through the past elections. In 1998, the Centre Party received 5.1% of the votes, and support increased to 6.2% in 2002. [ [http://www.temo.se/upload/326/valjbsamtliga.htm Väljarbarometern samtliga ] ] In the 2006 elections, 7.88% of the vote went to the Centre Party, entitling them to 29 of the 349 seats in the Swedish Riksdag. [ [http://www.val.se/val/val2006/slutlig/R/rike/roster.html Allmänna val 17 september 2006 ] ] Furthermore, their alliance with the other parties in the Alliance for Sweden, a coalition which won a majority of parliament seats in this election, means that the Centre Party will be splitting the ministry posts with their Alliance for Sweden allies: the Moderate Party, the Liberal People's Party and the Christian Democratic Party.

pecific standpoints

Immigration

Centerpartiet is a pro-immigration party, and in their campaign for the Swedish general election, 2006, they have proposed to double the number of immigrants entering Sweden to 90 000 persons, or 1 per cent of the Swedish population. This will be facilitated by issuing green cards. [ [http://sydsvenskan.se/sverige/article170218.ece Centern vill fördubbla invandringen - Sverige - Sydsvenskan - Nyheter dygnet runt ] ]

European Union

Centerpartiet advocates a federative model for the European Union, governed by the principle of subsidiarity. Although Centerpartiet was against the introduction of the Euro in 2003, it has more or less reversed its position, with the youth branch of the party actively advocating a fast entry to the Eurozone.

In the European Parliament Centerpartiet is part of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party.

Voters

Traditionally, many of the voters come from rural areas and quite a few are farmers or small businessmen. In recent years however, since the takeover of Maud Olofsson the party has been attracting liberal voters from urban areas. It is believed that voters from the Liberal People's Party have been moving to Centerpartiet due to changes in both parties. ["Towards a two-party system? The Swedish parliamentary election of September 2006", "Nicholas Aylott and Niklas Bolin", West European Politics, 2007 forthcoming]

Party Leaders

*Erik Eriksson (1916–1920)
*Johan Andersson (1920–1924)
*Johan Johansson (1924–1928)
*Olof Olsson (1928–1934)
*Axel Pehrsson-Bramstorp (1934–1949)
*Gunnar Hedlund (1949–1971)
*Thorbjörn Fälldin (1971–1985)
*Karin Söder (1985–1987)
*Olof Johansson (1987–1998)
*Lennart Daléus (1998–2001)
*Maud Olofsson (2001–)

ee also

*Alliance for Sweden
*Liberalism worldwide
*List of liberal parties
*Centrism
*Politics of Sweden
*Prime Minister of Sweden
*Government of Sweden
*Parliament of Sweden
*Elections in Sweden
*Referendums in Sweden

References

*United States Department of State - [http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2880.htm Sweden]

External links

* [http://www.centerpartiet.se/ Centerpartiet] - Official site sv icon
* [http://www.riksdagen.se/templates/R_Page____1052.aspx The Swedish Parliament: The Centre Party]