ALPHA. Demokratiskolan.se is a PROTOTYPE · Content review in progress
Demokratiskolan
The Parties & Politicians card from MethodKit for Society and Politics
Card 84 of 128 · MethodKit for Society & Politics
  • AreaDemocracy & power
  • Centre of gravityCentral government
  • Points of influence3 on the journey
  • Decisive electionThe general election
Democracy & power

Parties & Politicians

Different parties & Known politicians

The parties hold no formal power in the constitution, but in practice almost all public power runs through them: they set the lists, shape the agenda and staff every single committee. The way in is more open than most people think, and it often begins in a local branch with coffee and too few chairs.

Where does the power lie?1

  • Municipality · council, committees & party funding · approx 20 %
  • Region · regional council & committees · approx 10 %
  • State · elections, riksdag & party funding · approx 60 %
  • EU · european parliament groups · approx 10 %

The rules for parties and elections are written by the Riksdag, and that is also where national politics is played out. But every level has its own elected representatives, and four different elections.

How it works: the breakdown

The municipalityPolitics's nursery
The regionThe forgotten level
Central governmentNational politics · centre of gravity
Who decides?
The municipal council (kommunfullmäktige), the municipal executive board, the committees and the local party branches.
The regional council (regionfullmäktige), the regional executive board and the region's committees.
The members of the Riksdag, the Government and the parties' national organisations.
What do they decide?
Local politics and the municipal party funding. This is where most elected positions are, most of them handled in people's spare time.
The politics of healthcare and public transport. The regional election decides, but gets the least attention of the elections.
Legislation, the central government budget and the Elections Act: the rules for the whole political system, including the state party funding.
Where are decisions made?
In the council chamber, open to all, and at the parties' member meetings.
In the regional council, open to the public and often broadcast online.
In the Riksdag: debates, committees and votes are public.
Who pays?
Municipal tax: fees and party funding decided by the council.
Regional tax: fees and regional party funding.
The central government budget: the Riksdag and party funding.
Fastest way in?
Municipal election Become a member of a party, attend open meetings, mark a candidate in the election.
Regional election Get to know the regional election, contact regional politicians, mark a candidate.
General election Vote, cast a personal vote, email the members from your constituency.
EUIn the European Parliament the Swedish members sit in European party groups. The European Parliament election every five years decides who goes.

Read the table by column to understand one level, or by row to compare the levels. The green level is the area's centre of gravity.

How it works: follow the decision

The case A motion becomes law
  1. Your everyday life

    The idea is born close to you

    It often starts with a concrete problem that someone brings to a party branch meeting. Members submit an internal motion, and the proposal can travel all the way to the party's national level.

    Point of influence

    The parties are open to members, and the meetings are smaller and friendlier than their reputation. An internal motion needs only one page of text.

  2. State

    The election gives the mandate

    The general election decides which parties and people get the 349 seats. The parties set the lists, but your personal vote can lift a candidate.

    Point of influence

    Vote and mark a candidate. The personal vote is the voter's direct influence over which people represent the party.

  3. State

    The member submits the motion

    During the general motion period each autumn, members can submit proposals about almost anything. The motion is registered and sent to the right committee.

  4. State

    The committee prepares it

    The committee gathers material and puts forward a report. Most motions are rejected, but the ideas live on and often resurface in inquiries and government bills.

  5. State

    The chamber votes

    The Riksdag debates and votes. If the chamber says yes it becomes a Riksdag decision, and the Government issues the new law.

    Point of influence

    Debates and votes are public. You can see exactly how the members from your constituency voted.

  6. Your everyday life

    The law applies where you live

    Some time later you notice the difference: a new right, a new rule, a new form. It started as an idea at a meeting with too few chairs.

The journey looks the same in reverse: what has been built came the same way, through the same decisions. Whoever knows where the decisions are made also knows where they can be changed.

Questions to discuss

  1. What would make you go to a party meeting, and what holds you back today?

  2. Which groups are missing among the politicians where you live, and what does that do to the decisions?

  3. How should a good politician weigh the party, the voters and their own judgement against each other?

  4. Why does the word party politics stir such mixed feelings, and what would change it?

  5. If you could write a motion tomorrow, what would it be about?

Glossary

Motion
A proposal from a member of the Riksdag, or from a member inside a party or an association.
Proposition
A bill from the Government to the Riksdag.
Utskott
The Riksdag's working groups that prepare the decisions within their respective areas.
Mandat
A seat in an elected assembly, allocated according to the election result.
Personröst
The mark on the ballot that can lift a candidate past the party's list order.
Partistöd
Public money to the parties, decided by the Riksdag, the regional council and the municipal council.

Go further

Footnotes

1) This is an estimate of how decision-making power over the issue is split between the municipality, the region, central government and the EU, based on how responsibility is divided in legislation. A teaching guide, not an exact measurement.