ALPHA. Demokratiskolan.se is a PROTOTYPE · Content review in progress
Demokratiskolan
The Political system card from MethodKit for Society and Politics
Card 104 of 128 · MethodKit for Society & Politics
  • AreaDemocracy & power
  • Centre of gravityCentral government
  • Points of influence2 on the journey
  • Decisive electionThe general election
Democracy & power

Political system

Elections, processes & constitutions

All public power in Sweden proceeds from the people: that is how the Instrument of Government begins, and the rest of the form of government is a long specification of how that works. Four constitutional laws, general elections every four years and a municipal self-government that is also written into the constitution. Most of it is decided at national level, but you vote in three elections at once, and in a fourth to the EU.

Where does the power lie?1

  • Municipality · self-government & local elections · approx 15 %
  • Region · self-government & regional elections · approx 10 %
  • State · constitution, riksdag & government · approx 70 %
  • EU · treaties & eu election · approx 5 %

The constitutional laws and the electoral system are the Riksdag's responsibility, which is why the central government weighs heaviest. But self-government makes the municipality and region their own democracies, not branch offices.

How it works: the breakdown

The municipalityLocal democracy
The regionRegional democracy
Central governmentThe level of the constitutional laws · centre of gravity
Who decides?
The municipal council (kommunfullmäktige), the municipal executive board and the committees, elected every four years.
The regional council (regionfullmäktige) and the regional executive board, elected on the same day as the Riksdag and the municipality.
The Riksdag makes laws, the Government governs the country, the courts judge. The Speaker leads the formation of a new government.
What do they decide?
Self-government within the Local Government Act: own tax, own budget and own decisions on school, plans and care.
Self-government with responsibility for healthcare, public transport and regional development.
The constitutional laws, the Elections Act, the central government budget and the forms for how governments are appointed and dismissed.
Where are decisions made?
In the council, the municipality's highest decision-making body. The meetings are open.
In the regional council, open to the public and often broadcast online.
In the Riksdag. Debates, votes and minutes are public.
Who pays?
Municipal tax, decided by the council.
Regional tax, decided by the regional council.
The central government budget: the Riksdag, the Government, the courts and election administration.
Fastest way in?
Municipal election Vote, submit a citizen's proposal (medborgarförslag) in many municipalities, start a local referendum initiative (folkinitiativ).
Regional election Vote in the regional election, follow the council, contact a regional commissioner.
General election Vote, cast a personal vote, follow the committees, respond to referrals.
EUThrough EU membership, part of the laws are made in Brussels. The European Parliament is elected in the European Parliament election every five years.

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 From election day to a new government
  1. State

    The constitution sets the rules of the game

    The Instrument of Government establishes that all public power proceeds from the people and is exercised through a representative form of government. The electoral system is proportional: the seats are to mirror the votes.

  2. StateMunicipality

    You vote three times on the same day

    On the second Sunday in September every four years you elect the Riksdag, the regional council and the municipal council at the same time. Three ballots, three different levels of power.

    Point of influence

    Vote in all three elections, vote in advance if that suits better, and mark a candidate if you want to influence who represents the party.

  3. State

    The votes are counted openly

    On election night the votes are counted preliminarily, then the County Administrative Boards (Länsstyrelsen) make the final count. The whole process is public, and the election can be appealed to the Election Review Board.

    Point of influence

    The vote count is open to the public. Anyone can go and watch.

  4. State

    The Speaker looks for a prime minister

    After the election the Speaker leads the soundings and proposes a candidate for prime minister. The Riksdag votes: the candidate is tolerated unless a majority votes against.

  5. State

    The Government governs, the Riksdag scrutinises

    The Government governs the country but depends on the Riksdag's tolerance. The Committee on the Constitution scrutinises, members put questions and a vote of no confidence can bring down a minister.

  6. Your everyday life

    The power works until the next election day

    Laws, taxes and budgets shape your everyday life for four years. Then the ballots are out again, and the contract is renegotiated.

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 does it mean in practice that all public power proceeds from the people?

  2. Which of the four elections affects your everyday life most, and why?

  3. How much self-government should municipalities have when equivalence across the country is to be held together?

  4. What makes a government feel legitimate between elections?

  5. If you could change one thing in the Swedish form of government, what would it be?

Glossary

Grundlag
The four laws that stand above all others and can only be changed through two Riksdag decisions with an election in between.
Parlamentarism
The principle that the Government must be tolerated by the Riksdag in order to govern.
Mandat
A seat in the Riksdag or a council, allocated proportionally according to the votes.
Kommunalt självstyre
The municipalities' and regions' constitutionally protected right to manage their own affairs with their own tax.
Talman
The Riksdag's chair, who leads the work in the chamber and the formation of a government after an election.
Personröst
The mark on the ballot that can lift a candidate past the party's list order.

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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.