Christian Democrats (Sweden)
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The Christian Democrats ( sv, Kristdemokraterna ; KD) is a
Christian-democratic Christian democracy (sometimes named Centrist democracy) is a political ideology that emerged in 19th-century Europe under the influence of Catholic social teaching and neo-Calvinism. It was conceived as a combination of modern democratic ...
political party in Sweden This article lists political parties in Sweden. Sweden has a multi-party system with numerous political parties, in which no one party often has a chance of gaining power alone, and parties must work with each other to form coalition governments ...
founded in March 1964. It first entered parliament in 1985, through electoral cooperation with the Centre Party, and in 1991 broke through to win seats by itself. The party leader since 25 April 2015 has been
Ebba Busch Ebba-Elisabeth Busch (, formerly Busch Thor while married; born 11 February 1987) is a Swedish politician serving as the Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden and Minister for Energy (Sweden), Minister for Energy, Minister for Business, Industry and I ...
. She succeeded
Göran Hägglund Bo Göran Hägglund (born 27 January 1959) is a Swedish politician of the Christian Democrats. He was Leader of the Christian Democrats from 2004 to 2015, Member of the Riksdag from 1991 to 2015, and served as Minister for Social Affairs from 2 ...
, who had been leader since 2004. The party name was for a long time abbreviated to KDS (standing for , Christian Democratic Unity), until 1996, when the party changed its name to the current ''Christian Democrats'' and its abbreviation to ''KD''. The KD was a
minor party A minor party is a political party that plays a smaller (in some cases much smaller, even insignificant in comparison) role than a major party in a country's politics and elections. The difference between minor and major parties can be so gre ...
in the
centre-right Centre-right politics lean to the right of the political spectrum, but are closer to the centre. From the 1780s to the 1880s, there was a shift in the Western world of social class structure and the economy, moving away from the nobility and ...
Alliance An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
coalition government led by
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
Fredrik Reinfeldt John Fredrik Reinfeldt (pronounced ; born 4 August 1965) is a Swedish economist, lecturer, and former politician who was Prime Minister of Sweden from 2006 to 2014, and chairman of the liberal conservative Moderate Party from 2003 to 2015. He ...
between 2006 and 2014 and later a part of the centre-right opposition until it dissolved in January 2019. Since 2021 the KD mainly cooperates with the
Moderate Party The Moderate Party ( sv, Moderata samlingspartiet , ; M), commonly referred to as the Moderates ( ), is a liberal-conservative political party in Sweden. The party generally supports tax cuts, the free market, civil liberties and economic liber ...
, Liberals and the Sweden Democrats.


Ideology

According to the party their five most important policy issues include: * Healthcare: reform the healthcare system and nationalise Swedish healthcare. Improve care guarantee. Reform the queue billion. Save LSS. * Elderly care: retirement home guarantee as well as an abolished pensions tax. The KD also supports housing supplements for the elderly. The Christian Democrats especially emphasize the elderly's right to a dignified life and want to introduce a higher standard for
nursing home A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of elderly or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as skilled nursing facility (SNF) or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms have slightly different meanings to in ...
s. * Safety: more police officers and more resources to the police. The party also supports law and order policies, such as increasing resources for the police and stricter laws against sexual crimes and
honor killings An honor killing (American English), honour killing (Commonwealth English), or shame killing is the murder of an individual, either an outsider or a member of a family, by someone seeking to protect what they see as the dignity and honor of t ...
. * Family: enable more time for the children, facilitate family formation, increase families' room for maneuver, upgrade parenthood, enable different forms of childcare and strengthen the finances of families with children. The party supports freedom of choice of parents for education and increased resources for schools in deprived areas. * Integration: according to the party, jobs are one of the keys to good integration and that a society is built on a common set of values, where certain values are immutable. KD's platform and policies have been shaped by the tenets of
Christian democracy Christian democracy (sometimes named Centrist democracy) is a political ideology that emerged in 19th-century Europe under the influence of Catholic social teaching and neo-Calvinism. It was conceived as a combination of modern democratic ...
, stewardship, and the shared responsibility between the church and political institutions, the responsibility of solidarity towards fellow human beings and the safeguarding of civil society, permeated with socially and culturally conservative values. The KD support reducing petrol prices and abolishing property tax. The KD supports the
monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutional monarchy) ...
. The Christian Democrats want a flexible immigration policy, but one that is regulated and controlled. The party names a Nordic level when it comes to immigration, meaning the amount of
refugee A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.
s that enter Sweden should be at the same level as in the other Nordic countries. The KD also calls for a socially just but efficient asylum policy in which resources can be allocated to those in need in tandem with faster screening and quicker deportation of those who fail or abuse the asylum claiming processes, as well as increased spending on border patrol police. It also wants to introduce a special integration committee in the Riksdag and compulsory measures for refugees to learn Swedish and adopt Swedish customs and social norms. Since 2018, the party has pledged a tougher line against immigration and multiculturalism, including opposing the Islamic call to prayer in public spaces. On foreign policy, the KD is largely supportive of Sweden's membership of the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
. They were in favour of entering the
eurozone The euro area, commonly called eurozone (EZ), is a currency union of 19 member states of the European Union (EU) that have adopted the euro (€) as their primary currency and sole legal tender, and have thus fully implemented EMU policies ...
during the
2003 Swedish euro referendum A non-binding referendum on introduction of the euro was held in Sweden on 14 September 2003. The majority voted not to adopt the euro, and thus Sweden decided in 2003 not to adopt the euro for the time being. Had they voted in favour, the plan ...
, but after the “No” side won the referendum in a landslide victory the party changed its stance and are now against joining the eurozone. They are calling for "a narrower and sharper EU" and that "on a number of issues, the EU need to take a step back and give more power back to the
nation states A nation state is a political unit where the state and nation are congruent. It is a more precise concept than "country", since a country does not need to have a predominant ethnic group. A nation, in the sense of a common ethnicity, may in ...
”. In the
European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
, the KD sits with the
European People's Party The European People's Party (EPP) is a European political party with Christian-democratic, conservative, and liberal-conservative member parties. A transnational organisation, it is composed of other political parties. Founded by primarily Ch ...
and is a member of
Centrist Democrat International The Centrist Democrat International ( es, Internacional Demócrata de Centro) is a Christian-democratic political international. Until 2001, it was known as the Christian Democrat International (CDI); before 1999, it was known as the Christian D ...
internationally which contains other Christian democratic parties.


History


Reasons for founding the party

The party had its roots in a movement against the Swedish government's decision in 1963 to remove religious education from the elementary school syllabus. An organisation called " Christian Social Responsibility", which would later become the Christian Democratic Unity, organised several marches against the decision, one of which became one of the largest in Swedish modern history. Despite the public outcry and over 2.1 million protest signatures, the decision went through. The group that had worked in the campaign felt it was a sign that Swedish politics needed a Christian Democratic Party. The political and social origins of the Swedish Christian Democrats clearly differ from those of the European continental Christian Democratic parties (as in
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
or
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
). In those countries, Christian Democracy represented the mainstream of the social-conservative political forces and was closely tied to majoritarian religious practice. In Sweden, however, Christian Democracy emerged as a minority grouping amongst the centre-right forces and was tied to minority-religious tendencies in society (particularly among voters associated with the
Free Churches A free church is a Christian denomination that is intrinsically separate from government (as opposed to a state church). A free church does not define government policy, and a free church does not accept church theology or policy definitions from ...
and likeminded
Lutherans Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...
).


Founding

In the beginning of 1964
Lewi Pethrus Lewi Pethrus (born ''Pethrus Lewi Johansson'') (11 March 1884 – 4 September 1974) was a Swedish Pentecostal minister who played a decisive role in the formation and development of the Pentecostal movement in his country. In 1964, he founded ...
, founder of the Swedish
Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement
movement and chief editor of the Swedish newspaper '' Dagen'', discussed the idea of a Swedish Christian democratic party on the editorial pages of ''Dagen''. He stated that many people had contacted him about the idea and that the current Swedish political climate was dominated by atheist
economic materialism Materialism can be described as either a personal attitude which attaches importance to acquiring and consuming material goods or as a logistical analysis of how physical resources are shaped into consumable products. The use of the term materia ...
. Principal Algot Tergel hosted a conference on 7 February of the same year. The topic of the conference was "Christianity and Politics", and during the conference the idea of starting a Christian Democratic Party was discussed. A committee consisting of Pethrus and eight other Free Church leaders was formed. A large and widespread debate followed the decision to create the committee. ''Dagen'' published an interview with Kjell Bondevik, the leader of the Norwegian
Christian Democratic Party __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social tea ...
, and there were talks about creating a Christian Democratic Party in Finland as well. On 20 March 1964 the party was founded as Christian Democratic Unity (). At first it was only an organisation, but at a board meeting later that year it was decided that the organisation would be revamped into a party and that it would compete in the national elections in Sweden. The first roughly 100 members elected Birger Ekstedt to the post of party chair and Lewi Pethrus to the post of vice chair. The party grew rapidly; by the end of the year it had 14,500 members.


Early start

During its early years the KDS was sometimes called the "Air and Water" party because of its strong emphasis on environmental politics. At that time the Green Party of Sweden did not exist, and thus the Christian Democratic Unity had a unique appeal with its environmentally friendly policies. In the Swedish national elections of 1964 the party gained 1.8% of the vote, not enough to get any seats in the
Riksdag The Riksdag (, ; also sv, riksdagen or ''Sveriges riksdag'' ) is the legislature and the supreme decision-making body of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral legislature with 349 members (), elected proportionally and se ...
, but the party already had influence at the municipal level. In the municipal elections of 1966 the party gained 354 seats. At this time the established major parties of Sweden began discussing new ways of making it more difficult for minor parties to enter the Riksdag. In 1971 the Riksdag was reformed, and with this came the
D'Hondt method The D'Hondt method, also called the Jefferson method or the greatest divisors method, is a method for allocating seats in parliaments among federal states, or in party-list proportional representation systems. It belongs to the class of highest- ...
of allocating seats. The threshold was set at 4%, which meant that the political breakthrough was far away for the KDS. Birger Ekstedt died in 1972, aged 51, only a few days after having been reelected as the party chair. An emergency congress was called; there Alf Svensson, the relatively unknown chair of the
youth wing A youth wing is a subsidiary, autonomous, or independently allied front of a larger organization (usually a political party but occasionally another type of organization) that is formed in order to rally support for that organization from members ...
of the party, was elected chair. Svensson was to become one of the most important figures in modern Swedish politics. In the national elections of 1973 the party gained 1.8% of the vote, the same result as in the two preceding elections. Before the national elections of 1976 there was a strong call for a change to a right-wing government in Sweden. The organisation "Vote right-wing" was formed to promote the change to a right-wing government. The KDS, however, announced a desire not to be placed on the traditional right-wing/left-wing scale, a measurement system it felt was outdated. Therefore, the "Vote right-wing" organisation started a campaign of negative campaigning against the KDS with the slogan "Don't vote for KDS, don't throw away your vote" as the KDS had not reached the 4% threshold at the last elections. The effect of this large campaign on a small and relatively new party like the KDS was disastrous, and it gained only 1.4% of the vote in the 1976 election. At the start of the 1980s, the party revamped its entire political manifesto. The party abandoned its conservative stance on abortion and instead assumed a moderate pro-choice stance and adopted a plank to work to lower the total number of abortions in Sweden through encouragement of individual voluntary measures instead. In the 1980
nuclear power referendums Nuclear may refer to: Physics Relating to the nucleus of the atom: *Nuclear engineering *Nuclear physics *Nuclear power *Nuclear reactor *Nuclear weapon *Nuclear medicine *Radiation therapy *Nuclear warfare Mathematics * Nuclear space *Nuclear ...
the party supported the "no" campaign, which meant opposing any further construction of new nuclear power-plants in Sweden and advocating the phasing-out of all nuclear power plants in Sweden within 10 years, together with increased investments in alternative energy. In 1982 the
Christian Democratic Women's league The Christian Democratic Women's league is the women's wing of the Christian Democratic Party __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democra ...
was founded, and the party gained 1.9% of the votes, for the first time getting more than 100,000 votes.


Way into the Riksdag

As early as 1978 the KDS discussed the idea of electoral cooperation with the Centre Party. Similar ideas were discussed before the 1982 elections but were never put into action. One of the proponents of such a collaboration was the then secretary of information Mats Odell. The party officially took a stance against a socialist government, which effectively put them together with the right-wing block. The negotiations were difficult, but in 1984 the Centre Party and KDS agreed to run under a joint banner in the next year's elections under the name sv, Centern ("The Centre"). The deal, which was heavily criticised by the
Swedish Social Democratic Party The Swedish Social Democratic Party, formally the Swedish Social Democratic Workers' Party ( sv, Sveriges socialdemokratiska arbetareparti ; S/SAP), usually referred to as The Social Democrats ( sv, link=no, Socialdemokraterna ), is a social-d ...
, meant that each party had its own voting ticket but that the Centre Party should nominate a Christian Democratic candidate on at least five of the regional candidacy lists. The Centre Party ticket would win over the KDS ticket almost everywhere, but this way there would be at least five Christian Democrats in the Riksdag. The Centre Party did not fulfil its promise, however, and put a Christian Democrat on the list only in the municipality of
Kalmar Kalmar (, , ) is a city in the southeast of Sweden, situated by the Baltic Sea. It had 36,392 inhabitants in 2010 and is the seat of Kalmar Municipality. It is also the capital of Kalmar County, which comprises 12 municipalities with a total of ...
. This resulted in great tensions within the Christian Democrats; one of the party icons, the environmental activist Björn Gillberg, left the party. However, Alf Svensson managed to get into the Riksdag through the KDS party ticket in
Jönköping Jönköping (, ) is a city in southern Sweden with 112,766 inhabitants (2022). Jönköping is situated on the southern shore of Sweden's second largest lake, Vättern, in the province of Småland. The city is the seat of Jönköping Municipa ...
.


Real breakthrough

In 1987 the party manifesto was revamped once again (although not so heavily as the last time), and the party changed its name to Christian Democratic Social Party ( sv, Kristdemokratiska Samhällspartiet ), while keeping the KDS abbreviation. In the 1988 national elections the party grew significantly and gained 2.8% of the votes. But the Centre Party did not wish any further electoral cooperation, and Alf Svensson had to leave the Riksdag. Something had happened, however. The party was now recognised as one of the major parties in Sweden, and Svensson had become famous. According to many opinion polls, he was the most popular politician in the entire nation. Several famous people joined the party, and in the right-wing breakthrough national elections of 1991 the party grew explosively yet again and gained over 7% of the votes. The right-wing bloc gained a majority, and KDS formed a government with the right-wing bloc. Several Christian Democrats got positions within the new government: Alf Svensson as the minister of foreign aid (and vice foreign minister),
Inger Davidson Inger Margareta Davidson née ''Windblad'' (2 December 1944), is a Swedish retired Christian Democrat Christian democracy (sometimes named Centrist democracy) is a political ideology that emerged in 19th-century Europe under the influence o ...
as minister of civilian infrastructure, and Mats Odell as minister of communications. After the right-wing bloc lost the 1994 general election, the KDS managed to stay in the Riksdag and had assumed a steady position within Swedish national politics. In 1996 it changed its name to the current form, Christian Democrats (''Kristdemokraterna''), switching the abbreviation form to KD, in a gesture perceived by elements both inside and outside the party as helping deflect the belief that it was a strictly religious party. In 1998 the party had its best elections ever, gaining over 11% of the votes; it established itself as the fourth-largest party in the Riksdag, becoming larger than its former electoral partner the Centre Party. In the 2002 national elections the party got fewer votes but still held on to its position as the fourth-largest party. In 2004 Svensson stepped down in favor of his long-designated successor
Göran Hägglund Bo Göran Hägglund (born 27 January 1959) is a Swedish politician of the Christian Democrats. He was Leader of the Christian Democrats from 2004 to 2015, Member of the Riksdag from 1991 to 2015, and served as Minister for Social Affairs from 2 ...
. At the end of 2005 the party had 24,202 confirmed members, making it the fourth-largest party in size as well. Its membership is far more stable than most parties in Sweden. The Christian Democrats are represented in almost every municipality and region in Sweden.


Criticism

The KD has previously held
socially conservative Social conservatism is a political philosophy and variety of conservatism which places emphasis on traditional power structures over social pluralism. Social conservatives organize in favor of duty, traditional values and social institution ...
views surrounding same sex marriage and in the early 2000s the party was criticized for being opposed to increased rights for homosexuals. In 2007, the KD mostly voted against the introduction of
same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...
in parliament, with party leader
Göran Hägglund Bo Göran Hägglund (born 27 January 1959) is a Swedish politician of the Christian Democrats. He was Leader of the Christian Democrats from 2004 to 2015, Member of the Riksdag from 1991 to 2015, and served as Minister for Social Affairs from 2 ...
stating "my position is that I have been tasked by the party to argue that marriage is for men and women. When we discuss it between parties we are naturally open and sensitive to each other's arguments and we'll see if we can find a line that allows us to come together." However, the party has since moderated its stance and now supports keeping same-sex marriage legal, albeit saying that churches should make the final decision on whether to perform wedding ceremonies and not the state, and in 2015 voted to change its platform to support same-sex adoption.


Alliance cabinet

As a member of the Alliance for Sweden, the winning side in the 2006 general election, the Christian Democrats got three minister posts in the
Cabinet of Fredrik Reinfeldt The cabinet of Fredrik Reinfeldt ( sv, Regeringen Reinfeldt) was the cabinet of Sweden from 2006 to 2014. It was a coalition cabinet consisting of the four parties in the centre-right Alliance for Sweden: the Moderate Party, Centre Party, ...
. The minister posts were held by Göran Hägglund, Mats Odell and
Maria Larsson Ingrid Maria Larsson (born 20 January 1956 in Långasjö) is Swedish politician of the Christian Democrats who has been Governor of Örebro County since May 2015, appointed by the cabinet of Stefan Löfven. She previously served as Minister ...
. Unlike the
Moderate Party The Moderate Party ( sv, Moderata samlingspartiet , ; M), commonly referred to as the Moderates ( ), is a liberal-conservative political party in Sweden. The party generally supports tax cuts, the free market, civil liberties and economic liber ...
and the Liberal People's Party, the Christian Democrats and the Centre Party avoided scandals for personal conduct and accusations for espionage against the competing Social Democratic Party. Hägglund, however, received criticism internally for defending the party's
pro-choice Abortion-rights movements, also referred to as pro-choice movements, advocate for the right to have legal access to induced abortion services including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their pr ...
stance on abortion, which some older members believed had contributed to the decline of the party in recent years. The Alliance cabinet's stance against unemployment and sick-listed benefits have been criticised by former party leader Alf Svensson, while the
Sven-Otto Littorin Sven Otto Julius Littorin (born 1966) is a Swedish former politician and architect of major structural reforms. As Minister for Employment in the cabinet of Fredrik Reinfeldt, he was in charge of the major overhaul of Swedish labor policies between ...
of the
Moderate Party The Moderate Party ( sv, Moderata samlingspartiet , ; M), commonly referred to as the Moderates ( ), is a liberal-conservative political party in Sweden. The party generally supports tax cuts, the free market, civil liberties and economic liber ...
went into aggressive counterattack, but the Christian Democratic ministers were silent.


Decline and internal strife

Support of the Christian Democrats significantly declined in the European elections of 2009, where the former party leader Alf Svensson got the party's sole seat in the European Parliament at the expense of the party's top candidate
Ella Bohlin Ella Elin Nikolina Bohlin (born 1979) is a Christian Democratic politician in Sweden. Early life and education Bohlin was born in Jönköping. She has a B.A. in political science and has worked as a spinning instructor. Political career Bohlin ...
. Though Bohlin had run her campaign with a focus on limiting alcohol and outlawing traditional Swedish snuff, Göran Hägglund stated in a speech two weeks after the elections that he wanted to "prohibit the prohibitions" and spoke about the difference between the values of the "people of reality" and the left-wing cultural elite. Some claim that this was not followed up by any political suggestions in the 2010 general election, where the party declined once again. Hägglund was criticized for not being controversial enough by MP
Ebba Busch Ebba-Elisabeth Busch (, formerly Busch Thor while married; born 11 February 1987) is a Swedish politician serving as the Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden and Minister for Energy (Sweden), Minister for Energy, Minister for Business, Industry and I ...
, and it was suggested that around a quarter of the party's representatives would like him to resign. Other commentators have suggested that the party's decrease in support has coincided with the rise of the Sweden Democrats, who gained the support of socially and culturally conservative Swedish voters. The politics of the Young Christian Democrats have shifted to the right in the past few years, a change that has been attributed to many conservative ex-members of the Moderate Party joining the organization. Swedish political news magazine ''Fokus'' has stated that the conflict on traditional Christian moral questions (abortion, gay rights, stem cell research) is secondary to the conflict between those who want a Christian democratic
centrist Centrism is a political outlook or position involving acceptance or support of a balance of social equality and a degree of social hierarchy while opposing political changes that would result in a significant shift of society strongly to Left-w ...
party focused on social responsibility and environmental questions, and those who want a traditional
right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...
party focusing on
anti-elitism Elitism is the belief or notion that individuals who form an elite—a select group of people perceived as having an intrinsic quality, high intellect, wealth, power, notability, special skills, or experience—are more likely to be constructiv ...
and
economic liberalism Economic liberalism is a political and economic ideology that supports a market economy based on individualism and private property in the means of production. Adam Smith is considered one of the primary initial writers on economic liberalism ...
. The latter group has founded a network called FFFF (Freedom, family, diligence and enterprise), a group that has clear influences from
Thatcherism Thatcherism is a form of British conservative ideology named after Conservative Party leader Margaret Thatcher that relates to not just her political platform and particular policies but also her personal character and general style of manag ...
. Christian Democratic youth leader
Aron Modig Aron Modig (born 13 June 1985) is a Swedish politician who was chairman of the Young Christian Democrats (Sweden), Young Christian Democrats, the youth wing of the Christian Democrats (Sweden), Christian Democrats from 2011 to 2013. 2012 car cra ...
has stated that he wants the Christian Democrats to become the "
Tea Party A tea party is a social gathering event held in the afternoon. For centuries, many societies have cherished drinking tea with a company at noon. Tea parties are considered for formal business meetings, social celebrations or just as an afternoon ...
" of Sweden, and push the government when it fails to present a likeminded vision of society.


Election of Ebba Busch

In 2015 the young deputy Mayor of Uppsala Ebba Busch was elected as new party leader. She moved the party towards a new more right-wing and secular position. In the 2018 election she showed herself to be a fierce debater lifting her party from what had been predicted as a sure defeat too the best election result in nearly 20 years. In 2019 after the new
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
was announced the KD harhsly criticized the incoming government and the liberal parties supporting it. Too create an alternative to the center-left government the KD opened up to cooperation with the Sweden Democrats This move was popular with the voters and during this period the party saw continually increased support in the opinion polls. Ahead of the European election the party had reached 13% in the opinion polls, which if it would have been the election result would be the best result for the Christian Democracts ever. This passed after the election when the
Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
newspaper
Dagens nyheter ''Dagens Nyheter'' (, ), abbreviated ''DN'', is a daily newspaper in Sweden. It is published in Stockholm and aspires to full national and international coverage, and is widely considered Sweden's newspaper of record. History and profile ''Da ...
posted an article showing the KDs MEP Lars Adaktusson voting no to abortion 22 times while he sat in the
European parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
between 2014 and 2019. The situation for the party worsened during the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
where, as in most other countries, smaller parties saw a decrease whilst the governments strengthened their support.


2022 election

Ahead of the 2022 election the Christian Democrats continued the partys turn to the right in a number of issues. In
migration Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...
the party advocates a reduction in the number of refugees let into Sweden by 70%. The party's youth wing, KDU, went out and caused a stir after they proposed
repatriation Repatriation is the process of returning a thing or a person to its country of origin or citizenship. The term may refer to non-human entities, such as converting a foreign currency into the currency of one's own country, as well as to the pro ...
of migrants that have come, and that are coming, to
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
. Ahead of the ''Folk och Försvar'' conference in 2020 the party proposed a doubling of the Swedish Defence budget so that it would meet the 2% of GDP spending each year. During the 2022 election campaing the party tried to grow by attracting Sweden's rural voters introducing new policies within the area as well as criticizing both the historically agriarian Centre Party and the
Social Democrats Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...
, accusing them of having abandoned rural Sweden. The party also recruited former parliamentarian for the Centre Party,
Staffan Danielsson Staffan Danielsson (born 29 Juni 1947) is a Swedish Christian Democratic politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject a ...
and made him head of a party-associated organisation for farmers. Their opponents answered these attacks by calling the KD populist - criticising the use of anti-elitist rhetoric and for unhistorical references to a "made up" Swedish heartland. The election was not a success for the Christian Democrats losing three MP:s. But as a part of the overall center-right coalition that Ebba Busch had been instrumental in creating the party joined the new
Kristersson Cabinet The Kristersson Cabinet (Swedish: ''Regeringen Kristersson'') is the 57th Government of Sweden and is formed by Ulf Kristersson, leader of Moderate Party. It is a coalition government consisting of three parties: the Moderate Party, the Christia ...
. The party received six ministeral portfolios and Ebba Busch was appointed as Deputy Prime Minister.


Voter base

Ideologically the KD is a centre-right Christian democratic party that during the last few years has shifted to the
right Rights are law, legal, social, or ethics, ethical principles of Liberty, freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convent ...
and adopted more
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
policies. Historically a large part of its voter base lay among those who belong to
evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...
fellowships known in Sweden as ''free churches'' (
Pentecostals Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement
, Methodists,
Baptists Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...
, etc.) together with likeminded Lutherans (such as Göran Hägglund and Mats Odell). These churches have many followers in
Småland Småland () is a historical province () in southern Sweden. Småland borders Blekinge, Scania, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name Småland literally means ''Small Lands''. The Latinized fo ...
and along the Swedish west coast, the regions in which the party is politically strongest. Important voter groups are senior citizens, families, voters in rural areas, members of
free church A free church is a Christian denomination that is intrinsically separate from government (as opposed to a state church). A free church does not define government policy, and a free church does not accept church theology or policy definitions fr ...
es and citizens that belong to the
upper-middle class In sociology, the upper middle class is the social group constituted by higher status members of the middle class. This is in contrast to the term ''lower middle class'', which is used for the group at the opposite end of the middle-class strat ...
. The party is a member of the
European People's Party The European People's Party (EPP) is a European political party with Christian-democratic, conservative, and liberal-conservative member parties. A transnational organisation, it is composed of other political parties. Founded by primarily Ch ...
(EPP) and the
Centrist Democrat International The Centrist Democrat International ( es, Internacional Demócrata de Centro) is a Christian-democratic political international. Until 2001, it was known as the Christian Democrat International (CDI); before 1999, it was known as the Christian D ...
(CDI).


Electoral results


Parliament (Riksdag)


Regional councils


Municipal councils


European Parliament


Christian Democratic politicians


Party chairman


Vice chairman


Second vice chairman


Party secretary


Group leader in the Riksdag


Other famous Christian democrats

*
Peter Althin Peter Althin is a Swedish attorney and politician and a member of the Swedish parliament for the Christian Democrats from 2002 to 2007. Althin graduated from law school with a master's degree in law (jur. kand.) from Lund University in 1968 a ...
, MP and judicial spokesman * Johan DeFarfalla, former
Opeth Opeth is a Swedish progressive metal/rock band from Stockholm, formed in 1990 by lead vocalist David Isberg. The group has been through several personnel changes, including the replacement of every original member; notably Isberg in 1992. Mikael ...
bassist *
Jerzy Einhorn Jerzy Einhorn (26 July 1925 in Częstochowa, Poland – 28 April 2000 in Danderyd, Stockholm, Sweden) was a Polish-born Swedish medical doctor, researcher and politician ( Kristdemokrat). His Hebrew name was Chil Josef, after his paternal grand ...
, cancer researcher and MP 1991–1994 * Gert Fylking * Emma Henriksson *
Carola Häggkvist Carola Maria Häggkvist (; born 8 September 1966), commonly known simply as Carola, is a Swedish singer and songwriter. She has been among Sweden's most popular performers since the early 1980s and has released albums ranging from pop and disco ...
, singer *
Bert Karlsson Bert Willis Karlsson (born 21 June 1945) is a Swedish record company manager, entrepreneur, and former politician (Member of Parliament 1991-1994) and front figure of the New Democracy (''Ny Demokrati'') party. As the owner and manager of the rec ...
* Mikael Ljungman *
Bror Stefenson Admiral Bror Per Harald Stefenson (4 September 1929 – 3 October 2018) was a Swedish Navy officer. Stefenson's senior commands include Chief of the Defence Staff and military commander of the Eastern Military District (Milo Ö) as well as Comma ...
, Chairman of the
Christian Democratic Senior League The Christian Democratic Senior League ( sv, Kristdemokratiska Seniorförbundet) is a Swedish christian democratic organisation primarily for senior members of the Christian Democratic Party. The organisation was founded in 1993 and was the first e ...
*
Anders Wijkman Anders Ivar Sven Wijkman (born 30 September 1944 in Stockholm) is a Swedish politician (Swedish: '' Kristdemokraterna'', KD) who was Member of the European Parliament from 1999 to 2009. As member of the European Parliament, he focused on issu ...
, MEP


Affiliated organisations

* Christian Democratic Youth League sv, Kristdemokratiska Ungdomsförbundet * Christian Democratic Student League sv, Kristdemokratiska Studentförbundet *
Christian Democratic Senior League The Christian Democratic Senior League ( sv, Kristdemokratiska Seniorförbundet) is a Swedish christian democratic organisation primarily for senior members of the Christian Democratic Party. The organisation was founded in 1993 and was the first e ...
sv, Kristdemokratiska Seniorförbundet *
Christian Democratic Women's league The Christian Democratic Women's league is the women's wing of the Christian Democratic Party __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democra ...
sv, Kristdemokratiska Studentförbundet *Religious-wing Kristdemokrater för en levande kyrka sv, Kristdemokrater för en levande kyrka *LGB+ organisation Open Christian Democrats sv, Öppna kristdemokrater * The foundation Civitas * Study organisation Framtidsbildarna


Literature

*Niels Arbøl, ''Kristdemokraterna en världsrörelse'' (Samhällsgemenskap, 1986) *Cecilia Hjort Attefall, ''Partiet som lyfte: 40 år med svensk kristdemokrati: 1964-2004'' (Samhällsgemenskap, 2004) *Birger Ekstedt, ''KDS - en politisk nödvändighet'' (Samhällsgemenskap, 1970) *Göran V. Johansson, ''Kristen Demokrati På Svenska'' (Liber, 1985) *Erik Lindfelt, ''Moralpartiet. En bok om KdS'' (Carlssons, 1991) *Bernt Olsson, ''Upprinnelsen - Om Kristdemokraternas första tid i Sverige'' (Samhällsgemenskap, 2004) *Allan Sandström, ''KDS - Partiet bakom fromhetsvallen'' (LT, 1979) *Alf Svensson, ''I Tiden, från motvind till uppvindar'' (Samhällsgemenskap, 1984) *''Kristdemokratisk Debatt'' (paper published by the party between 1992 and 2003) ISSN 1103-1522


See also

* Alliance for Sweden *
Government of Sweden The Government of the Kingdom of Sweden ( sv, Konungariket Sveriges regering) is the national cabinet of Sweden, and the country's executive authority. The Government consists of the Prime Ministerappointed and dismissed by the Speaker of the ...
*
Parliament of Sweden The Riksdag (, ; also sv, riksdagen or ''Sveriges riksdag'' ) is the legislature and the supreme decision-making body of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral legislature with 349 members (), elected proportionally and se ...
* Elections in Sweden *
European People's Party The European People's Party (EPP) is a European political party with Christian-democratic, conservative, and liberal-conservative member parties. A transnational organisation, it is composed of other political parties. Founded by primarily Ch ...


Further reading

*


References


External links


Kristdemokraterna
- Official site
Christian Democratic Women's League

Christian Democratic Senior League

Christian Democratic Youth League

Christian Democratic Student League

CIVITAS - Christian Democratic Foundation

The Christian Democrat - Christian Democratic newspaper on the net
{{Authority control Christian democratic parties in Europe 1964 establishments in Sweden Conservative parties in Sweden Member parties of the European People's Party Monarchist parties Political parties established in 1964 Protestant political parties Right-wing parties in Sweden Social conservative parties