Freedom in the World 1999 - Sweden

1999 Scores

Status: Free
Freedom Rating: 1.0
Civil Liberties: 1
Political Rights: 1

Overview

Since 1998 Prime Minister Goran Persson has led a left-of-center coalition including his Social Democratic Party (SDP), the ex-Communist Left Party and the Green Party. The principal opposition party and leader of the non-Socialist parties, the Moderate Party, underwent a change of leadership in 1999, after Carl Bildt, its leader for 13 years, resigned from his post.

Sweden is faced with the difficult decision of whether to join the European Monetary Union. A referendum on the issue may be held as early as 2001. Bildt had been a vigorous supporter of European integration and played an important role in steering the country into the European Union, which it joined in 1995. In contrast, the SDP's two coalition partners oppose joining the EMU and are unenthusiastic about Sweden's having joined the EU. Opinion polls conducted in 1999 indicate a growing support among Swedes for joining the EMU.

In October, Sweden unveiled major defense spending cuts. The cuts are so far-reaching that some senior military officers believe the country may have to abandon its long-standing nonaligned status and join NATO.

Sweden is a constitutional monarchy and a multiparty parliamentary democracy. After monarchical alliances with Finland, Denmark, and Norway between the eleventh and nineteenth centuries, Sweden emerged as a modern democracy. Although it has been nonaligned and neutral since World War I, Sweden is now an active member of NATO's Partnership for Peace program.

Political Rights and Civil Liberties

Swedes can change their government democratically. The 310-member, unicameral Riksdag (parliament) is elected every four years through universal suffrage. To ensure absolute proportionality for all parties that secure more than four percent of the vote, an additional 39 representatives are selected from a national pool of candidates. Single-party majority governments are rare.

Citizens abroad are entitled to vote by absentee ballot in national elections, and non-nationals in residence for three years may vote in local elections. The Saami (Lapp) community elects its own local parliament with significant powers over education and culture. The Saami parliament serves as an advisory body to the government. The role of King Carl Gustaf XVI, who was crowned in 1973, is ceremonial. The prime minister is appointed by the speaker of the house and confirmed by the Riksdag.

The media are independent. Most newspapers and periodicals are privately owned. The government subsidizes daily newspapers regardless of their political affiliation. The ethnic press is entitled to the same kind of subsidies as the Swedish press. The Swedish Broadcasting Corporation and the Swedish Television Company broadcast weekly radio and television programs in several immigrant languages. In recent years, new satellite and ground-based commercial television channels and radio stations ended the government monopoly on broadcasting.

Citizens may freely express their ideas and criticize their government. The government is empowered to prevent publication of information related to national security. A quasi-government body censors extremely graphic violence from film, video, and television.

International human rights groups have criticized Sweden for its immigration policies, which have severely limited the number of refugees admitted annually. Nordic immigrants may become citizens after two years, while others must wait a minimum of five years. Critics charge that the country does not systematically provide asylum seekers with adequate legal counsel or access to an appeals process. The jobless rate among non-Nordic immigrants is close to 20 percent, whereas among the general population it is about 6 percent. Immigrants, half of whom are from other Nordic countries, make up about 12 percent of the Swedish population.

Dozens of violent incidents with anti-immigrant or racist overtones are reported annually, and the government supports volunteer groups that oppose racism. The National socialistick Front, the leading neo-Nazi group in Sweden, has an estimated 1, 500 members and was recently permitted to register as a political party.

Although the country's 17, 000 Saami enjoy some political autonomy, Sweden was the last Nordic country to approve a parliament for its Lappic population.

Religious freedom is constitutionally guaranteed. Approximately 90 percent of the population is Lutheran. In 1995, the government and the Lutheran Church agreed to disestablish the state religion. By the year 2000, baptism will be required for membership in the church, and only baptized members will be required to pay the three percent income, or "church," tax.

Freedom of assembly and association is guaranteed, as are the rights to strike and participate in unions. Strong and well-organized trade union federations represent 90 percent of the labor force. Despite historic ties with the SDP, the labor movement has become increasingly independent.

The country's independent judiciary includes six courts of appeal, 100 district courts, a supreme court, and a parallel system of administrative courts.

In March, the government agreed to grant $20,000 to each of the victims of a forced sterilization program that took place between 1936 and 1976. About 63, 000 women were sterilized involuntarily over the 40-year period.

Women constitute approximately 45 percent of the labor force, but their wage levels lag behind those of men. They are well represented in government, in part as a result of the SDP's pledge to appoint equal numbers of men and women to government positions at all levels.