Defeat Prompts Sweden’s Ruling Party to Resign

Sweden’s Social Democratic Party, founders of Europe’s model welfare state, suffered its worst defeat in 60 years to center-right parties in parliamentary elections Sunday.

Soon after the polls closed and after Swedish television broadcast computer projections of results, Social Democratic Prime Minister Ingvar Carlsson said his government will resign today.

He thereby acknowledged that the famed Swedish model of cradle-to-grave welfare had been rejected by Swedish voters in favor of lower taxes, less bureaucracy and perhaps a reduction of social benefits in favor of greater personal choice.

Television projections, based on official results from more than half of the 720 polling districts, showed the Social Democrats winning only 37.8% of the vote, compared to 42.2% in the last election in 1988.

“This result is such a sharp retreat for the Social Democratic Party that I will offer the resignation of the government,” Carlsson, who took over in 1986 after Olof Palme was assassinated, said late Sunday.

Social Democratic Secretary Bo Toresson, whose party governed Sweden during 53 of the past 59 years, added: “It’s obvious that we have suffered a major loss, but we are still happy to note that we have regained 10% of the vote since last spring, when we hit the bottom in the opinion polls.”

In early projections from 398 out of the 720 key polling districts, Swedish TV said that the conservative bloc would win 170 seats in the 349-member Riksdag, the single-chamber Parliament, five short of an outright majority.

The Social Democrats and the Left Party (formerly the Communist Party) would have 155 seats, a loss of 22, while the Greens were eliminated altogether because they did not win the needed 4% minimum needed to gain representation.

Conservative political leader Carl Bildt, 42, is expected to be the new prime minister, heading a coalition of his own Moderate Party with the Center Party, the Christian Democratic Party and the Liberal Party. Together, the four won 45.7% of the vote, according to the projections.

The most dramatic showing was that of a couple of rightist parties, the rejuvenated Christian Democrats with 7.6% and the fledging New Democracy Party, which won 6.6% in its first national test.

Bildt is expected to have some trouble forging a government, political sources said, because the Christian Democrats and Liberals--key parts of his coalition--don’t want to have to make a deal with New Democracy, which was formed in February and campaigned on promises to cut taxes, turn the government back to the people and “make Sweden more fun.”

New Democracy also is opposed to immigration and foreign aid, earning itself a reputation as an isolationist, populist political grouping, appealing to the more selfish interests of the voters.

Further, Ian Wachmeister, the New Democracy leader, has gone out of his way to needle the leaders of all the other parties, calling them out-of-date political hacks. Such attitudes complicate his party’s chances of taking part in a governing coalition.

Swedish voters lately have become unhappy with the heavy burden of taxes needed to finance their welfare state, according to political experts.

Average workers pay about 60% of their income in taxes, and every third worker is a public employee.

Conservative figures such as Bildt promised to get the economy moving by increasing competitiveness, encouraging free enterprise and reducing the public sector.

The government, under pressure from the conservatives, voted recently to apply formally for membership in the European Community.

Swedish social scientist Soren Holmberg said Sunday that one-third of the nation’s 5.5 million voters have changed their party affiliation this year, compared to switches of 20% in previous years, indicating the degree of their dissatisfaction with the traditional political figures and parties that have run that Scandinavian country.

Background on Sweden

* Basic facts:

Population: 8.5 million

Capital: Stockholm

Per capita income: $21,761 (1989 figure)

History: Organized as an independent unified state in 10th Century. In 1809, became a constitutional monarchy.

* Political structure:

King Carl XVI Gustaf does not participate in government. Riksdag (Parliament) has one chamber with 349 members. Before Sunday’s election, Riksdag consisted of 156 Social Democrats, 66 Conservatives, 44 Liberals, 42 Center Party, 21 Leftists, 20 Green Party.

Source: Statesman’s Year Book