The Moderate Party ( , , M), commonly referred to as the Moderates ( ), is a
liberal-conservative[*
*
*
*
*] political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...
in
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
. The party generally supports
tax cuts, the
free market
In economics, a free market is an economic market (economics), system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of ...
,
civil liberties
Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties of ...
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 ...
.
Globally, it is a full member of the
International Democracy Union and the
European People's Party
The European People's Party (EPP) is a European political party with Christian democracy, Christian democratic, liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative, and conservative member parties. A transnational organisation, it is composed of other p ...
.
The party was founded in 1904 as the General Electoral League ( ) by a group of
conservatives in the
Riksdag
The Riksdag ( , ; also or , ) is the parliament and the parliamentary sovereignty, supreme decision-making body of the Kingdom of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral parliament with 349 members (), elected proportional rep ...
, the Swedish parliament. The party was later known as The Right ( ; 1938–1952) and Right Party ( ; 1952–1969). During this time, the party was usually called the Conservative Party outside of Sweden.
After holding minor posts in
centre-right
Centre-right politics is the set of right-wing politics, right-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. It is commonly associated with conservatism, Christian democracy, liberal conservatism, and conservative liberalis ...
governments, the Moderates eventually became the leading opposition party to the
Swedish Social Democratic Party
The Swedish Social Democratic Party, formally the Swedish Social Democratic Workers' Party ( , S or SAP), usually referred to as The Social Democrats ( ), is a social democratic political party in Sweden. The party is member of the Progressiv ...
and since then those two parties have dominated Swedish politics. After the
1991 Swedish general election, party leader
Carl Bildt formed a minority government, the first administration since 1930 to be headed by a member of the party, which lasted three years. The party returned to government under leader and Prime Minister
Fredrik Reinfeldt, after the
2006 and
2010
The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
general elections. In 2010, the party was the leading member of the
Alliance
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or sovereign state, states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an a ...
, a centre-right coalition, along with the
Centre Party (C), the
Christian Democrats (KD) and the
Liberal People's Party (L), and obtained its best result ever (30.1%), despite the coalition not being able to obtain majority.
The current chairman of the party,
Ulf Kristersson
Ulf Hjalmar Kristersson (; born 29 December 1963) is a Swedish politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Sweden, prime minister of Sweden since 2022. He has been the leader of the Moderate Party (M) since 2017 and a Member of Parliamen ...
, was elected at a special party congress on 1 October 2017, following
Anna Kinberg Batra's sudden resignation. Kinberg Batra had replaced Reinfeldt, Prime Minister from 2006 to 2014. Under Reinfeldt's leadership, the party moved more towards the
centre. Under Kristersson's leadership, the party moved back to the right and opened up to the
Sweden Democrats
The Sweden Democrats ( , SD ) is a Nationalism, nationalist and Right-wing populism, right-wing populist political party in Sweden founded in 1988. As of 2024, it is the largest member of Sweden's Right-wing politics, right-wing bloc and the sec ...
(SD) following the
2018 Swedish general election.
Having formed in late 2021 an informal right-wing alliance with SD and former Alliance members, KD and L, with Kristersson as the prime ministerial candidate, the right-wing bloc obtained a narrow win in the
2022 Swedish general election
General elections were held in Sweden on 11 September 2022 to elect the 349 members of the Riksdag who in turn elected the Prime Minister of Sweden. Under the constitution, regional and municipal elections were also held on the same day. The pr ...
.
History
General Electoral League (1904–1938)
The party was founded on 17 October 1904 in a restaurant called ''Runan'' in
Stockholm
Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
. The intention was to start a campaign organization in support of the group of Conservatives which had emerged in the
Riksdag
The Riksdag ( , ; also or , ) is the parliament and the parliamentary sovereignty, supreme decision-making body of the Kingdom of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral parliament with 349 members (), elected proportional rep ...
. During the 19th century
conservatives had organised themselves in the Riksdag but there was no party to support them. The Swedish right was also threatened by the rise of the
Swedish Social Democratic Party
The Swedish Social Democratic Party, formally the Swedish Social Democratic Workers' Party ( , S or SAP), usually referred to as The Social Democrats ( ), is a social democratic political party in Sweden. The party is member of the Progressiv ...
(founded in 1889) and the
Liberals (1902). The party was called the ''General Electoral League'' ().
At first, the party was clearly
nationalist
Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...
and staunchly
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
. The importance of a strong defence was underlined and other societal institutions embraced by the party were the
monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, reigns as head of state for the rest of their life, or until abdication. The extent of the authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutio ...
and the
state of law. The party initially held ia
protectionist
Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations. ...
view towards the economy;
tariff
A tariff or import tax is a duty (tax), duty imposed by a national Government, government, customs territory, or supranational union on imports of goods and is paid by the importer. Exceptionally, an export tax may be levied on exports of goods ...
s were widely supported as well as interventionist economical measures such as
agricultural subsidies. In the
defence policy crisis in 1914 (which overturned the parliamentary Liberal government), the party sided with King
Gustaf V but stopped short of accepting a right-wing government by royal appointment, instead opting for an independent-conservative "war cabinet" under
Hjalmar Hammarskjöld which was eventually overturned in favour of a Liberal-Social Democratic majority coalition government and thus the breakthrough of parliamentary rule, albeit reluctantly embraced by the right.
Arvid Lindman
Salomon Arvid Achates Lindman (19 September 1862 – 9 December 1936) was a Swedish rear admiral, industrialist and conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of Sweden from 1906 to 1911 and again from 1928 to 1930. He has been des ...
(often called "The Admiral") became influential in the party and served two terms as
Prime Minister of Sweden
The prime minister of Sweden (, "minister of state") is the head of government of the Sweden, Kingdom of Sweden. The prime minister and their cabinet (the government) exercise executive authority in the Kingdom of Sweden and are subject to th ...
, before and after the enactment of
universal suffrage
Universal suffrage or universal franchise ensures the right to vote for as many people bound by a government's laws as possible, as supported by the " one person, one vote" principle. For many, the term universal suffrage assumes the exclusion ...
. In 1907, he proposed universal male suffrage to the
parliament
In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
and in 1912 he was formally elected leader. But the party voted against universal suffrage and the party again voted against women's right to vote. It was only because the party was in the minority that Sweden was able to grant the right to vote for all, pushed through by the Liberals and the Social Democrats (the left), against the objections of the right. Although not one of the founders of the party and not a prominent ideologist, Lindman and his achievements as a leader are often appreciated as being of great importance to the new party. His leadership was marked by a consolidation of the Swedish right, and by transforming the party into a modern, effective, political movement. Lindman was a very pragmatic politician, but without losing his principles. He was a formidable negotiator and peace broker. For this, he was widely respected, even by his fiercest political opponents and when he resigned and left the parliament in 1935, the leader of the Social Democrats,
Per Albin Hansson, expressed his "honest thanks over the battle lines".
From the beginning of the 20th century,
social democracy
Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...
and the
labour movement
The labour movement is the collective organisation of working people to further their shared political and economic interests. It consists of the trade union or labour union movement, as well as political parties of labour. It can be considere ...
rose to replace
liberalism
Liberalism is a Political philosophy, political and moral philosophy based on the Individual rights, rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality, the right to private property, and equality before the law. ...
as the major political force for radical reforms. The Moderate Party intensified its opposition to socialism during the leadership of Lindman—the importance of continuance and strengthening national business were cornerstones. But at the same time, recent social issues gained significant political attention; by appeasing the working class, the party also hoped to reduce the threat of revolutionary tendencies. During the governments led by Lindman, several reforms for social progress were made, and it was his first government that initiated the public state
pension
A pension (; ) is a fund into which amounts are paid regularly during an individual's working career, and from which periodic payments are made to support the person's retirement from work. A pension may be either a " defined benefit plan", wh ...
.

In the 1920s, the Swedish right slowly started to move towards a
classical liberal view on economic issues, mainly under the influence of the liberal economist
Gustav Cassel, but the economic downturn following the
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
frustrated the possible liberal transition of their economic policy. Before that occurred the party gained its greatest success yet with 29.4% in
the general election of 1928, often called the ''Cossack Election'', on a clearly anti-socialist programme. The government later formed by the party did not accept the concept of the market economy but continued the protectionist policy by generous financial aid. The government also began complete regulation of agriculture. Production associations, with the objective to administer the regulations and running monopolies on imports, were also established during the period. All this made for a
corporate
A corporation or body corporate is an individual or a group of people, such as an association or company, that has been authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law as "born out of s ...
control of the Swedish economy unsurpassed since the popularisation of liberalism at the end of the 19th century. The government of Lindman fell in 1930 after the
Social Democrats
Social democracy is a social, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achieving social equality. In modern practice, s ...
and the
Freeminded People's Party had blocked a proposition for a raised customs duty on grain.
The 1930s saw the party in conflict over how to relate to the rising threat of
National Socialism and
Fascism
Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...
. Its loosely affiliated youth organisation, the
National Youth League of Sweden () was openly pro-Nazi and set up uniformed "fighting groups" to combat political enemies on the streets. The mother party did not like this development, with Lindman clearly stating that pro-Nazi views were not to be accepted in the party, and in 1933 the National Youth League was separated from the party. While the party set up a new youth league in 1934, called ''The Young Swedes'' (known since 1969 as the
Moderate Youth League), the core of the old one (in spite of some districts, such as Young Swedes-
Gothenburg
Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...
joining the new one) set up its own party—the
National League of Sweden—taking with them three of the mother party's
MPs and unsuccessfully fighting elections as a radical conservative and openly pro-Nazi party.
National Organization of the Right (1938–1952)
The party participated in the
third cabinet of Per Albin Hansson during the Second World War. It was a
grand coalition
A grand coalition is an arrangement in a multi-party parliamentary system in which the two largest political party, political parties of opposing political spectrum, political ideologies unite in a coalition government.
Causes of a grand coali ...
including all major parties, only excluding the
Communist Party and the pro-Nazi
Socialist Party, both parties being members of the parliament at this time.
In 1934, the Social Democrats formed a new government, and except for the
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
era, would stay in power until 1976. From having been a ruling party, the General Electoral League turned into a bastion of right-wing opposition, and in 1938 it was renamed the National Organization of the Right ( ), a name that would stay until 1952. Outside Sweden, the party was typically called the ''Conservative Party''.
After the Second World War, the party gradually lost support and the
Liberals rose to become the second most popular party after the Social Democrats.
Conservative Party (1952–1969)
At the beginning of the 1950s, the party re-emerged after being renamed the Rightist Party (); its name outside Sweden remained ''Conservative Party.'' Under the leadership of
Jarl Hjalmarson (1950–1961) the party became a prominent voice against the rising levels of taxation and a defender of
private ownership
Private property is a legal designation for the ownership of property by non-governmental Capacity (law), legal entities. Private property is distinguishable from public property, which is owned by a state entity, and from Collective ownership ...
from, what the party saw as, the growing tendencies of
state
State most commonly refers to:
* State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory
**Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country
**Nation state, a ...
centralization
Centralisation or centralization (American English) is the process by which the activities of an organisation, particularly those regarding planning, decision-making, and framing strategies and policies, become concentrated within a particular ...
.
The party had significant success in the elections during the 1950s and became the largest party of the opposition in 1958. However, the next decade brought changes to the political climate of Sweden. The
election of 1968 gave the Social Democrats an
absolute majority in the parliament and made the Rightist Party into the smallest party of the opposition.
Moderate Party (1969–present)

By 1968, the dominance of the
Social Democratic Party and 24 years of trailing the liberal
People's Party among the opposition bloc had pushed the party to the edge of political relevance. Seeking to shed its conservative image, in 1969, the party changed its name to the Moderate Coalition Party (, generally just referred to as ) or just the Moderate Party.
In 1970,
Gösta Bohman was elected leader of the Moderate Party. During his leadership the party continued its gradual movement from nationalist
traditionalist conservatism
Traditionalist conservatism, often known as classical conservatism, is a political philosophy, political and social philosophy that emphasizes the importance of transcendent moral principles, manifested through certain posited natural laws t ...
towards internationalist
liberal conservatism
Liberal conservatism is a political ideology combining conservative policies with liberal stances, especially on economic issues but also on social and ethical matters, representing a brand of political conservatism strongly influenced by libe ...
, calling for Swedish membership in the
EEC
The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...
since the 1960s and in practice adopting most policies affiliated with
classical liberalism
Classical liberalism is a political tradition and a branch of liberalism that advocates free market and laissez-faire economics and civil liberties under the rule of law, with special emphasis on individual autonomy, limited governmen ...
. It also adopted a much more liberal social outlook, which was seen as a key factor in the foundation of the
Christian Democratic Gathering in 1964, a
socially conservative party. Bohman proved a successful leader, and helped lead the non-socialist opposition to victory in the 1976 election.
The Moderate Party joined the government under
Thorbjörn Fälldin, with Gösta Bohman as Minister of Economy. The non-socialist parties managed to remain in power until 1982 in different constellations, but the election of 1979 again made the Moderate Party become the second most popular after the Social Democrats, a position it has held since then. Gösta Bohman was in 1981 replaced by
Ulf Adelsohn.
In 1986,
Carl Bildt was elected leader of the party. A son-in-law of Bohman, he managed to lead the party to an
election victory in 1991. The Moderate Party led a center-right coalition between 1991 and 1994, with Bildt serving as the first conservative Prime Minister since
Arvid Lindman
Salomon Arvid Achates Lindman (19 September 1862 – 9 December 1936) was a Swedish rear admiral, industrialist and conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of Sweden from 1906 to 1911 and again from 1928 to 1930. He has been des ...
. The
cabinet of Carl Bildt did much to reform the Swedish government: they cut taxes, cut
public spending, introduced voucher schools, made it possible for counties to privatize health care, liberalised markets for telecommunications and energy, and privatised former publicly owned companies (further deregulations and privatisations were carried out by the following Social Democratic
Cabinet of Göran Persson). The negotiations for membership with the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
were also finalized.

The party gained votes in 1994, but the governing coalition lost its majority. While Bildt stayed on as the Moderate Party leader, failing to unite with the
Greens, the non-socialist parties failed to return to government after the election in 1998 as well.
Bo Lundgren replaced him and led the party in the disastrous
general election of 2002, much owed to his alleged
neoliberal
Neoliberalism is a political and economic ideology that advocates for free-market capitalism, which became dominant in policy-making from the late 20th century onward. The term has multiple, competing definitions, and is most often used pej ...
stances, for which Lundgren continued to receive praise from younger members. Former head of the Moderate Youth
Fredrik Reinfeldt was elected as the new party leader in 2003.
Prior to the
2006 general election, the Moderate Party adjusted its position in the political spectrum, moving towards the
centre-right
Centre-right politics is the set of right-wing politics, right-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. It is commonly associated with conservatism, Christian democracy, liberal conservatism, and conservative liberalis ...
. To reflect these changes, the party's unofficial name was altered to The New Moderates (Swedish: ).
This has included focus on proactive measures against unemployment, lower taxes combined with reforms to strengthen the
Swedish welfare state. The Moderate Party has since 2006 used the slogan "the Swedish Workers' Party", a slogan formerly synonymous with the
Social Democrats
Social democracy is a social, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achieving social equality. In modern practice, s ...
.
In the
2006 general election, the Moderate Party enjoyed its best result since 1928 with 26.2% of the votes. The Moderate Party had formed the
Alliance for Sweden, a
political and electoral alliance, along with the
Centre Party, the
Liberal People's Party and the
Christian Democrats prior to this election. After the election, the
Alliance for Sweden was able to form a
coalition government
A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...
. Party leader
Fredrik Reinfeldt took office as
Prime Minister of Sweden
The prime minister of Sweden (, "minister of state") is the head of government of the Sweden, Kingdom of Sweden. The prime minister and their cabinet (the government) exercise executive authority in the Kingdom of Sweden and are subject to th ...
on 6 October 2006 along with his
cabinet. In the
2010 general election, the Moderate Party performed their best results, since the introduction of
universal suffrage
Universal suffrage or universal franchise ensures the right to vote for as many people bound by a government's laws as possible, as supported by the " one person, one vote" principle. For many, the term universal suffrage assumes the exclusion ...
in 1919, with 30.1% of the votes. However, the minor parties in the
Alliance
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or sovereign state, states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an a ...
performed relatively poorly, and the
Reinfeldt cabinet continued in office as a
minority government
A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in ...
.

He is the longest-serving non–
Social Democrat Prime Minister since
Erik Gustaf Boström who left office in 1900.
In the
2014 European elections, the Moderate Party came in third place nationally with 13.6% of the vote, returning three MEPs.
In the
2014 general election, the
Red-Green coalition outpolled Reinfeldt's incumbent
Alliance
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or sovereign state, states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an a ...
coalition, prompting its resignation. The Social Democrat
Stefan Löfven became Prime Minister on 3 October 2014. The Moderate Party performed reasonably well also in the 2014 election, making Reinfeldt its most successful leader with three of their four best election results since 1932.
Anna Kinberg Batra was elected to succeed Reinfeldt as party leader on 10 January 2015.
Ulf Kristersson
Ulf Hjalmar Kristersson (; born 29 December 1963) is a Swedish politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Sweden, prime minister of Sweden since 2022. He has been the leader of the Moderate Party (M) since 2017 and a Member of Parliamen ...
succeeded Kinberg-Batra on 1 October 2017.
The Moderate Party made its worst election result since 2002 in the
2018 general election. Ulf Kristersson announced that the party would "create a new Swedish Model" at the Moderate Party Congress on 5 April 2019 and also that the party would be phasing out the New Moderates name. The party also presented its new logo, the old ''M'' logo which was used between 1972 and 2006 was adopted again. The change in logo was seen by analysts as a way to show that the party breaks with Reinfeldt's policies.
Ulf Kristersson has also been critical of
multiculturalism
Multiculturalism is the coexistence of multiple cultures. The word is used in sociology, in political philosophy, and colloquially. In sociology and everyday usage, it is usually a synonym for ''Pluralism (political theory), ethnic'' or cultura ...
.
Kristersson held a meeting in December 2019 with
Jimmie Åkesson
Per Jimmie Åkesson (; born 17 May 1979) is a Swedish politician and author, serving as leader of the Sweden Democrats since 2005. He has been a member of the Riksdag (SD) for Jönköping County (Riksdag constituency), Jönköping County since ...
, leader of the
Sweden Democrats
The Sweden Democrats ( , SD ) is a Nationalism, nationalist and Right-wing populism, right-wing populist political party in Sweden founded in 1988. As of 2024, it is the largest member of Sweden's Right-wing politics, right-wing bloc and the sec ...
, and said that he would cooperate with them in parliament. The anti-immigration party had previously been subject to a ''
cordon sanitaire'' by all other parties, with Kristersson himself ruling out dialogue with them ahead of the 2018 elections. According to Ann-Cathrine Jungar of
Södertörn University, this put Sweden in line with several other European countries in which the centre-right and nationalist-right parties cooperate.
In October 2022, the
Tidö Agreement was formed, which led to the formation of the
Kristersson Cabinet as Sweden's government. On 18 October 2022,
Ulf Kristersson
Ulf Hjalmar Kristersson (; born 29 December 1963) is a Swedish politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Sweden, prime minister of Sweden since 2022. He has been the leader of the Moderate Party (M) since 2017 and a Member of Parliamen ...
became the new Prime Minister of Sweden. The Moderates formed a centre-right coalition with the Christian Democrats and the Liberals, backed by the Sweden Democrats. Soon after his appointment as foreign minister,
Tobias Billström of the Moderate Party, announced that Sweden will renounce "
feminist foreign policy", implemented by the previous left-wing government.
In 2024, new laws proposed by the Kristersson Cabinet to combat Sweden's criminality crisis took in effect including harder penalties against weapons offences, breach of the permit obligation for explosive goods, arms smuggling and smuggling of explosive goods.
Other laws gave increased opportunities to the police to use covert means of coercion to prevent and investigate serious crime, tougher border controls and extended power to security guards.
On 20 February 2024, the Kristersson cabinet sent the largest military support package to
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
. During Kristerssons Premiership, Sweden ended longstanding neutrality to become a NATO member on 7 March.
Ideology and political positions
The Moderate Party states that its ideology is a mix of
liberalism
Liberalism is a Political philosophy, political and moral philosophy based on the Individual rights, rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality, the right to private property, and equality before the law. ...
and
conservatism
Conservatism is a Philosophy of culture, cultural, Social philosophy, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, Convention (norm), customs, and Value (ethics and social science ...
, and corresponds to what is called
liberal conservatism
Liberal conservatism is a political ideology combining conservative policies with liberal stances, especially on economic issues but also on social and ethical matters, representing a brand of political conservatism strongly influenced by libe ...
. As is common in European
centre-right
Centre-right politics is the set of right-wing politics, right-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. It is commonly associated with conservatism, Christian democracy, liberal conservatism, and conservative liberalis ...
and conservative parties, the term ''liberalism'' in Sweden refers to the traditional meaning of
classical liberalism
Classical liberalism is a political tradition and a branch of liberalism that advocates free market and laissez-faire economics and civil liberties under the rule of law, with special emphasis on individual autonomy, limited governmen ...
rather than
progressivism
Progressivism is a Left-right political spectrum, left-leaning political philosophy and Reformism, reform political movement, movement that seeks to advance the human condition through social reform. Adherents hold that progressivism has unive ...
or
social liberalism
Social liberalism is a political philosophy and variety of liberalism that endorses social justice, social services, a mixed economy, and the expansion of civil and political rights, as opposed to classical liberalism which favors limited g ...
in countries such as the United States.
The party supports
free market
In economics, a free market is an economic market (economics), system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of ...
s and
personal freedom and has historically been the essential force for
privatisation, deregulation, lowering tax rates, and a reduction of the public-sector growth rate.
Other issues emphasized by the party are such as actions against violent crime and sex crime, increasing and promoting the value of working, and quality in the
educational system
The educational system generally refers to the structure of all institutions and the opportunities for obtaining education within a country. It includes all pre-school institutions, starting from family education, and/or early childhood education ...
. The party supports
same-sex marriage in Sweden and Sweden's membership in the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
. The Moderate Party considers itself as a "green-right" party.
The party campaigned for changing currency to the
euro
The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...
in the
2003 referendum. As of 2013, the party was still in favor of the euro, but it expressed that the issue of a membership of the
Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union
The economic and monetary union (EMU) of the European Union is a group of policies aimed at converging the economies of member states of the European Union at three stages.
There are three stages of the EMU, each of which consists of progressi ...
and the
eurozone
The euro area, commonly called the eurozone (EZ), is a Monetary union, currency union of 20 Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union (EU) that have adopted the euro (Euro sign, €) as their primary currency ...
would not be relevant until the member states have met certain strict requirements set up by the party in regard to budget deficits. In the 2024 EU elections, the Moderate Party proposed making abortion constitutionally protected in Europe.
After
Fredrik Reinfeldt became leader, the party slowly moved further towards the
political centre and also adopted
pragmatic views. The party abandoned several of its old key features such as a
proportional income tax and increased military spending. Criticism of the labour laws, its former characteristic which was
neoliberal
Neoliberalism is a political and economic ideology that advocates for free-market capitalism, which became dominant in policy-making from the late 20th century onward. The term has multiple, competing definitions, and is most often used pej ...
, was changed towards conserving the
Swedish model and a careful embracing of balance on the labour market.
With the ascension of
Anna Kinberg Batra as party leader, the party adjusted its position in the political spectrum and moved back towards the
political right. The party abandoned its previously liberal stance on immigration, notably manifested by Fredrik Reinfeldt's summer speech in 2014 in which he appealed for "open hearts" to meet the
expected migrant waves. The party supports border controls and tougher rules for immigrants, including temporary residence permits, stricter requirements for family reunification and cuts in welfare benefits. Swedish values was a recurring subject in Anna Kindberg Batra's speech at the
Almedalen Week in 2016, and she said that immigrants should make efforts to learn the
Swedish language
Swedish ( ) is a North Germanic languages, North Germanic language from the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family, spoken predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland. It has at least 10 million native speakers, making it the G ...
and take part of Swedish societal orientation, or risk getting reduced benefits and harder to get permanent residence permits. Since 2015, the party has taken up its demand for increased military spending, and has supported the re-introduction of
mandatory military service, inactivated in Sweden under Fredrik Reinfeldt in 2010.
The party is in favour of Swedish membership of
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
and supported Sweden's application for membership. The party expressed a wish that a membership is applied for together with
Finland
Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
which is what happened in May 2022.
Voter base
Statistical changes in voter base
Election results
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bar:1911 from:start till:31.3 text:31.3
bar:1914 from:start till:37.7 text:37.7
bar:1914-2 from:start till:36.7 text:36.7
bar:1917 from:start till:24.7 text:24.7
bar:1920 from:start till:27.9 text:27.9
bar:1921 from:start till:25.8 text:25.8
bar:1924 from:start till:26.1 text:26.1
bar:1928 from:start till:29.4 text:29.4
bar:1932 from:start till:23.1 text:23.1
bar:1936 from:start till:17.6 text:17.6
bar:1940 from:start till:18.0 text:18.0
bar:1944 from:start till:15.9 text:15.9
bar:1948 from:start till:12.34 text:12.3
bar:1952 from:start till:14.37 text:14.4
bar:1956 from:start till:17.11 text:17.1
bar:1958 from:start till:19.52 text:19.5
bar:1960 from:start till:16.57 text:16.6
bar:1964 from:start till:13.7 text:13.7
bar:1968 from:start till:13.88 text:13.9
bar:1970 from:start till:11.53 text:11.5
bar:1973 from:start till:14.29 text:14.3
bar:1976 from:start till:15.59 text:15.6
bar:1979 from:start till:20.34 text:20.3
bar:1982 from:start till:23.64 text:23.6
bar:1985 from:start till:21.33 text:21.3
bar:1988 from:start till:18.3 text:18.3
bar:1991 from:start till:21.92 text:21.9
bar:1994 from:start till:22.38 text:22.4
bar:1998 from:start till:22.9 text:22.9
bar:2002 from:start till:15.13 text:15.1
bar:2006 from:start till:26.23 text:26.2
bar:2010 from:start till:30.1 text:30.1
bar:2014 from:start till:23.2 text:23.2
bar:2018 from:start till:19.8 text:19.8
bar:2022 from:start till:19.1 text:19.1
Riksdag
European Parliament
Organization
The party is organised on national, county and municipal level. Currently the party has around 600 local party associations and 26 county or city associations
Each county or city association sends delegates to the
party congress, which is held every third year.
The 200 congress delegates elect a
party chairman, two deputy party chairmen, and members of the party board.
The party board appoints a
party secretary.
In February 2022, the party's reported membership is 49,768 people, the second largest membership count after the
Social Democrats
Social democracy is a social, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achieving social equality. In modern practice, s ...
.
Affiliated organizations
The Moderate Party has the following affiliated groups and organizations:
*
Moderate Youth League (''Moderata ungdomsförbundet'', MUF), organizes students and young members.
* Moderate Seniors (''Moderata seniorer'' ), organizes senior members.
*
Moderate Women
The Moderate Women ( ) is the women's wing of the Swedish Moderate Party. It was established in 1912, since women had been allowing voting rights in municipal elections in 1910.
History
When women were given municipal suffrage in 1910 and the fir ...
(''Moderatkvinnorna''), organizes female members.
* Open Moderates (''Öppna moderater'' ), organizes
queer
''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are non-heterosexual or non- cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against LGBTQ people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to ...
members.
Leaders
Chairpersons
*
Gustaf Fredrik Östberg, 1904–1905
*
Axel G. Svedelius, 1905–1906
*
Hugo Tamm, 1907
*
Gustaf Fredrik Östberg, 1908–1912
*
Arvid Lindman
Salomon Arvid Achates Lindman (19 September 1862 – 9 December 1936) was a Swedish rear admiral, industrialist and conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of Sweden from 1906 to 1911 and again from 1928 to 1930. He has been des ...
, 1912–1935
*
Gösta Bagge
Gösta Adolfsson Bagge (27 May 1882 – 3 January 1951) was a Sweden, Swedish economist and politician. He was a professor of economics at Stockholm University. A conservative politics, politician, he became a member of the Swedish parliament ...
, 1935–1944
*
Fritiof Domö, 1944–1950
*
Jarl Hjalmarson, 1950–1961
*
Gunnar Heckscher, 1961–1965
*
Yngve Holmberg, 1965–1970
*
Gösta Bohman, 1970–1981
*
Ulf Adelsohn, 1981–1986
*
Carl Bildt, 1986–1999
*
Bo Lundgren, 1999–2003
*
Fredrik Reinfeldt, 2003–2015
*
Anna Kinberg Batra, 2015–2017
*
Ulf Kristersson
Ulf Hjalmar Kristersson (; born 29 December 1963) is a Swedish politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Sweden, prime minister of Sweden since 2022. He has been the leader of the Moderate Party (M) since 2017 and a Member of Parliamen ...
, 2017–present
Timeline
First deputy party chairpersons (since 1935)
*
Bernhard Johansson, 1935
*
Martin Skoglund, 1935–1956
*
Leif Cassel
Leif Delling Cassel (8 December 1906 – 24 December 1988) was a Swedish politician and lawyer. He served as a Member of Parliament from 1950 to 1970, first as a member of Första kammaren, the upper house from 1950 to 1952 and then as a member ...
, 1956–1965
*
Gösta Bohman, 1965–1970
*
Staffan Burenstam Linder, 1970–1981
*
Lars Tobisson, 1981–1999
*
Chris Heister, 1999–2003
*
Gunilla Carlsson, 2003–2015
*
Peter Danielsson, 2015–2019
*
Elisabeth Svantesson, 2019–present
Timeline
Second deputy party chairpersons (since 1935)
*
Karl Magnusson, 1935
*
Fritiof Domö, 1935–1944
*
Jarl Hjalmarson, 1944–1950
*
Knut Ewerlöf, 1950–1958
*
Gunnar Heckscher, 1958–1961
*
Rolf Eliasson, 1961–1965
*
Yngve Nilsson, 1965–1970
*
Eric Krönmark, 1970–1981
*
Ella Tengbom-Velander, 1981–1986
*
Ingegerd Troedsson, 1986–1993
*
Gun Hellsvik, 1993–1999
*
Gunilla Carlsson, 1999–2003
*
Kristina Axén Olin, 2003–2009
*
Beatrice Ask
Eva Carin Beatrice Ask (born 20 April 1956) is a Swedish politician and a member of the Moderate Party. She served as Governor of Södermanland County from 1 January 2020 to 31 March 2025.
Ask served as a member of the Swedish Riksdag for Sto ...
, 2009–2015
*
Elisabeth Svantesson, 2015–2019
*
Anna Tenje, 2019–present
Timeline
Party secretaries (since 1949)
*
Gunnar Svärd, 1949–1961
*
Yngve Holmberg, 1961–1965
*
Sam Nilsson, 1965–1969
*
Bertil af Ugglas, 1969–1974
*
Lars Tobisson, 1974–1981
*
Georg Danell, 1981–1986
*
Per Unckel, 1986–1991
*
Gunnar Hökmark, 1991–1999
*
Johnny Magnusson, 1999–2003
*
Sven Otto Littorin, 2003–2006
*
Per Schlingmann, 2006–2010
*
Sofia Arkelsten, 2010–2012
*
Kent Persson, 2012–2015
*
Tomas Tobé, 2015–2017
*
Anders Edholm, 2017
*
Gunnar Strömmer, 2017–2022
*
Karin Enström, 2022–present
Timeline
National ombudsmen (1909–1965)
*
Gustaf Gustafsson, 1909–1913
*
Karl Hammarberg, 1913–1915
*
Jonas Folcker, 1915–1920
*
Lennart Kolmodin, 1920–1949
*
Nils Hellström, 1949–1965
Prime Ministers
*
Christian Lundeberg, 1905
*
Arvid Lindman
Salomon Arvid Achates Lindman (19 September 1862 – 9 December 1936) was a Swedish rear admiral, industrialist and conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of Sweden from 1906 to 1911 and again from 1928 to 1930. He has been des ...
, 1906–1911
*
Carl Swartz, 1917
*
Ernst Trygger, 1923–1924
*
Arvid Lindman
Salomon Arvid Achates Lindman (19 September 1862 – 9 December 1936) was a Swedish rear admiral, industrialist and conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of Sweden from 1906 to 1911 and again from 1928 to 1930. He has been des ...
, 1928–1930
*
Carl Bildt, 1991–1994
*
Fredrik Reinfeldt, 2006–2014
*
Ulf Kristersson
Ulf Hjalmar Kristersson (; born 29 December 1963) is a Swedish politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Sweden, prime minister of Sweden since 2022. He has been the leader of the Moderate Party (M) since 2017 and a Member of Parliamen ...
, 2022–present
See also
*
Alliance for Sweden
*
Elections in Sweden
Elections in Sweden are held once every four years. At the highest level, all 349 members of Riksdag, the national parliament of Sweden, are elected in general elections. Elections to the 20 County councils of Sweden, county councils () and 290 ...
*
Government of Sweden
The Government of the Kingdom of Sweden () is the Cabinet (government), national cabinet of Sweden, and the country's Executive (government), executive authority.
The Government consists of the Prime Minister of Sweden, Prime Minister and their ...
*
Moderate conservatism
*
Moderate Women's League of Sweden
*
Parliament of Sweden
*
Politics of Sweden
*
Prime Minister of Sweden
The prime minister of Sweden (, "minister of state") is the head of government of the Sweden, Kingdom of Sweden. The prime minister and their cabinet (the government) exercise executive authority in the Kingdom of Sweden and are subject to th ...
Notes
References
External links
*
The Moderate Partyat the
Parliament of Sweden's website
{{Authority control
1904 establishments in Sweden
Liberal parties in Sweden
Centre-right parties in Sweden
Centre-right parties in Europe
Conservative parties in Sweden
International Democracy Union member parties
Liberal conservative parties
Neoliberal parties
Economic liberalism
Member parties of the European People's Party
Political parties established in 1904
Organizations based in Stockholm