The Moderate Youth League ( ; MUF), officially known in English as the Swedish Young Conservatives, is 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

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 ...

Moderate Party The Moderate Party ( , , M), commonly referred to as the Moderates ( ), is a Liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative* * * * * List of political parties in Sweden, political party in Sweden. The party generally supports tax cuts, the free ma ...

. Of the political youth organizations that received financial support from the Swedish Agency for Youth and Civil Society in 2019, it had the highest number of members. The Moderate Youth League is more libertarian-leaning and more radical than the mother party. It is generally pro-market,

pro-American Pro-Americanism (also called pro-American sentiment and Americophilia) describes support, love, or admiration for the United States, its government and economic system, its foreign policy, the American people, and/or American culture, typical ...

, pro-Israeli and liberal in social issues such as

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Not ...

and supports legalization of illegal

file sharing File sharing is the practice of distributing or providing access to digital media, such as computer programs, multimedia (audio, images and video), documents or electronic books. Common methods of storage, transmission and dispersion include ...

and alcohol manufacturing for private, nonprofit purposes. Its official ideologies are liberalism and conservatism."Moderata Ungdomsförbundets strävan är att vinna unga människor för den samhällsåskådning som Moderata Samlingspartiet företräder, vilken är en syntes av liberala och konservativa idéer." §1 in the bylaws

History

The Moderate Youth League was formed in 1934 as the Young Swedes (Swedish: ''Ungsvenskarna'') as a consequence of the split between the Moderate Party (then the ''General Electoral Union'') and its youth organization, the

National Youth League of Sweden The National Youth League of Sweden ( ; SNU) was the first youth organisation of the Moderate Party, General Electoral Union of Sweden. It was dislodged from its mother party in 1934 due to its pro-Nazism, Nazi stance. It was then reconstructed ...

(Swedish: ''Sveriges nationella ungdomsförbund'') which had turned into an openly pro-

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

organization. In 1946 the organization changed its name to the Youth Association of the Right (Swedish: ''Högerns ungdomsförbund''). The current name was adopted in 1969.

Organization

The Moderate Youth League is led by a national executive committee, elected every two years at the national congress. The President is supported by two vice-chairmen. Normally, members of the national executive have served at district level first. The current chairman, for example, used to be chairman of the

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 ...

district. The national chairman also sits on the national board of the Moderate Party. District borders usually follows county borders although

Västra Götaland County Västra Götaland County () is a county or '' län'' on the western coast of Sweden. The county is the second most populous of Sweden's counties and it comprises 49 municipalities (''kommuner''). Its population of 1,616,000 amounts to 17% of S ...

is split in four different districts. The largest district is

, followed by

Skåne Scania ( ), also known by its native name of Skåne (), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces () of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous w ...

Östergötland Östergötland (; English exonym: East Gothland) is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish) in the south of Sweden. It borders Småland, Västergötland, Närke, Södermanland and the Baltic Sea. In older English li ...

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 ...

and Västra Götaland County West.

Moderate School Youth

The Moderate School Youth (''Moderat skolungdom'', MSU) is a part of the organisation and includes all MUF members between 12 and 20 years of age. At the annual conference, a national executive is elected. They are not decision-makers but more of an elite campaigning team which travel around Sweden. The national chairman has a place on the national executive of the youth league. The current chairman, since 2023, is Alice Landerholm.

List of chairpersons of the Moderate School Youth

Moderate Students

In 2008, the Moderate Students was founded as a student network within the Moderate Youth League and it has since then grown to become one of the largest student political organization in Sweden. It is the official student organization of the Moderate Youth League, the youth wing of the Swedish Moderate Party. It is not to be confused with the Free Moderate Students, founded in the 1940s and still active as an independent student wing of the Moderate Party.

Organization

Moderate Students is a national organization consisting of student associations on various universities and campuses in Sweden. Individual membership is sorted by district. Moderate Students originally existed as a party in the

student union A students' union or student union, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, organizatio ...

Lund University Lund University () is a Public university, public research university in Sweden and one of Northern Europe's oldest universities. The university is located in the city of Lund in the Swedish province of Scania. The university was officially foun ...

, before the union was dissolved in 1998. Today, the Moderate Students exist as parties at other universities, such as

Uppsala University Uppsala University (UU) () is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially fou ...

and

Umeå University Umeå University (; Ume Sami language, Ume Sami: ) is a public university, public research university located in Umeå, in the mid-northern region of Sweden. The university was founded in 1965 and is the fifth oldest within Sweden's present bord ...

Politics

Moderate Students focuses primarily on students' economical situations. They have advocated for an extended "work-tax reduction" for young people () and for removing taxes on work and studies in general. They specifically want to repeal the tax on students who take out a student loan and work in addition to their studies. They have also become involved in discussions about the availability of

student housing A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm), also known as a hall of residence, a residence hall (often abbreviated to halls), or a hostel, is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential qu ...

List of chairpersons of the Moderate Students

Former members

Naturally many current politicians of the Moderate Party started their careers in the youth league. Two former chairpersons of the youth league have become leaders of the party and

Prime Ministers of Sweden A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that is not a product of two smaller natural numbers. A natural number greater than 1 that is not prime is called a composite number. For example, 5 is prime because the only ways ...

Fredrik Reinfeldt John Fredrik Reinfeldt (pronounced ; born 4 August 1965) is a Swedish economist, lecturer, former Prime Minister of Sweden from 2006 to 2014 and chairman of the liberal conservative Moderate Party from 2003 to 2015. He was the last rotating Presi ...

was leader of the party 2003–2015 and Prime Minister 2006–2014 and

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 ...

is the current leader of the party (since 2017) and Prime Minister (since 2022). In 2002, Tove Lifvendahl became the first youth league chairperson to be elected to the national board of the party directly after resigning from the Moderate Youth League. Many former leaders left politics but gained prominence in other spheres of society, mostly in

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for ...

Ideology

The Moderate Youth League defines its ideology in four statements. Apart from these, the Youth League publishes no manifestos or political programmes of any sort. These are: * For the freedom of the individual. Against political oppression and coercion. * For every human's responsibility for his/her own future. Against

paternalism Paternalism is action that limits a person's or group's liberty or autonomy against their will and is intended to promote their own good. It has been defended in a variety of contexts as a means of protecting individuals from significant harm, s ...

and the

nanny state Nanny state is a term of British origin that conveys a view that a government or its policies are overprotective or interfering unduly with personal choice. The term likens such a government to the role that a nanny has in child rearing. An earl ...

(''förmynderi och politisk klåfingrighet''). * For

diversity Diversity, diversify, or diverse may refer to: Business *Diversity (business), the inclusion of people of different identities (ethnicity, gender, age) in the workforce *Diversity marketing, marketing communication targeting diverse customers * ...

and respect for differences. Against

intolerance Intolerance may refer to: * Hypersensitivity or intolerance, undesirable reactions produced by the immune system * ''Intolerance'' (film), a 1916 film by D. W. Griffith * ''Intolerance'' (album), the first solo album from Grant Hart, formerly ...

and

conformity Conformity or conformism is the act of matching attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors to social group, group norms, politics or being like-minded. Social norm, Norms are implicit, specific rules, guidance shared by a group of individuals, that guide t ...

. * For a

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 ...

and a world without borders. Against walls and regulations. The modern Moderate Youth League are staunch supporters of

capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...

deregulation Deregulation is the process of removing or reducing state regulations, typically in the economic sphere. It is the repeal of governmental regulation of the economy. It became common in advanced industrial economies in the 1970s and 1980s, as a ...

and lower taxes. They also adhere to

individualism Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology, and social outlook that emphasizes the intrinsic worth of the individual. Individualists promote realizing one's goals and desires, valuing independence and self-reliance, and a ...

, which extends to wide-reaching support for gay rights. The League supports free trade, free immigration and wants to abolish foreign aid. Like its opponents in the

Swedish Social Democratic Youth League The Swedish Social Democratic Youth League ( ; SSU) is a branch of the Swedish Social Democratic Party and the Swedish Trade Union Confederation in Sweden. The president has been Lisa Nåbo, since August 2021. Organization The members form loc ...

, the Moderate Youth League has suffered from divisions between different factions. The 1990s saw many battles between modernising

neoliberals 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 ...

and conservatives. At the congress in Lycksele in 1992, Fredrik Reinfeldt, the former leader between 25 October 2003 – 10 January 2015 of Moderate Party, was elected chairman, defeating the neoliberal

. In recent years, however, the division have largely disappeared. With the Moderates becoming more cosmopolitan, the traditionalist Conservatives have all but disappeared. Gay rights were a source of division, but now almost all of the Moderate Youth League supports equal rights of marriage and adoption for homosexuals. A conservative fringe group, however, was formed – Young Conservative Moderates (''Unga konservativa moderater'') – but did not gain widespread membership. In foreign policy, MUF tends to support the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, including the 2003 Iraq War and Swedish NATO membership. Chairperson Tove Lifvendahl proudly wore an "I love Bush" shirt after

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

's election in 2000, although she was quick to criticise him for the

steel tariffs On March 5, 2002, U.S. President George W. Bush placed tariffs on imported steel. The tariffs took effect March 20 and were lifted by Bush on December 4, 2003. Research shows that "the costs of the Safeguard Measures teel tariffsoutweighed their ...

he later imposed. It is also strongly supportive of

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. Though generally supportive of 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 Youth League does not support Sweden adopting 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 ...

.AftonbladetDagens NyheterExpressenSvenska Dagbladet
/ref>

Chairpersons

References

External links

Moderata Ungdomsförbundet
(in Swedish) {{Authority control Youth wings of political parties in Sweden Moderate Party International Young Democrat Union Youth organizations established in 1934 1934 establishments in Sweden