Swedish Secretariat for Gender Research Facebook page. Fair use.
On December 17, 1918, the historic decision was taken in the Swedish Parliament in favour of introducing universal and equal suffrage for women and men. 100 years later, the date marks the very day when confirmation came that the Swedish Gender Equality Agency (Jämställdhetsmyndigheten) would be closed down, thereby delivering a serious institutional blow to the coordination and harmonization of Swedish gender equality efforts that have been undertaken over the past century.
An uncertain parliamentary landscape and a rejected transitional budget
The results of the Swedish Parliamentary elections which took place on 9 September 2018, marked a significant shift rightwards. The right-wing populists Sweden Democrats (Sverigedemokraterna) became the third largest party, redrawing the political map which had previously consisted of two alliance blocks. Traditionally, the two blocks were opposed – on the one hand, the progressive “red-greens” consisting of the Social Democrats (Socialdemokraterna); the Green Party (Miljöpartiet); and the Left Party (Vänsterpartiet). On the other, the neoliberal conservative “blue” alliance that reunited the conservative Moderate Party (Moderaterna), the neoliberal Center Party (Centerpartiet), the Liberals (Liberalerna), and the Christian Democrats (Kristdemokraterna).
