Chamber:
	Riksdagen
Dates of elections / renewal (from/to):
	15 September 1991
Purpose of elections:
	Elections were held for all the seats in Parliament on the normal expiry of the members’ term of office.
Background and outcome of elections:
	After the 1988 general elections, Prime Minister Ingvar Carlsson remained in power as the head of a Social Democratic minority Government despite the shaky support of its partner, the communist Left Party. After the latter refused to support a Social Democratic proposal relating to the economy, the Government resigned on 15 February 1990. However, no extra election was called and the Social Democrats returned to power on 26 February. Except for the period 1976 to 1982, they had governed Sweden (alone or in coalition) since 1932. In the 1991 elections, the Social Democrats suffered significant losses although remaining the largest single party in the Riksdag. The Left Party also suffered losses but managed to retain its parliamentary representation. The Ecology (Greens) Party, which first entered Parliament in 1988, lost all of its seats, having failed to attain the 4% vote threshold. As opposed to the previous general election campaign, when environmental issues were in the forefront of the debate, the 1991 campaign largely concerned economic policies. The Moderate (Conservative) Party and the Liberal Party called for a “New Start for Sweden” plan entailing tax cuts, privatisation of state assets and curbs on government spending in response to general dissatisfaction with the economic costs of the country’s extensive welfare programs (the “Swedish model”). On polling day, the non-socialist parties, as a group, made considerable gains and together secured a majority. However, within this group, electoral fortunes varied. Two parties - the Christian Democrats and New Democracy - gained Riksdag representation for the first time. New Democracy, headed by Mr. J. Wachmeister, was formed only seven months prior to the polling; the party’s mixture of right-wing and populist messages attracted both attention from the media and criticism from the established parties. For their part, the parties that have traditionally occupied the middle ground - the Liberal Party, led by Mr. B. Westerberg, and the Centre Party - both incurred losses. In the wake of these results, outgoing Prime Minister (since 1986) Carlsson announced his resignation on 16 September. New Democracy was not invited to join the four other non-socialist parties in their attempt to form a Government. Formation was also complicated by the Liberals’ reluctance to join as well as the Centre Party’s demands for certain concessions. Nevertheless, led by Moderate Chairman Carl Bildt, his party, the Christian Democrats, Liberals and Centre Party managed to overcome all obstacles. Ultimately, Mr. Bildt was elected Prime Minister of a four-party minority Government on 3 October; this centre-right coalition held 170 of the 349 Riksdag seats. The new Cabinet was announced the same day.

STATISTICS

Round no 1 (15 September 1991): Elections results
Number of registered electors	6,413,172
Voters	5,563,043 (86.7%)
Blank or invalid ballot papers	92,161
Valid votes	5,470,882

Round no 1: Distribution of votes
Political Group	Votes	%
Social Democratic Party	2,062,825	37.7
Moderate Party (Conservatives)	1,199,404	21.9
Liberal Party	499,364	9.1
Centre Party	465,193	8.5
Christian Democratic Party	390,361	7.1
New Democracy	368,284	6.7
Left Party	246,911	4.5
Ecology (Greens) Party	185,053	3.4

Round no 1: Distribution of seats
Political Group	Total	Gain/Loss
Social Democratic Party	138	-18
Moderate Party (Conservatives)	80	+14
Liberal Party	33	-11
Centre Party	31	-11
Christian Democratic Party	26	+26
New Democracy	25	+25
Left Party	16	-5
Ecology (Greens) Party	-	-20

Distribution of seats according to sex:
Men:	232
Women:	117

Distribution of seats according to age:
Under 35 years	16
35-44 years	60
45-54 years	154
55-64 years	105
65 and over	8