1956 Swedish general election

1956 Swedish general election

← 1952 16 September 1956 1958 →

All 231 seats in the Andra kammaren of the Riksdag
116 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Tage Erlander Bertil Ohlin Jarl Hjalmarson
Party Social Democrats People's Party Right
Last election 110 58 31
Seats won 106 58 42
Seat change Decrease4 Steady0 Increase11
Popular vote 1,729,463 923,564 663 693
Percentage 44.58% 23.81% 17.11%

  Fourth party Fifth party
 
Leader Gunnar Hedlund Hilding Hagberg
Party Centre Communist
Last election 26 5
Seats won 19 6
Seat change Decrease7 Increase1
Popular vote 366,612 194,016
Percentage 9.45% 5.00%

Largest bloc and seats won by constituency

Prime Minister before election

Tage Erlander
Social Democrats

Elected Prime Minister

Tage Erlander
Social Democrats

General elections were held in Sweden on 16 September 1956. The Swedish Social Democratic Party remained the largest party, winning 106 of the 231 seats in the Andra kammaren of the Riksdag. A Social Democratic-Farmers' League coalition government was formed by Prime Minister Tage Erlander after the election with 125 of the total of 231 seats. Although the non-socialist parties held a majority in the Second Chamber, the Social Democrats held a majority in the First Chamber, so a non-socialist government could not be formed.

The election was dominated by economic issues. The right-wing opposition focused issues such as taxes on income and companies, as well as regulation in the construction sector. The Erlander government mainly put front social policy and its policy of full employment. Through the use of radio and television the election was now more centralized than ever, with increased focus on the party leaders. A new generation of younger and more fiery party leaders had been elected between 1944-1950, which effected the climate of the debate. The tendencies of the previous election continued, with both governing parties losing seats, the Farmers league more so than the Social democrats. The election triggered a discussion within the farmers league about parting from the governing coalition, as the governing parties had a difference of opinion on several issues since the past election. In the end however the farmers league decided to stay in government with the Social democrats, with the coalition breaking up over the question of pension reform in 1957, leading to the formation of Tage Erlander's third government and a snap election in 1958.

Results

PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Swedish Social Democratic Party1,729,46344.58106–4
People's Party923,56423.81580
Right Party663,69317.1142+11
Farmers' League366,6129.4519–7
Communist Party194,0165.006+1
Left Socialist Party1,2520.0300
Samlingspartiet6350.020New
Other parties950.0000
Total3,879,330100.00231+1
Valid votes3,879,33099.42
Invalid/blank votes22,7840.58
Total votes3,902,114100.00
Registered voters/turnout4,887,32579.84
Source: Nohlen & Stöver, SCB

This page was last updated at 2024-02-15 10:49 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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