Moderate

The following articles have been tagged with "Moderate":

Swedish MPs take Disneyland 'study' tour

Politics: 18 Mar 10
Swedish parliament rules providing for expenses paid educational trips up to a value of 50,000 kronor ($7,000) per annum have prompted three Social Democrat MPs to use the system to 'study tourism' at California's Disneyland. READ »

Opposition youth league registers government 'Alliance' brand

Politics: 17 Mar 10
SSU, the opposition Social Democrat party youth league, has registered the patent for the Swedish word Alliansen (The Alliance) - the collective name used by the government for its four-party coalition. READ »

Record support for Greens: poll

National: 6 Mar 10
Support for the Green Party has increased by three percentage points to 10.6 percent according a new poll, which shows a majority of voters support Sweden's Left-Green alliance. READ »

Opposition to end housekeeping tax relief

Politics: 2 Mar 10
The left-green opposition has confirmed that it plans to abolish the system of tax relief for household services that the government claims has generated 7,000 jobs. READ »

Housekeeping tax relief divides opposition

National: 28 Feb 10
Sweden's Moderate Party is launching a campaign today to make housekeeping a major issue in the country's upcoming elections thereby exploiting divisions between opposition parties. READ »

Left-Green opposition pulls away: poll

Politics: 26 Feb 10
The Left-Green opposition has increased its lead over the Alliance government, a new poll on Friday shows. The far-right Sweden Democrats polled their highest showing yet. READ »

More Moderates resign over internal vote fraud

Politics: 19 Feb 10
Two Moderate Party politicians in Stockholm have handed in their resignations amid an ongoing internal vote-rigging probe. Stockholm mayor, Sten Nordin expressed his 'disappointment'. READ »

Swedish unions: should you join?

Analysis & Opinion: 17 Feb 10
Unions play a huge role in many Swedish workplaces - and in Swedish society. But should you join? Nic Townsend asks what's in it for you. READ »

Why deny a princess her fairytale? Republicans and the royal weddings

Analysis & Opinion: 15 Feb 10
With Sweden's royal wedding year now upon us, writer and commoner Allan Burnett hoists the flag for an influential group catering for the anti-monarchy needs of a large and flabbergasted minority. READ »

Moderates knew of election list fraud: report

National: 14 Feb 10
Highly placed leaders of the Moderate Party (Moderaterna) have known for weeks that electoral fraud was being committed within the local organization in Stockholm, according to a media report. READ »

Sweden Democrats could enter parliament: poll

National: 14 Feb 10
The nationalist Sweden Democrats have moved ahead of the threshold required for entering parliament, according to a national poll. READ »

Stockholm politician accused of election fraud

Politics: 13 Feb 10
A leading candidate for the Moderate Party (Moderaterna) in Stockholm was forced to stand down on Friday when he admitted to cheating to secure a nomination for this year's general election. READ »

Proposed tax writeoffs for computer and TV installation

Politics: 7 Feb 10
Swedish national elections are still months away. But political parties are already vaunting enticing proposals to woo voters. Such as income tax writeoffs for professional installation of home computers. READ »

'Sweden has worst railway maintenance in Europe': SJ CEO

National: 6 Feb 10
The chairman of the state railway operator SJ has said that Sweden has the poorest railway maintenance network of all comparable systems in Europe, while workers battled to clear ice on the tracks. READ »

Green Party stumbles in new poll

Politics: 5 Feb 10
The two political blocs have drawn to within three percentage points of each other, a new voter poll shows. The Green Party is the biggest loser in the new survey. READ »

Russian nuclear waste dumped off Sweden

National: 4 Feb 10
The Russian military is suspected of having dumped chemical weapons and radioactive waste off the Swedish island of Gotland in the beginning of the 1990s. READ »

Taxes and jobs dominate party leader debate

Politics: 1 Feb 10
Sunday's televised debate between the five leaders of Sweden's major political parties was dominated by taxes and labour market policy, while exposing divisions within the opposing blocs. READ »

Politician caught with child pornography stash

Politics: 30 Jan 10
A Moderate Party politician in Stockholm has been arrested and charged with possessing child pornography material including a collection of films and photographs. READ »

Government closes voter gap: poll

Politics: 29 Jan 10
Sweden's ruling centre-right alliance has increased its pulling power among voters to take a 45.7 percent share according to a new poll. But the left-green opposition still maintains its lead with 48.6 percent. READ »

Dissident demo over Iran Interpol listing

Politics: 28 Jan 10
Ten Iranian-born Swedes plan to stage a protest outside the Riksdag on Thursday in a bid to have the Swedish government help get their names removed from an Interpol wanted list. READ »

Swede awarded UN top job in Afghanistan

National: 28 Jan 10
Long-serving Swedish diplomat Staffan de Mistura has been appointed by UN chief Ban Ki-moon as his new envoy to Afghanistan. READ »

Moderates add feminist touch to policy platform

Politics: 25 Jan 10
The Moderate Party is making an election year play to increase its appeal to feminist voters, promising to take on gender-based pay disparities and ranking schools according to gender equity, among other proposals. READ »

Sick leave dominates first election year debate

Politics: 20 Jan 10
Sweden's two political blocs each set out their stalls on Wednesday in the first parliamentary debate of 2010, with sickness benefits proving the main bone of contention. READ »

Centre Party support hits all time low: poll

Politics: 15 Jan 10
Voter support for the government alliance Centre Party has taken a significant downturn according to a new survey which puts the opposition in a commanding lead at the start of the election year. READ »

Vellinge council in refugee children reversal

National: 13 Jan 10
The local council in Vellinge in southern Sweden has agreed to allow the municipality to house refugee children, reversing its long standing position on the issue. READ »

Moderate in the poo over immigrant labour claims

Politics: 11 Jan 10
An aide to Sweden's prime minister was put on the defensive on Monday following a Facebook passage in which he praised pro-employment policies that resulted in immigrant labourers cleaning up faeces on the weekend. READ »

Wallström voters' pick for Prime Minister: poll

Politics: 9 Jan 10
Social Democrat Margot Wallström is a more popular choice than Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt to lead the country, according to a new poll. The result follows speculation surrounding a secret plan to oust opposition leader Mona Sahlin. READ »

Swedes kill 20 wolves in newly sanctioned hunt

National: 3 Jan 10
After the Swedish environmental authority issued permits for 10 percent of Sweden's entire wolf population to be killed, hunters shot dead more than 20 wolves on Saturday, according to local media estimates. READ »

More Swedes favour euro over krona: poll

National: 15 Dec 09
A majority of Swedes would favour switching from the krona to the euro if a referendum on whether Sweden should adopt the common European currency were held today, a new poll shows. READ »

Opposition poll lead 'very worrying': Reinfeldt

Politics: 14 Dec 09
Swedish prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt has admitted he is concerned by poll results showing the opposition in a commanding lead over the centre-right coalition government. READ »

Opposition extends poll lead to achieve majority

Politics: 13 Dec 09
Sweden’s three centre-left opposition political parties have enough voter support to form their own majority, according to a new poll, which also shows the far-right Sweden Democrats with enough support to gain a spot in the Riksdag. READ »

Victim says axe attack 'politically motivated'

National: 10 Dec 09
A politically active business-owner from Södertälje south of Stockholm is recovering from an axe attack he claims was carried out on the orders of a political rival. READ »

Riksdag sets tougher limits for sick benefits

Business & Money: 10 Dec 09
The Swedish parliament on Wednesday passed controversial new limits on sickness benefits designed to get more people back into the workforce. READ »

Sweden Democrats score five percent in major poll

Politics: 10 Dec 09
The far-right Sweden Democrat party enjoys the support of 5.1 percent of the electorate, according to a major new survey from Statistics Sweden. READ »

Moderates drop four points in new poll

National: 4 Dec 09
A new poll from Expressen/Demoskop shows support for Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt's Moderate party has dropped by four percent to 25.3 percent. READ »

Sahlin open to centre- right cooperation

Politics: 27 Nov 09
Social Democrat party leader Mona Sahlin has responded to a new opinion poll showing an increased support for the far-right Sweden Democrats by voicing the possibility of governing with the Liberal and Centre parties. READ »

Voters continue to flee Social Democrats: poll

Politics: 24 Nov 09
Support for the Social Democrats continues to slide, having now dipped below 30 percent, according to a new poll. READ »

Vellinge changes course to welcome refugee kids

Politics: 20 Nov 09
Local politicians who previously voiced their disapproval at a move to house asylum seeker children in Vellinge look set to sign an agreement to invite more children to reside in the municipality in the future. READ »

Vellinge residents back refugee children: poll

National: 17 Nov 09
Six of ten residents in Vellinge in southern Sweden are positive toward housing refugee children in the area, despite claims by local politicians that locals oppose the move. READ »

Moderate hierarchy warns Vellinge party cadre

National: 15 Nov 09
The Moderate party secretary Per Schlingmann has warned party members in Skåne in southern Sweden over comments regarding the housing of refugee children at a Vellinge youth hostel. READ »

Sweden Democrats at record high: poll

Politics: 15 Nov 09
The far-right Sweden Democrats have gained a record 5.8 percent of voter sympathies in a new poll published on Sunday; the party is now bigger than both the Christian Democrat and Centre parties. READ »

Malmö Moderates open to SD cooperation

Politics: 8 Nov 09
The Malmö branch of the Moderate party has not ruled out cooperating with the far-right Sweden Democrat party after next year's general election. READ »

Green Party makes ground among voters

Politics: 7 Nov 09
Green Party co-leader Maria Wetterstrand has surpassed Mona Sahlin as the main challenger to Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt for the affections of Swedish voters, according to a new poll READ »

Reinfeldt reclaims top spot in Sweden power rankings

National: 6 Nov 09
Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt can once again lay claim to the title of Sweden’s most power person, having nudged his own finance minister Anders Borg from the top spot in a new ranking released on Thursday. READ »

Red-greens and centre- right in dead heat: poll

Politics: 4 Nov 09
Support for Sweden’s two main political blocs is about equal, according to a new poll, which also shows the far-right Sweden Democrats with enough support to gain a seat in the Riksdag. READ »

Ex-moderate Muslim to form 'anti-Zionist' party in Sweden

Politics: 3 Nov 09
A once moderate Muslim spokesperson who last year came out as an Islamist radical has announced plans to start a political party uniting all of Sweden’s anti-Zionists. READ »

Reinfeldt and Olofsson back Green party talks

National: 23 Oct 09
The Moderates and Centre party have backed coalition partner the Liberal party in calls to work with the Green party instead of the Sweden Democrats if the far-right party held the balance of power in parliament. READ »

Stockholmers 'fund the rest of Sweden': report

Politics: 21 Oct 09
Stockholm-area taxpayers help fund the rest of Sweden to the tune of 14 billion kronor ($2 billion) a year to put the country’s municipalities on an equal financial footing. READ »

Opposition hold the upper hand: poll

Politics: 18 Oct 09
The opposition red-green coalition have the support of 49.2 percent of the Swedish electorate, an established lead over the governing Alliance on 44.4 percent, a new voter poll shows. READ »

Dole drops Bananas!* lawsuit

Business & Money: 15 Oct 09
Dole Foods was withdrawn its lawsuit against Swedish filmmaker Fredrik Gertten over a documentary film which the company claimed contained falsehoods which harmed the US food giant. READ »

Sweden passes divisive wiretapping law

Politics: 14 Oct 09
An amended version of Sweden's controversial new signals intelligence law was passed in the Riksdag on Wednesday, with 158 members voting in favour and 153 against, while one member abstained from voting. READ »

Obama Nobel win shocks Swedish peace group

Politics: 9 Oct 09
The Swedish Peace and Arbitration Society has classified as "shameful" the decision by the Nobel Committee in Oslo to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009 to Barack Obama. READ »

SVT news 'favours the left': Moderate MPs

National: 8 Oct 09
Two Moderate Riksdag members have proposed setting up a body to monitor news coverage by Sveriges Television (SVT) in order to correct what they see as a left-leaning bias at the state broadcaster. READ »

Swedish MPs back filmmaker's battle with US food giant

National: 1 Oct 09
Several members of Sweden’s parliament expressed their support on Thursday for a Swedish-made documentary film that is the target of a lawsuit by Dole Foods. READ »

Swedish parliament behind Wikipedia celebrity smears

Science & Technology: 22 Sep 09
Actor George Clooney is a "communist amateur" and Swedish actress and comedian Nour El-Refai is a "feminist bitch", according to someone, or several people, using computers traced to the Riksdag. READ »

Gains for gay marriage foes in church elections

Society: 21 Sep 09
Opponents of same-sex marriage made significant gains in Sweden’s church elections on Sunday, on a voter turnout of barely 12 percent. READ »

Opposition stays ahead in new poll

Politics: 19 Sep 09
Exactly one year before the general election, Sweden’s opposition parties stand marginally ahead of the governing centre-right Alliance, according to the latest poll. READ »

Opposition nose ahead in new poll

Politics: 13 Sep 09
A year before the Swedish general election the opposition have a slight lead in the opinion polls, a new voter survey shows. Meanwhile Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt remains twice as popular as his main rival Mona Sahlin. READ »

Swine flu - facing up to the stigma

Analysis & Opinion: 9 Sep 09
Recognizing that acceptance of a problem is the first step to recovery, The Local's Peter Vinthagen Simpson bravely leaves behind his quarantine and admits to being a swine flu victim. READ »

Four billion extra pledged in fight against crime

Politics: 8 Sep 09
The Swedish government has allocated an additional 4 billion kronor ($570 million) to the fight against crime in a bid to achieve the governing parties' pledge to have 20,000 police officers on Sweden's streets by 2010. READ »

Swedish politician mulls Thai bows to counter swine flu

Politics: 8 Sep 09
A Swedish politician is proposing a novel measure to prevent the spread of swine flu - the introduction of traditional Thai greetings in an effort to reduce direct contact. READ »

Overwhelming support for Reinfeldt over Sahlin

Politics: 4 Sep 09
60 percent of Swedes expressed faith in Fredrik Reinfeldt as prime minister in a new voter survey. Opposition leader Mona Sahlin has the confidence of only 20 percent. READ »

'Taxpayers should not have to fund feminist porn'

Analysis & Opinion: 3 Sep 09
The idea of feminist porn may be attractive to some but there is no reason for the state to cough up half a million kronor to fund its production, argues Beatrice Fredriksson, a member of the Moderate Party's youth organisation and author of the Anti-Feminist Initiative blog. READ »

Publicly funded ‘feminist porn’ to premiere

Society: 1 Sep 09
'Feminist porn' movie Dirty Diaries, which received 500,000 kronor ($69,000) in public funding, is to premiere this Thursday in Stockholm. READ »

Sweden ahead of our neighbours: Borg

Politics: 29 Aug 09
The Swedish economy can recover and reach surplus and a balanced budget before other European countries, Swedish Minister of Finance Anders Borg said at the Moderate Party conference in Västerås on Friday. READ »

Opposition lead widens in poll

Politics: 28 Aug 09
Sweden's opposition parties have opened up a lead of almost 5 percentage points over the governing centre-right Alliance, according to a new poll published on Friday. READ »

Alliance parties agree to reduce taxes

Politics: 28 Aug 09
The Alliance parties have agreed to reduce income tax by 10 billion kronor next year, as part of the fourth stage in the parties’ in-work tax credit programme, meaning individual tax cuts of up to 250 kronor per month. READ »

'Cyncism prevails for vote-hungry officials in Sweden and Israel'

Analysis & Opinion: 28 Aug 09
As the Aftonbladet organ harvesting scandal rumbles to the end of its second week, Stockholm-based Israeli writer David Stavrou calls on policy makers in Sweden and Israel to shed light on the situation rather than turning up the heat. READ »

Sweden Democrats gain in new voter poll

Politics: 23 Aug 09
Sweden’s centre-left opposition parties maintain a slight lead over the governing Alliance parties, while the far-right Sweden Democrats have enough support to gain a seat in the Riksdag, according to a new poll. READ »

Councils to cash in on autumn budget

Business & Money: 10 Aug 09
Local council finances, investments in welfare services and measures to counter unemployment are to be given priority in the autumn budget, according to Sweden's prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt. READ »

'Drinking while pregnant harms the child': study

Society: 10 Aug 09
Even moderate alcohol consumption while pregnant can have detrimental effects on the health of the child, a new report from the Swedish National Institute of Public Health has advised. READ »

Football clubs take a stand for gay pride

Society: 2 Aug 09
Representatives for local football clubs, AIK, Hammarby and Djurgården, were among a slew of celebrities showing their support for gay pride by joining the traditional parade through Stockholm on Saturday. READ »

Allergic youth ill after Swedish embassy lunch

National: 30 Jul 09
Several young people with food allergies become ill on Wednesday following a luncheon at the Swedish embassy in Berlin. READ »

Anders Borg: Sweden's long-haired maverick minister

Analysis & Opinion: 22 Jul 09
With Anders Borg, Sweden’s pony-tailed Minister of Finance, now helping the EU navigate through the global economic slump, the AFP’s Marc Preel takes a look back at the rise of this self-described pragmatist. READ »

Abortion register splits Alliance parties

Politics: 19 Jul 09
A proposal to include the identities of women in a national abortion register has divided the governing Alliance coalition parties. READ »

Pirates close in on Riksdag: poll

Politics: 19 Jul 09
The Pirate Party and the far-right Sweden Democrats are on course for seats in the Riksdag according to a new poll published on Sunday. READ »

European court halts Rwandan genocide suspect extradition

Politics: 16 Jul 09
Sweden has delayed plans to extradite a Rwandan genocide suspected following an appeal by the European Court of Human Rights to review the case. READ »

EU's Stockholm Programme to 'bolster individual privacy rights'

Analysis & Opinion: 15 Jul 09
As European Union ministers gather in Stockholm on Wednesday Swedish ministers Beatrice Ask and Tobias Billström explain the EU’s efforts to promote cross-border cooperation in the areas of justice, home affairs, and migration. READ »

Sweden to extradite genocide suspect

National: 9 Jul 09
Sweden will soon extradite a Rwandan man accused of participating in the 1994 genocide to his home country, the Swedish government announced on Thursday. READ »

Outrage over 14-year- old's nipple piercing

Society: 8 Jul 09
The mother of a Swedish teenager is fuming at the ease with which her daughter was able to get her nipple pierced, sparking calls for the introduction of age limits on piercing in Sweden. READ »

Borg bashes business group 'ideologues'

Politics: 3 Jul 09
Sweden’s finance minister Anders Borg lashed out at the country’s business community on Friday, calling Sweden’s main business group “ideological megaphones” who’ve shirked their responsibility during the economic crisis. READ »

Reinfeldt and Bildt: tactician and veteran diplomat at EU helm

Analysis & Opinion: 30 Jun 09
A calculating tactician and an impulsive veteran: Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt and Foreign Minister Carl Bildt are Sweden's tag team for the upcoming EU presidency, writes AFP's Pia Ohlin. READ »

Moderates lose as Green Party gains: poll

Politics: 26 Jun 09
Support for the Moderate Party dropped significantly in June, while Sweden’s Green Party reached heights not seen since the 2006 Riksdag elections, a new poll shows. READ »

Animal rights activists force restaurant closure

Society: 25 Jun 09
Threats and vandalism allegedly carried out by animal rights activists have forced a restaurant in Umeå in northern Sweden to close its doors. READ »

Migration agency used anti-Muslim lawyer

National: 24 Jun 09
A lawyer contracted by the Swedish Migration Board to represent asylum seekers has a personal blog in which he refers to Islam as a “psychosocial disease”. READ »

Politician buried 11,000 chickens in mass grave

Society: 23 Jun 09
A local politician-cum-chicken farmer in southern Sweden has landed himself in hot water for burying 11,000 hens in a mass grave without contacting the proper authorities. READ »

Sweden braces for 'trying' EU presidency

Politics: 23 Jun 09
Financial crisis, climate change and the possibility of a fast-tracked Icelandic membership are at the top of Sweden's agenda when it takes over the EU Presidency in July. READ »

Far-right climbs over pirates in May poll

Politics: 17 Jun 09
Despite its recent success in the European Parliament elections, the Pirate Party would garner fewer votes than the far-right Sweden Democrats if a general election were held today, a new poll shows. READ »

Pirate Party heads for parliament: poll

Politics: 14 Jun 09
The Pirate Party remains buoyant after its EU election success and could be on its way to claiming seats in the Swedish parliament, a new poll shows. READ »

Increased voter turnout due to young men: poll

Politics: 13 Jun 09
A spike in the number of younger men who decided to cast their vote in recent EU Parliamentary elections is the likely reason for the Pirate Party's success, a new poll shows. READ »

Sweden's extreme left ups violent attacks

Politics: 9 Jun 09
Violent threats to democracy from groups on the far left escalated in the run-up to the European Parliament elections, according to the Swedish Security Police. READ »

Svensson and Corazza Bildt set to stage election upset

Politics: 8 Jun 09
Alf Svensson, the former leader of the Christian Democrats, and Anna Maria Corazza Bildt, the wife of the Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt, appear set to claim seats in the EU parliament at the expense of their party colleagues. READ »