APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200090019-6
leading to the reforms of 1970 that are intended to streamline the government. The principal features of the reforms were the introduction of a one-chamber parliament and the synchronization of elections so that national, provincial, and local contests all come due at the same time every 3 years. The old bicameral system was slow and required the consent of both chambers in order for the Riksdag to arrive at a decision. Furthermore, the Upper House, with 8-year terms and one-eighth of its members standing for election every year, was considered cumbersome. In January 1971 the first session of the new Riksdag convened.
The Riksdag is vested with the power to remove the government or an individual member of the Council of State immediately by a vote of no confidence. The only defensive move open to the government in such a case is to announce new elections within a week. The implementation of these reforms puts Sweden in step with the growing number of democracies in Western Europe which have embraced the idea of a directly elected unicameral legislature more responsive to the electorate.
Throughout some hundred-odd years of political experimentation, French constitutional influence has been evident. Thus, in 1970, Sweden moved from a more intricate "separation and balance of powers" political structure first elaborated by the 18th century rationalist Montesquieu to a system of lower house legislative supremacy practiced with only marginal success in France (and subsequently elsewhere) from 1877 to 1940 and from 1944 to 1958. The latter basic system has, however, worked relatively well in neighboring Scandinavian countries - a reflection in part of the more socially attuned pragmatism associated with the Nordic societies.
Although for the moment the Act of Succession remains intact, it has already been the subject of debate aimed at the very least toward a reduction of many of the traditional, pro forma acts of the crown. Under a constitutional reform bill to be presented to the Riksdag in 1973 and to become effective in 1975, the monarchy would be retained, but the King would have no voice in determining national policies.
Although the Constitution contains no formal bill of rights, traditional Swedish respect for individual rights and liberty is given effective expression in ordinary law and practice. The Constitution guarantees due process of law, the protection of private property, the inviolability of the home, and freedom of conscience and religion. The right of petition and freedom of speech and organization are not explicitly defined in the fundamental laws or in single pieces of legislation, but these principles are consistently observed in practice. With the introduction of the recent reforms Sweden has signaled its intention to enhance the "egalitarianism" it proudly considers to be its modern way of life.
2. Executive
a. Monarchy
The monarch must be a male member of the House of Bernadotte, not married to a commoner, and professing the pure Evangelical Lutheran faith as adopted and explained in the unaltered Augsburg Confession and in the Resolution of the Uppsala Meeting of 1593. The present Swedish King, Gustav VI Adolf, was born on 11 November 1882 and has reigned since 1950. The heir apparent is Crown Prince Carl Gustaf, the King's grandson, who was born in 1946 and attained his majority in 1971 when he became regent at age 25. As regent he is entitled to govern in the absence or incapacitation of the King. Carl Gustaf's father, the son of the present monarch, was killed in an airplane accident in 1947.
The King has influence but no real political power. According to the Constitution he is head of state, and as such his duties are many and varied, although by custom they have become largely ceremonial. Constitutionally the King has the power to male final executive decisions after consulting with the Council of State (Statsrad) or cabinet. In practice the King defers to the decisions of the cabinet, and the executive power is exercised by the King-in-Council (Konungen i statsrad), a procedure whereby the cabinet operates in the King's name. The King, nevertheless, can exercise some influence through giving advice to members of the cabinet and through his prerogative, albeit pro forma, to appoint the cabinet. Before naming a new Prime Minister, the King confers with the outgoing incumbent, the leaders of the non-Communist parties, and the speakers of the Riksdag, thus insuring the appointment of a cabinet which can work with the Riksdag. The King's signature must appear on all bills except those dealing with finances and appropriations before they can become law, but they must be countersigned by a minister who thereby assumes responsibility to the Riksdag. The King is constitutionally empowered to dismiss the cabinet or dissolve the Riksdag at any time. By tradition, however, he does not do the first, and he dissolves the Riksdag only at the request of the Prime Minister. Technically, the King has the power to veto a decision already approved by the cabinet, a power now rarely, if ever, exercised.
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APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200090019-6
