The parties at work
Together, members of the Riksdag from the same party form a party group. The party groups in the Riksdag have a strong position and play an influential role in the work of the Riksdag and the political life of Sweden.
The party groups have their own secretariats which cooperate closely with the other sections of the party organisation. All important matters are discussed in the party groups before the members take a final position in their respective committees and in the Chamber of the Riksdag.
The work of the party groups is not formally regulated in Swedish law. The groups are mentioned only in connection with elections within the Riksdag and consultations with the Speaker. The work in the party groups is conducted according to the parties' own rules and practices. In practice, there are many similarities in the work procedures of the different party groups.
The Left Party group meets every Tuesday, like all the other party groups in the Riksdag
The work of the party groups
The parliamentary party groups are normally headed by a board or an advisory group. The group leaders play an important role in the parties' work in the Riksdag. The group leader is the party's special representative in the Riksdag and is responsible, among other things, for coordinating day-to-day business. The Speaker of the Riksdag consults the group leaders on important matters of principle to be decided by the Speaker. After an election to the Riksdag, each party announces who is to be the party's group leader. This is done by notifying the Chamber of the Riksdag.
The work of the party group is largely influenced by whether the party is in opposition or in government. Another significant factor is whether or not the Government has a majority in the Riksdag.
For a party in government, work in the Riksdag is about participating in the drawing up of government policies and trying to obtain support for these in the Riksdag. For the opposition parties, the main task is putting forward political alternatives to government policies and trying to gain a majority for them.
Group meetings on Tuesdays
The party groups normally meet on Tuesday afternoons. These meetings are not open to the public. The board has then prepared items on the agenda in advance. At these meetings, all elections are prepared, important private members' motions are discussed and the party's position is presented in party motions.
Since the work of the Riksdag encompasses all areas of society, it is important that members of the Riksdag have in-depth and specialist knowledge of various fields. The work in the party groups is therefore organised into committee groups where members have their specific areas of specialisation.
In these groups the members prepare motions and positions arising from proposals from the Government. Party members outside the Riksdag and supporters with expertise in the issue being considered may also be involved in this work.
All major issues are discussed and decided in the party groups, while many less important issues are the responsibility of the party's representative or representatives in the relevant committee. In practice, it is impossible for an individual member to have an in-depth knowledge of all the thousands of decisions that are made every year in the Riksdag.
Party loyalty
Loyalty to the party line is traditionally high at votes in the Riksdag. The underlying idea is that the members are there to implement the programme the party went to election on. At the same time, each member of the Riksdag has a personal mandate from the electorate, and is not formally obliged to follow the party line. Acceptance of voting against one's party varies depending on the matter at hand, the party and whether the outcome of the vote is affected.
Pairing
Pairing is an agreement between the parties in the Riksdag that one or more members will abstain from a particular vote to compensate for the fact that members from other parties are unable to attend. An absent member from one party is "paired" against one member from another party who abstains from voting.
The party secretariat and political advisers
Each party group and its members are assisted by a secretariat in the Riksdag, with experts, political advisers and assistants who are employed by the party.
The political advisers collect information, prepare draft political texts, handle media contacts, answer e-mails and serve as a sounding-board for the members.
The parties receive financial support to cover the costs of the political advisers. The support corresponds to the costs for one political adviser per member, but it is up to the parties themselves to decide how they distribute the costs in order to provide a secretariat that meets the needs and wishes of the members.
The size of the secretariats varies with the size of the parties.
Party funding
Political parties receive various forms of public funding – from the state, from the Riksdag and from the municipalities and regions. Public funding is the largest source of income for the parties.
Contact a member of the Riksdag
Do you want to contact and member of the Riksdag in order to express your opinion on a matter? Here you will find contact information for all 349 members of the Riksdag. You can see which party they belong to, which constituency they represent and which parliamentary committees and other groups they are members of.