The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1928-10-31
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By A. ]. sMOLAN, Gothenburg.

The Riksdag elections in Sweden
are now practically oyer. They have,
it is true, brought an essential
strengthening of the right, but at
the same time the Communists, so
fiercely opposed by all other parties,
have more than doubled their num-
Der of votes. The advance both of
the left and of the right was effected
at the expense of the social demo-
Gratis and the petty bourgeois free
minded" party, the former losing ID
and the latter two mandates. Inc
keenest disappointment must GER
tainly be felt by the social demo-
Gratis, who went into the fight with
high-sounding slogans, with the full
intention of gaining the absolute
majority in the chamber and there
with also the governmental author
ity, instead of which they have suf-
fered a considerable setback, which
they feel all the more seriously in
view of the fact that they will now
be excluded from participation in
the government for the next four
years.
6 Mandates.
According to calculations made to
date, it appears that the Commu-
nists have polled 122,726 votes, rep
resenting an increase of 66,012 or
1854 per cent. In consequence, the
Party will have six mandates in the
place of four in the old Riksdag.
When the Stockholm results are fin
ally known, the Party will probably
be found to have Melted two more
mandates in addition to these six
The social democrats, with their 1885,
128 votes, show an increase of 17.2
per cent; the resulting 80 mandates
will, however, represent a loss of
IA. The liberal party polled 55,409
votes, or 2250 less than in 1924;
they will continue to be represented
by three members in the Riksdag.
For the freeminded party 294,162
votes were recorded, which was 1926
per cent more than four years ago;
nevertheless they will have only 27
seats in the new Riksdag, as against
% in the old. The conservatives
(Hogern) polled 605,330 votes or an
increase of 49 per cent; they will
have 81 seats, which is eight more
than at the last elections. The Farm
ers' union, the organization of we'll
to-do farmers, secured 259, 900 votes
representing an increase of. 68,694
votes, or 81 per cent more than in
1924. The union will be represented
in the Riksdag by 81 members, OF
four more than hitherto.
The Swedish Riksdag is divided
into two chambers. The upper
chamber corresponds more or less
to the former Prussian "Herren
haus," since its $50 members are
elected by the provincial diets anc
municipal assemblies. Those who
are elected to this distinguished body
must be at least 35 years old anc
possess a fortune of $4,000 crown.
or a yearly income of 5000 crowns
Before the war, the social democrat!
moved the abolition of this body
which they were wont to call thu
"old mems house." but now SO so
cialists are themselves members O.
the upper chamber and join with tn,
bourgeois parties in resisting tn,
Communist demand for its abolition
The second chamber consists O.
$50 deputies, elected for a period o.
four years. All electors must hav,
entered upon their twenty third yea
in the twelvemonth preceding tn,
elections; thus most Of those VIII,
vote in Sweden are quite twenty
four years old. This reform" wal
put through after the war by tn,
bourgeois and social democratic par
ties, and all attempts on the par
of the Communists to extend tn,
franchise to the earlier twentiel
have hitherto met with a united re
sistance on the part of these fac
tions.
Social Democrats Do Nothing.
The last election was held in tn,
autumn}of 1924. AT that time til.
~