The Swedish Conservative Party and the Welfare State. Institutional Change and Adapting Preferences

Anders Lindbom ()
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Anders Lindbom: Uppsala university, Postal: Department of Government, SE-751 20 Uppsala, Sweden, http://www.uu.se

No 2006:12, Arbetsrapport from Institute for Futures Studies

Abstract: The paper argues that the Swedish ‘neo-liberal’ party (Moderaterna) has adapted its policies because of the popularity of the ‘universal’ Swedish welfare state. The party has come to accept that the modern welfare state is irreplaceable.

We furthermore argue that the party’s moderate electoral platform in 2006 is earnest. In the “short run” the party can only hope to achieve incremental changes and it recognises this. Simultaneously however, the party in the “long run” wants to gradually change society. Over time the party in its rhetoric and ideological statements has emphasised the short and the long run differently. These differences between the ‘neo-liberal’ 1980s and 2006 should not conceal that the mechanism of welfare popularity largely remains the same. The party’s actual policy proposals tend to suggest incremental changes only in both periods.

Keywords: Swedish conservative party; welfare state; neo-liberal (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: G18 G38 I38 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 30 pages
Date: 2006-12
Note: ISSN 1652-120X ISBN 13: 978-91-89655-96-6, ISBN 10: 91-89655-96-6
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hhs:ifswps:2006_012

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