Moderate Youth League
Encyclopedia
The Moderate Youth League , officially known in English as the Swedish Young Conservatives, is the youth wing
of the Swedish
Moderate Party
. It had 12 051 members in 2010. Of the political youth organizations that received financial support from the Swedish National Board for Youth Affairs in 2009, it had the highest number of members.
The Moderate Youth League is more libertarian-leaning
and more radical than the mother party. It is generally pro-market
, pro-American, pro-Israeli and liberal in social issues such as abortion
, gay rights and supports legalization of illegal file sharing
and alcohol manufacturing for private, nonprofit purposes. Its official ideologies are liberalism and conservatism
.
organization. In 1946 the organization changed its name to the Youth Association of the Right (Swedish: Högerns ungdomsförbund). The current name was adopted in 1969.
district. The national chairman also sits on the national board of the Moderate Party
.
Districts follow county borders. The largest one is Stockholm
, followed by Skåne. They maintain a rivalry, sometimes staging competitions on who can recruit the most members. Other large districts include Uppsala
and Östergötland
.
At the annual conference, a national executive is elected. They are not decision-makers but more of an elite campaigning team which travel around Sweden. The national chairman has a place on the national executive of the Youth League. The current chairman is Kasper Gieldon.
In 2008, the Moderate Students
was founded as a student network within the Moderate Youth League and it has since then grown to become the largest student political organization in Sweden.
did not have any official student organisation. The Confederation of Swedish Conservative and Liberal Students (Fria moderata studentförbundet, FMSF) was dislodged from the party because of its radical
neoliberalism
. Therefore many students join the Youth League instead. This results in the age of members spanning the whole age-spectrum from roughly 15 to 30. There is, however, widespread cross-membership between the youth and student leagues. In Uppsala, a traditional student town, the radicalism
of the Student League has also spread to the local MUF district due to almost all local leaders also being active in the Confederation of Swedish Conservative and Liberal Students.
Naturally many current politicians of the Moderate Party
, started their careers in the Youth League. The most famous being the current leader of the party, Fredrik Reinfeldt
, who is a former chairman. The last chairman, Christofer Fjellner
, was elected to the European Parliament
before resigning from his Youth League position. The Moderate Youth League played a great part in this, lobbying for him inside the party and campaigning for him in the election. In 2002, Tove Lifvendahl
became the first Youth League chairman to be elected to the national board of the party directly after resigning from the Moderate Youth League. Many former leaders left politics but gained prominence in other spheres of society, most of all in business
.
The Moderate Youth League has around 9,500 members (2004/05).
The modern Moderate Youth League are staunch supporters of capitalism
, deregulation
and lower taxes. They also adhere to individualism
, which extends to wide-reaching support for gay rights. The League supports free trade, free immigration and wants to abolish foreign aid.
Like its opponents in the Swedish Social Democratic Youth League
, the Moderate Youth League has suffered from divisions between different factions. The 1990s saw many battles between modernising neoliberals and conservatives
. At the congress in Lycksele in 1992
, Fredrik Reinfeldt
, the current leader of the Moderate Party
, was elected chairman, defeating the neoliberal Ulf Kristersson
. In recent years, however, the division have largely disappeared. With the Moderates becoming more cosmopolitan, the traditionalist Conservatives
have all but disappeared. Gay rights was a source of division, but now almost all of the Moderate Youth League supports equal rights of marriage and adoption for homosexuals. A conservative fringe group, however, was formed – Young Conservative Moderates
(Unga konservativa moderater) – but did not gain widespread membership.
In foreign policy, MUF tends to support the United States
, including the 2003 Iraq War and Swedish NATO membership. Chairwoman Tove Lifvendahl
proudly wore an "I love Bush" shirt after George W. Bush
's election in 2000, although she was quick to criticise him for the steel tariffs he later imposed. It is also strongly supportive of Israel
. Though generally supportive of the European Union
, the Youth League does not support Sweden adopting the euro
.
Youth wing
A youth wing is a subsidiary, autonomous or independently-allied front of a larger organization that is formed in order to rally support and allegiance for that organization's campaigns from members and potential members of a younger age...
of the Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
Moderate Party
Moderate Party
The Moderate Party is a centre-right, liberal conservative political party in Sweden. The party was founded in 1904 as the General Electoral League by a group of conservatives in the Swedish parliament...
. It had 12 051 members in 2010. Of the political youth organizations that received financial support from the Swedish National Board for Youth Affairs in 2009, it had the highest number of members.
The Moderate Youth League is more libertarian-leaning
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
and more radical than the mother party. It is generally pro-market
Laissez-faire
In economics, laissez-faire describes an environment in which transactions between private parties are free from state intervention, including restrictive regulations, taxes, tariffs and enforced monopolies....
, pro-American, pro-Israeli and liberal in social issues such as abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
, gay rights and supports legalization of illegal file sharing
File sharing
File sharing is the practice of distributing or providing access to digitally stored information, such as computer programs, multimedia , documents, or electronic books. It may be implemented through a variety of ways...
and alcohol manufacturing for private, nonprofit purposes. Its official ideologies are liberalism and conservatism
Liberal conservatism
Liberal conservatism also known as progressive conservatism is a variant of political conservatism which incorporates liberal elements. As "conservatism" and "liberalism" have had different meanings over time and across countries, the term "liberal conservatism" has been used in quite different...
.
History
The Moderate Youth League was formed in 1934 as the Young Swedes (Swedish: Ungsvenskarna) as a consequence of the split between the Moderate Party (then the General Electoral Union) and its youth organization, the National Youth League of Sweden (Swedish: Sveriges nationella ungdomsförbund) which had turned into an openly pro-NaziNazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
organization. In 1946 the organization changed its name to the Youth Association of the Right (Swedish: Högerns ungdomsförbund). The current name was adopted in 1969.
Organization
The Moderate Youth League is led by a national executive committee, elected every two years at the national congress. The President is supported by two vice-chairmen. Normally, members of the national executive have served at district level first. The current chairman, for example, used to be chairman of the StockholmStockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
district. The national chairman also sits on the national board of the Moderate Party
Moderate Party
The Moderate Party is a centre-right, liberal conservative political party in Sweden. The party was founded in 1904 as the General Electoral League by a group of conservatives in the Swedish parliament...
.
Districts follow county borders. The largest one is Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, followed by Skåne. They maintain a rivalry, sometimes staging competitions on who can recruit the most members. Other large districts include Uppsala
Uppsala
- Economy :Today Uppsala is well established in medical research and recognized for its leading position in biotechnology.*Abbott Medical Optics *GE Healthcare*Pfizer *Phadia, an offshoot of Pharmacia*Fresenius*Q-Med...
and Östergötland
Östergötland
Östergötland, English exonym: East Gothland, is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden in the south of Sweden. It borders Småland, Västergötland, Närke, Södermanland, and the Baltic Sea. In older English literature, one might also encounter the Latinized version, Ostrogothia...
.
Moderate School Youth
The Moderate School Youth (Moderat skolungdom, MSU) is a part of the organisation and includes all MUF members between 12 and 20 years of age.At the annual conference, a national executive is elected. They are not decision-makers but more of an elite campaigning team which travel around Sweden. The national chairman has a place on the national executive of the Youth League. The current chairman is Kasper Gieldon.
Moderate Students
- Main article: Moderate StudentsModerate StudentsModerate Students is a political student network within the Moderate Youth League, the youth wing of the Swedish Moderate Party. That makes it the official student organization of the party...
In 2008, the Moderate Students
Moderate Students
Moderate Students is a political student network within the Moderate Youth League, the youth wing of the Swedish Moderate Party. That makes it the official student organization of the party...
was founded as a student network within the Moderate Youth League and it has since then grown to become the largest student political organization in Sweden.
Current and former members
Under many years the Moderate PartyModerate Party
The Moderate Party is a centre-right, liberal conservative political party in Sweden. The party was founded in 1904 as the General Electoral League by a group of conservatives in the Swedish parliament...
did not have any official student organisation. The Confederation of Swedish Conservative and Liberal Students (Fria moderata studentförbundet, FMSF) was dislodged from the party because of its radical
Radicalization
Radicalization is the process in which an individual changes from passiveness or activism to become more revolutionary, militant or extremist. Radicalization is often associated with youth, adversity, alienation, social exclusion, poverty, or the perception of injustice to self or others.-...
neoliberalism
Neoliberalism
Neoliberalism is a market-driven approach to economic and social policy based on neoclassical theories of economics that emphasizes the efficiency of private enterprise, liberalized trade and relatively open markets, and therefore seeks to maximize the role of the private sector in determining the...
. Therefore many students join the Youth League instead. This results in the age of members spanning the whole age-spectrum from roughly 15 to 30. There is, however, widespread cross-membership between the youth and student leagues. In Uppsala, a traditional student town, the radicalism
Radicalization
Radicalization is the process in which an individual changes from passiveness or activism to become more revolutionary, militant or extremist. Radicalization is often associated with youth, adversity, alienation, social exclusion, poverty, or the perception of injustice to self or others.-...
of the Student League has also spread to the local MUF district due to almost all local leaders also being active in the Confederation of Swedish Conservative and Liberal Students.
Naturally many current politicians of the Moderate Party
Moderate Party
The Moderate Party is a centre-right, liberal conservative political party in Sweden. The party was founded in 1904 as the General Electoral League by a group of conservatives in the Swedish parliament...
, started their careers in the Youth League. The most famous being the current leader of the party, Fredrik Reinfeldt
Fredrik Reinfeldt
John Fredrik Reinfeldt is the Prime Minister of Sweden, leader of the liberal conservative Moderate Party and former President of the European Council...
, who is a former chairman. The last chairman, Christofer Fjellner
Christofer Fjellner
Gustav Christofer Ingemar Fjellner is a Swedish politician and Member of the European Parliament. He is a member of the Moderate Party, part of the European People's Party - European Democrats group....
, was elected to the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
before resigning from his Youth League position. The Moderate Youth League played a great part in this, lobbying for him inside the party and campaigning for him in the election. In 2002, Tove Lifvendahl
Tove Lifvendahl
Tove Lifvendahl is Swedish writer, speaker and political commentator affiliated with the Moderate Party. She grew up in Hälsingland and graduated from Uppsala University...
became the first Youth League chairman to be elected to the national board of the party directly after resigning from the Moderate Youth League. Many former leaders left politics but gained prominence in other spheres of society, most of all in business
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
.
The Moderate Youth League has around 9,500 members (2004/05).
Ideology
The Moderate Youth League defines its ideology in four statements. Apart from these, the Youth League publishes no manifestos or political programmes of any sort. These are:- For the freedom of the individual. Against political oppression and coercion.
- For every human's responsibility for his/her own future. Against paternalismPaternalismPaternalism refers to attitudes or states of affairs that exemplify a traditional relationship between father and child. Two conditions of paternalism are usually identified: interference with liberty and a beneficent intention towards those whose liberty is interfered with...
and the nanny stateNanny stateA nanny state is the perception of a situation characterised by governmental policies of over-protectionism, economic interventionism, or heavy regulation of economic, social or other nature....
(förmynderi och politisk klåfingrighet). - For diversityMulticulturalismMulticulturalism is the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g...
and respect for differences. Against intoleranceTolerationToleration is "the practice of deliberately allowing or permitting a thing of which one disapproves. One can meaningfully speak of tolerating, ie of allowing or permitting, only if one is in a position to disallow”. It has also been defined as "to bear or endure" or "to nourish, sustain or preserve"...
and conformityConformityConformity is the process by which an individual's attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors are influenced by other people.Conformity may also refer to:*Conformity: A Tale, a novel by Charlotte Elizabeth Tonna...
. - For a free marketFree marketA free market is a competitive market where prices are determined by supply and demand. However, the term is also commonly used for markets in which economic intervention and regulation by the state is limited to tax collection, and enforcement of private ownership and contracts...
and a world without borders. Against walls and regulations.
The modern Moderate Youth League are staunch supporters of capitalism
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
, deregulation
Deregulation
Deregulation is the removal or simplification of government rules and regulations that constrain the operation of market forces.Deregulation is the removal or simplification of government rules and regulations that constrain the operation of market forces.Deregulation is the removal or...
and lower taxes. They also adhere to individualism
Individualism
Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology, or social outlook that stresses "the moral worth of the individual". Individualists promote the exercise of one's goals and desires and so value independence and self-reliance while opposing most external interference upon one's own...
, which extends to wide-reaching support for gay rights. The League supports free trade, free immigration and wants to abolish foreign aid.
Like its opponents in the Swedish Social Democratic Youth League
Swedish Social Democratic Youth League
The Swedish Social Democratic Youth League is a branch of the Swedish social democratic party Socialdemokraterna and the Swedish Trade Union Confederation...
, the Moderate Youth League has suffered from divisions between different factions. The 1990s saw many battles between modernising neoliberals and conservatives
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
. At the congress in Lycksele in 1992
Battle of Lycksele
The Battle of Lycksele is the name given to the Congress of the Moderate Youth League, the youth of the Swedish Moderate Party, in 1992, set in Lycksele in Lapland....
, Fredrik Reinfeldt
Fredrik Reinfeldt
John Fredrik Reinfeldt is the Prime Minister of Sweden, leader of the liberal conservative Moderate Party and former President of the European Council...
, the current leader of the Moderate Party
Moderate Party
The Moderate Party is a centre-right, liberal conservative political party in Sweden. The party was founded in 1904 as the General Electoral League by a group of conservatives in the Swedish parliament...
, was elected chairman, defeating the neoliberal Ulf Kristersson
Ulf Kristersson
Ulf Hjalmar Kristersson is a Swedish Moderate Party politician and one of the vice mayors in Stockholm. He was born in Skåne and grew up there and in Södermanland. After finishing secondary school at S:t Eskils gymnasium in Eskilstuna and completing a degree in economics at Uppsala University, he...
. In recent years, however, the division have largely disappeared. With the Moderates becoming more cosmopolitan, the traditionalist Conservatives
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
have all but disappeared. Gay rights was a source of division, but now almost all of the Moderate Youth League supports equal rights of marriage and adoption for homosexuals. A conservative fringe group, however, was formed – Young Conservative Moderates
Young Conservative Moderates
Young Conservative Moderates is a fringe group of the Moderate Youth League, the youth-wing of the Swedish Moderate Party. It was founded in 2004 as Mörkblått värn , but changed to its current name after the founder left to join the Christian Democrats...
(Unga konservativa moderater) – but did not gain widespread membership.
In foreign policy, MUF tends to support the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, including the 2003 Iraq War and Swedish NATO membership. Chairwoman Tove Lifvendahl
Tove Lifvendahl
Tove Lifvendahl is Swedish writer, speaker and political commentator affiliated with the Moderate Party. She grew up in Hälsingland and graduated from Uppsala University...
proudly wore an "I love Bush" shirt after George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
's election in 2000, although she was quick to criticise him for the steel tariffs he later imposed. It is also strongly supportive of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. Though generally supportive of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, the Youth League does not support Sweden adopting the euro
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
.
Chairpersons
- Torgil von SethTorgil von SethCount Torgil Gabriel Alexander von Seth, born October 3, 1895 in Jönköping, dead January 21, 1989 in Vaggeryd was a Swedish right-wing politician and the first chairman of what later became the Moderate Youth League....
, 1934–1941 - Folke Kyling, 1941–1945
- Ebbe Olsson, 1945–1949
- Gunnar HeckscherGunnar HeckscherProfessor Gunnar Edvard Heckscher was a Swedish political scientist and leader of the Rightist Party , which later became the Moderate Party.-Biography:...
, 1949–1952 - Bengt Lind, 1952–1954
- Birger Isacson, 1954–1957
- Sven JohanssonSven JohanssonSven Bertil Johansson was a Swedish sprint canoer who competed in the late 1930s. He won a gold medal in the folding K-2 10000 m event at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin....
, 1957–1959 - Paul Brundin, 1959–1961
- Gunnar Hillerdal, 1961–1963
- Birger Hagård, 1963–1965
- Eric Krönmark, 1965–1966
- Anders BjörckAnders BjörckAnders Per - Arne Björck is a Swedish politician and the former Governor of Uppsala County from 2003 to 2009.Björck was born in Nässjö and was interested in politics from an early stage. He was national chairman of the Moderate Youth League, or the Rightist Youth League as it was known at the...
, 1966–1971 - Per UnckelPer UnckelPer Carl Gustav Unckel was a Swedish former Moderate Party politician and at the time of his death the Governor of Stockholm County....
, 1971–1976 - Per-Arne Arvidson, 1976–1979
- Gunnar HökmarkGunnar HökmarkAnders Gunnar Hökmark is a Swedish politician and Member of the European Parliament for the Moderate Party; part of the European People's Party....
, 1979–1984 - Beatrice AskBeatrice AskEva Carin Beatrice Ask is a Swedish Moderate Party politician currently serving as Minister for Justice in the Swedish government.- Biography :...
, 1984–1988 - Ulf KristerssonUlf KristerssonUlf Hjalmar Kristersson is a Swedish Moderate Party politician and one of the vice mayors in Stockholm. He was born in Skåne and grew up there and in Södermanland. After finishing secondary school at S:t Eskils gymnasium in Eskilstuna and completing a degree in economics at Uppsala University, he...
, 1988–1992 - Fredrik ReinfeldtFredrik ReinfeldtJohn Fredrik Reinfeldt is the Prime Minister of Sweden, leader of the liberal conservative Moderate Party and former President of the European Council...
, 1992–1995 - Thomas Idergaard, 1995–1998
- Gunnar Strömmer, 1998–2000
- Tove LifvendahlTove LifvendahlTove Lifvendahl is Swedish writer, speaker and political commentator affiliated with the Moderate Party. She grew up in Hälsingland and graduated from Uppsala University...
, 2000–2002 - Christofer FjellnerChristofer FjellnerGustav Christofer Ingemar Fjellner is a Swedish politician and Member of the European Parliament. He is a member of the Moderate Party, part of the European People's Party - European Democrats group....
, 2002–2004 - Johan ForssellJohan ForssellCarl Johan Henrik Forssell is a Swedish Moderate Party politician serving as Chief of Staff to Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt.- Personal life and education :...
, 2004–2006 - Niklas WykmanNiklas WykmanNiklas Åke Wykman is a Swedish politician and former chairman of the Moderate Youth League, the youth wing of the Swedish liberal-conservative Moderate Party....
, 2006–2010 - Erik BengtzboeErik BengtzboeErik Bengtzboe is a Swedish Moderate Party politician and the current chairman of the Moderate Youth League since 2010...
, 2010–present
External links
- Moderata Ungdomsförbundet (in Swedish)