Popularity of the Monarchy in Sweden

[LadyFinn]

A survey conducted by YouGov shows that 17 percent of Swedes think that the monarchy should be abolished and that 34 percent believe that the monarchy is an outdated tradition but the issue is not very important to them. This means that a total of 51 percent have no more interest in the monarchy.
The survey was conducted on the period 8 to 12 October 2015. A total of 1542 interviews were conducted via the Internet with men and women 18+ in Sweden. The sample is representative of the Swedish population in terms of gender, age, region and allocation of votes at the parliamentary election in September 2014.
- For many Republicans monarchy is an institution that doesn't fit into a modern, democratic society where the people in elections elect their political representatives, says Lars Ericson Wolke, Professor of History at the National Defence University on why the interest in the monarchy has fallen.
Whether Sweden will abandon the monarchy and instead becoming a republic in the future, according to him, is not an impossibility, but not something that seems likely in the near term.
- Sure, one can imagine a future scenario of Sweden becoming a republic. But as long as the opinion of the republic is relatively limited, it feels not so likely because no political majority in the Parliament would bring upan issue that probably would not win but just lose.

The monarchy should be abolished in Sweden: 17 percent.
The monarchy is a tradition that should go on: 40 percent.
I think the monarchy is an outdated tradition, but the issue is not important for me: 34 percent.
Do not know: 8 percent.
Total: 100 percent.
Så många vill att monarkin ska avskaffas – Metro

 

[JR76]

A survey conducted by YouGov shows that 17 percent of Swedes think that the monarchy should be abolished and that 34 percent believe that the monarchy is an outdated tradition but the issue is not very important to them. This means that a total of 51 percent have no more interest in the monarchy.

The survey was conducted on the period 8 to 12 October 2015. A total of 1542 interviews were conducted via the Internet with men and women 18+ in Sweden. The sample is representative of the Swedish population in terms of gender, age, region and allocation of votes at the parliamentary election in September 2014.

- For many Republicans monarchy is an institution that doesn't fit into a modern, democratic society where the people in elections elect their political representatives, says Lars Ericson Wolke, Professor of History at the National Defence University on why the interest in the monarchy has fallen.

Whether Sweden will abandon the monarchy and instead becoming a republic in the future, according to him, is not an impossibility, but not something that seems likely in the near term.

- Sure, one can imagine a future scenario of Sweden becoming a republic. But as long as the opinion of the republic is relatively limited, it feels not so likely because no political majority in the Parliament would bring upan issue that probably would not win but just lose.



The monarchy should be abolished in Sweden: 17 percent.

The monarchy is a tradition that should go on: 40 percent.

I think the monarchy is an outdated tradition, but the issue is not important for me: 34 percent.

Do not know: 8 percent.

Total: 100 percent.

Så många vill att monarkin ska avskaffas – Metro

Well this will get the republicans going again.


Sent from my iPhone using The Royals Community mobile app

 

[Muhler]

Thanks, LadyFinn.

I think it's a very open interpretation to conclude that just because 34 % find the monarchy outdated and not relevant to them personally, that that is the same thing as wishing to abolish the monarchy - at least over time.

I can't help wondering if the 34 % would be significantly reduced if, or rather when, Victoria and Daniel - and of course CP and his Sofia - have more prominent roles.
Because I think the view expressed by the 34 % is very much attributable to the King himself and his not always stellar conduct.

There are things in our daily lives that may not be relevant to us individually or which we may think is outdated.
Example: I'm an atheist, as such the churches are not relevant to me personally in the day to day life, but that doesn't mean I want them torn down or converted into cafeterias. That would be a cultural shame IMO.

 

[Madame Verseau]

@Muhler - I think this survey should have went further and poll who is popular in the SRF. That could determine the viability of the monarchy. The king's shenanigans did have an impact, but you wouldn't know it by the public turnout at royal weddings and christenings. Although there have been recent movements by certain factions in the Riksdag to have the monarchy abolished, apparently there are not enough votes to make it happen. (I'm sorry I'm not completed familiar with how the Riksdag functions.) I also think it would take a series of misconduct and/or a royal scandal of epic proportions for the republicans to gain steam to end the monarchy.

 

[Lee-Z]

Don't think it's a spectacular result, even in the NL were the monarchy has a quite good reputation at the moment, in a recent poll (first half 2015) 16% voted that the monarchy should be abolished...

As far as i can tell CP.Victoria and her family alone will help the monarchy continue for another nr of years
(actually the swedish model of a more ceremoniously monarchy often comes up in polls for the dutch RF and i can see that model being adopted there too)

 

[Mbruno]

Thanks, LadyFinn.

I think it's a very open interpretation to conclude that just because 34 % find the monarchy outdated and not relevant to them personally, that that is the same thing as wishing to abolish the monarchy - at least over time.

I can't help wondering if the 34 % would be significantly reduced if, or rather when, Victoria and Daniel - and of course CP and his Sofia - have more prominent roles.
Because I think the view expressed by the 34 % is very much attributable to the King himself and his not always stellar conduct.

There are things in our daily lives that may not be relevant to us individually or which we may think is outdated.
Example: I'm an atheist, as such the churches are not relevant to me personally in the day to day life, but that doesn't mean I want them torn down or converted into cafeterias. That would be a cultural shame IMO.

The poll results overall are not very encouraging for republicans. With only 17 % saying that the monarchy should be abolished and 40 % saying it should definitely be kept, it seems clear to me that the republican option would probably be defeated today in any hypothetical referendum. I also agree that being indifferent to the monarchy or considering it outdated does not equate being in favor of abolishing it.

 

[LadyFinn]

Swedish people's trust in the royal family's way of handling their work has increased and is at its highest level since in 2010.
It shows the latest survey by the SOM Institute at Gothenburg University.
The Swedish monarchy is enjoying right now. The positive attention in the media increases with weddings, childbirth and birthdays. And confidence among subjects is increasing, according to several studies. The SOM-Institute has measured the confidence of the royal family every year since 1995.
The survey from the end of 2015 were those with great confidence, 11 percentage points more than those with little confidence. This so-called balance measure has not been this high since early 2010.
Förtroendet har ökat för kungahuset _ Nyheter _ Expressen

The presentation from SOM Institute's seminar today, some points from the summary:
A majority wants to maintain the monarchy and does not want to establish a republic.
Among journalists, there is a majority to establish a republic in Sweden, among parliament members are almost as many who are for and against.
There is a big difference between Swedish people and journalists, with much more negative attitudes and less confidence among the journalists.
The Swedish king is as popular as the other Heads of State of the The Nordic countries and the Crown Princess is the most popular public person included in the surveys.
http://som.gu.se/digitalAssets/1571/1571544_nilsson_installning_till_monarkin.pdf

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

Personal popularity or approval do not necessarily translate in similar approval for a monarchal system. Often a personal popularity is higher than the clear question: "Do you favour a system in which the head of state is deliverer by hereditary succession?"

Look at Romania. Both former King Michael and his daughter Princess Margareta are amongst the most trusted and most approved public persons, but there is no any desire for a monarchy, despite the personal approval ratings. So the statistics are what they are and as the previous poster already pointed out: weddings, births, etc. have a positive effect. So it is a thin-as-ice feelgood factor. One mistake and everything is swoosh... through the loo. Ask King Juan Carlos. Du moment that the Panama Papers reveal that Swedish royals evaded tax, all will crumble down. It is important to keep this in the eye. As the verb says: popularity comes by feet but leaves on horseback.

 

[LadyFinn]

Medieakademien published it's annual confidence barometer on 7th April 2016 at Media Days. The survey was done by TNS Sifo with webb-interviews with over 1200 people (15 years or older) on 2-13 March 2016.
According to that the confidence for the Royal House has been/is:
2010 - 50 %
2011 - 35
2012 - 35
2013 - 37
2014 - 37
2015 - 40
2016 - 42

When compared the Confidence in Public Institutions, the Royal House is the only institution which has change upwards, has more confidence than last year.
http://medieakademien.se/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Förtroendebarometern_2016.pdf

 

[ROYAL NORWAY]

The Swedish king is as popular as the other Heads of State of the The Nordic countries and the Crown Princess is the most popular public person included in the surveys.

Just to clarify: This survey doesn't say that King Carl Gustaf is as popular in Sweden as Queen Elizabeth II, King Harald V and Queen Margrethe II is in their countries, because he is not even close to their popularity. What this survey says: is that he is as popular as the other monarchs in the Swedish population. A weird poll if you ask me.

Personal popularity or approval do not necessarily translate in similar approval for a monarchal system. Often a personal popularity is higher than the clear question: "Do you favour a system in which the head of state is deliverer by hereditary succession?"

Look at Romania. Both former King Michael and his daughter Princess Margareta are amongst the most trusted and most approved public persons, but there is no any desire for a monarchy, despite the personal approval ratings. So the statistics are what they are and as the previous poster already pointed out: weddings, births, etc. have a positive effect. So it is a thin-as-ice feelgood factor. One mistake and everything is swoosh... through the loo. Ask King Juan Carlos. Du moment that the Panama Papers reveal that Swedish royals evaded tax, all will crumble down. It is important to keep this in the eye. As the verb says: popularity comes by feet but leaves on horseback.

Yes, I and the vast majority in the UK, Norway, Denmark and Sweden supports a hereditary constitutional monarchy. It's a unifying symbol and its good for democracy. And you can't compare Sweden with Spain/Romania.

 

[Mbruno]

Swedish people's trust in the royal family's way of handling their work has increased and is at its highest level since in 2010.
It shows the latest survey by the SOM Institute at Gothenburg University.
The Swedish monarchy is enjoying right now. The positive attention in the media increases with weddings, childbirth and birthdays. And confidence among subjects is increasing, according to several studies. The SOM-Institute has measured the confidence of the royal family every year since 1995.
The survey from the end of 2015 were those with great confidence, 11 percentage points more than those with little confidence. This so-called balance measure has not been this high since early 2010.
Förtroendet har ökat för kungahuset _ Nyheter _ Expressen

The presentation from SOM Institute's seminar today, some points from the summary:
A majority wants to maintain the monarchy and does not want to establish a republic.
Among journalists, there is a majority to establish a republic in Sweden, among parliament members are almost as many who are for and against.
There is a big difference between Swedish people and journalists, with much more negative attitudes and less confidence among the journalists.
The Swedish king is as popular as the other Heads of State of the The Nordic countries and the Crown Princess is the most popular public person included in the surveys.
http://som.gu.se/digitalAssets/1571/1571544_nilsson_installning_till_monarkin.pdf

If I understood it correctly, 66 % think it is a "bad idea" to establish a republic with an elected president; 18 % think it is "neither good nor bad", and only 16 % think it is a "good suggestion".

In another question though where the survey specifically asked if the monarchy should be kept or abolished, 56 % said it should be kept, 22 % said it should be abolished, and 22 % didn't know.

 

[Queen Claude]

I think that inertia/status quo plays a big part. For example had the monarchy been abolished in Denmark but kept in Romania, then I doubt if the Danish would want to re-instate the monarchy even if Margrethe and her family were popular and polls in Romanians would favor keeping the monarchy intact.

 

[ROYAL NORWAY]

I think that inertia/status quo plays a big part. For example had the monarchy been abolished in Denmark but kept in Romania, then I doubt if the Danish would want to re-instate the monarchy even if Margrethe and her family were popular and polls in Romanians would favor keeping the monarchy intact.

You're right! We like it because it's already there, and it's far better than an divisive politician/celebrity. But no modern country would re-instate or create a monarchy today.

 

[Madame Verseau]

This is pretty good timing for this poll, given the king's birthday celebrations coming up this week. Add in Silvia's anniversary as queen of Sweden, and two upcoming christenings there are plenty of feel-good moments. But I agree with Duc et Pair - one scandal, particularly a member of the SRF embroiled in the criminal justice system for the wrong reasons, could change that.

I'm just curious to know why journalists have an issue with the SRF. I don't count Expressen and SvenskDam - they have a more tabloid-y feel when reporting on royals and gossip is their bread and butter. Do the other journalists feel they are handcuffed when interviewing the SRF and they can't do follow up questions?

 

[Curryong]

You can't unscramble an omelette. Once a monarchy has been deposed and its members exiled for generations it's gone. The one exception to this rule in modern times is the Spanish monarchy, returned because General Franco wished it.

In spite of the personal popularity of King Felipe and Queen Letizia I feel much less sanguine about the ultimate survival of the Spanish Royal House than I do about the Swedish royals. The Swedish royal family seems to have a firm hold, a grounding in the history of the country and in Swedish society. The personal popularity of the Crown Princess, of Daniel and of little Estelle seems to play into this, in spite of the King's past shenanigans.

And yes, weddings and babies do make for a feel good factor!

 

[hernameispekka]

This is pretty good timing for this poll, given the king's birthday celebrations coming up this week. Add in Silvia's anniversary as queen of Sweden, and two upcoming christenings there are plenty of feel-good moments. But I agree with Duc et Pair - one scandal, particularly a member of the SRF embroiled in the criminal justice system for the wrong reasons, could change that.

I'm just curious to know why journalists have an issue with the SRF. I don't count Expressen and SvenskDam - they have a more tabloid-y feel when reporting on royals and gossip is their bread and butter. Do the other journalists feel they are handcuffed when interviewing the SRF and they can't do follow up questions?

Because Swedish media is VERY left wing.

 

[LadyFinn]

This is pretty good timing for this poll, given the king's birthday celebrations coming up this week. Add in Silvia's anniversary as queen of Sweden, and two upcoming christenings there are plenty of feel-good moments.

That the results of the surveys would be comparable, the polls are made and surveys are published annually every year about the same time, the SOM Institute publishes their statistics in April, and the poll of Medieakademien's Confidence Barometer is done in late February-early March and published in April. And the celebrations mentioned may also cause more negative opinions among people who think that taxpayers' money should not be used to maintain or celebrate people who have inherited their position by birth.

 

[tausi]

I think that inertia/status quo plays a big part. For example had the monarchy been abolished in Denmark but kept in Romania, then I doubt if the Danish would want to re-instate the monarchy even if Margrethe and her family were popular and polls in Romanians would favor keeping the monarchy intact.

Well said! People are attached to the institution and not individual popularity of the royals.

 

[CyrilVladisla]

Could one base the popularity of the monarchy by the Swedes interest in the weddings of the King's three children and all the new royal grandchildren born?

 

[LadyFinn]

Opinion in Expressen by members of the Parliament of the Christian Democrats:

Thanks to the king monarchy's future is bright
Often when events of the royal family have a high profile in the media, a discussion is started on our country's form of government. A loud but rather small establishment of opinion formers and the radicals are crying after republic. It can give the impression that the support for the monarchy is uncertain.
Nothing could be more wrong. Let's quickly look at how support for the monarchy's opposed - republic - looks: SOM institute's major survey presented earlier this month shows that only 16 % want Sweden to be a republic with an elected president. 66 % think that the idea of a Swedish republic is bad and the other 18 % think neither. What also can be gauged from the survey is that support for our current form of government grows.
Our belief that the monarchy is something worth preserving, is not about poll numbers. It's about continuity, stability and identity. For hundreds of years, Sweden has had a reigning king or queen as head of state. By the continuity is created a common identity, which is Sweden.
As Christian Democrats, we are proud of our form of government and what the royal family achieves for our country, both at home as on their travels around the world. The positive image of Sweden which the king and his family create in cities and countries they visit, is something unique for our country and Sweden would be poor without that.
The monarchy is engaged in a collective and unifying function in serious events and times of crisis. Many Swedes remember very well the way which the king stood up in connection with the tsunami disaster. Beyond the party politics and beyond the fast pace of society is something else as a symbol of the country.
Tack vare kungen är monarkins framtid ljus _ Debatt _ Expressen
Translation

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

This very week saw another poll in a celebrating monarchy, the Netherlands. Like in Sweden (and other monarchies) these polls pop up when there are royal events. While the Dutch King and especially Queen Máxima are very popular, get oustanding approvals, the support for the monarchy itself has dropped to one of the lowest levels ever. Popularity of persons is not neccessarily corresponding with the desire to keep an institution. All we all we can say that monarchies are not that rock-fast as they once were. Like people only two generations ago would not have believed that the all-powerful and dominating Church would virtually disappear out of our lives and become an irrelevance.

 

[Lee-Z]

This very week saw another poll in a celebrating monarchy, the Netherlands. Like in Sweden (and other monarchies) these polls pop up when there are royal events. While the Dutch King and especially Queen Máxima are very popular, get oustanding approvals, the support for the monarchy itself has dropped to one of the lowest levels ever. Popularity of persons is not neccessarily corresponding with the desire to keep an institution. All we all we can say that monarchies are not that rock-fast as they once were. Like people only two generations ago would not have believed that the all-powerful and dominating Church would virtually disappear out of our lives and become an irrelevance.

Accompanying that dutch poll the articles state that "the popularity of a constitutional monarchy is inseparably linked to the popularity of the royal individuals", this is completely recognizable in this thread about the Swedish monarchy

 

[LadyFinn]

A new survey was published on 30th April. The survey was conducted by Sifo on behalf of Svenska Dagbladet.
1000 people were interviewed by telephone between 23 and 26 March.
The question asked was: "Do you want to retain or abolish monarchy?"
The survey from Sifo shows that 65 percent of Swedes want to retain monarchy. The strongest support is among women over 65, but support for the monarchy is fairly evenly among men and women of all ages. 24 percent of Swedes want to abolish the monarchy.
- A majority in all age groups want to retain monarchy, says Toivo Sjörén, head of the Sifo polling.
Ny SvD_Sifo_ Klar majoritet vill behålla monarkin _ SvD
Translation

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

Accompanying that dutch poll the articles state that "the popularity of a constitutional monarchy is inseparably linked to the popularity of the royal individuals", this is completely recognizable in this thread about the Swedish monarchy

Well, the popularity of the individuals is bigger than the support for the monarchy so it is not one-on-one. One can have a popularity approval of 85% while the monarchy as an institution, worth to behold, scores 60% or lower. See Spain and Belgium.

 

[Madame Verseau]

I think who is the head of state - or who's going to be the head of state - impacts the overall view of the monarchy. If the reigning sovereign is despised - or did something completely vile - there would be a call to end the monarchy. Or if a successor does something horribly wrong and the monarch does nothing about it, that could influence opinion about the Crown.

 

[Mbruno]

Well, the popularity of the individuals is bigger than the support for the monarchy so it is not one-on-one. One can have a popularity approval of 85% while the monarchy as an institution, worth to behold, scores 60% or lower. See Spain and Belgium.

I don't think Spain or Belgium are good examples because opposition to the monarchy there is parly driven by separatism, which is a factor that doesn't apply to Sweden or the Netherlands. Even in Spain though, opinion polls show that a majority still wants to retain the monarchy. I don't know about Belgium because i've never seen a Belgian poll on that topic.

 

[Blog Real]

The Swedish Liberals intend to leave Madeleine and Carl Philip without pay.

The Sweden Liberal Popular Party, the fourth training in representation in the national Parliament, wants to put limits on economic allocations that members of the Royal family receive. They are in agreement with the King and the Princess charged heiress, but not the other two sons of Carl XVI Gustaf.

Los liberales suecos proponen dejar a Magdalena y a Carlos Felipe sin sueldo

 

[Tatiana Maria]

See this post: http://www.theroyalforums.com/forum...-part-1-april-2015-a-38417-7.html#post1925925

 

[Curryong]

Partiföreträdare vill avskaffa monarkin | Nyheter | Expressen

Does this report in Expressen mean that all Swedish political parties intend to rid Sweden of the monarchy? I hope not!

 

[WreathOfLaurels]

Yeesh, the turnips have been going on about this for the last couple of decades - what I want to know is, if there is such unianamity on the subject than why don't they just go ahead and do it? As far as i know all it needs is one act of parliament and the king does not even sign the bill - the speaker does (although realistically there would probably need to be a referendum). Or is it (as I suspect) along with the transfer of the kings powers to the speaker of the house another crack at centralising power? Or more pretentious navel gazing? Keep in mind one of the traditional reasons behind swedish monarchism was the idea that the king was needed to keep the politicans in check vis-a-vis the people. Or maybe they're trying to distract people from Swedens other problems like the rise of the far right and questions over the refugee crisis?

Fact is is that CG and Vic will probably be the king and future queen for some time to come. The funding problem can be sorted out easily As a very general rule monarchies are only abolished after a major national disaster of some kind; normally loss in war and foreign invasion, but also major popular uprisings and loss of elite confidence. The politicans may not support the monarchy but a lot of swedish businesess do as its a very good soft power tool and a major part of brand sweden inc. despite the grand standing I don't see it going anywhere anytime soon. Sweden is more likely to exit the EU than knock over its monarchy at the present time. However that said, Sweden was also the first to do away with male primogeniture and the first in europe to completely remove the king from the political process - maybe it will set the precedent for popular, peaceful, and non-divisive republiancsim that does not involve exile, humiliation, or mass killing?