MaktkartanPublished: Text updated:
The chamber and the working year
The Riksdag's 349 members meet in the chamber, chaired by the Speaker. The Speaker is elected by the Riksdag, is impartial while in office and does not vote. The parliamentary session - the working year - normally opens in September and runs until the next one begins.
A member who is on leave or serving as a minister is replaced by a substitute from the same party, so that the number of voting members is always 349. The party groups coordinate the work and the group leaders negotiate the chamber's agenda between them.
From proposal to law
A legislative proposal usually comes from the government and is then called a bill. Members can also submit their own proposals, motions - during the general motion period in the autumn or as a follow-up motion to a bill.
The proposal goes to a committee, which prepares it, holds hearings and negotiates. The committee writes a report with its proposed decision; dissenting members write reservations. The report is debated in the chamber and settled by a vote.
Before a new law is decided it is usually examined by the Council on Legislation, which assesses whether the proposal is compatible with the constitution and legally sound. Once the Riksdag has approved it, the government promulgates the law and it is published in the Swedish Code of Statutes.
The committees
There are 15 standing committees, one for each policy area - from justice and health to transport and education. Each committee has 17 members, distributed between the parties in proportion to their size in the chamber. This is where the real negotiation happens; the chamber's vote usually confirms the committee's line.
Two committees have a special standing. The Committee on the Constitution reviews ministers' conduct in office and handles constitutional matters. The Committee on Finance is responsible for the budget framework and coordinates the other committees' spending proposals. There is also the EU Committee, where the government must anchor its position before meetings of the EU Council of Ministers.
The budget process
The Riksdag holds the power of the purse: no tax is levied and no money spent without its decision. In spring the government presents the spring fiscal policy bill with the guidelines, and in September the budget bill for the coming year.
The budget is decided in two steps - the framework model. First the Riksdag sets revenues and an expenditure frame for each of 27 expenditure areas in one single combined decision. Then the committees prepare proposals for allocating appropriations within each frame. The chamber of the Riksdag then decides the allocations, with one decision per expenditure area. The proposals may not exceed the agreed frames.
Because the first step is a single decision, parts of competing budget proposals cannot be combined. This is why budget votes carry such political weight: a government that loses its budget has lost control of policy, even if it can formally stay in office.
The power of scrutiny
The Riksdag scrutinises the government in several ways. Interpellations are written questions answered orally in the chamber and followed by debate; written questions are answered in writing within a week; question time is held weekly with ministers present.
The Committee on the Constitution's annual review examines how ministers have carried out their duties. A vote of no confidence is the ultimate instrument and requires 175 votes. The Riksdag also has its own scrutiny bodies: the National Audit Office audits state activity, the Parliamentary Ombudsmen review how agencies treat individuals, and the Riksbank reports to the Riksdag.
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