Page:CIA-RDP01-00707R000200090019-6.pdf/23

 APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200090019-6

In foreign affairs the Center Party strongly supports the traditional Swedish policy of neutrality and non-alliance. The party's aversion to the Common Market reportedly contributed to Palme's decision to seek something less than full membership in it. Although the party tends to be isolationist, the leaders and the rank and file are equally strong in support of democratic ideals and identify Sweden with the Western European and American democracies. Members have been inclined to question increased defense expenditures, but once convinced of such a need, they have gone along with the other non-Communist parties in supporting the reorganization and modernization of the defense forces, in contrast to some of their Norwegian and Danish counterparts. On the Vietnam issue, the party has tended to take a middle-of-the-road position.

d. Press and finances

The Center Party has no newspaper which is read on a nationwide scale. Its leading organ is the Malmo-published Skanska Dagbladet (Skane Daily News), which has a relatively small circulation. In 1969 the party published only 13 daily newspapers throughout Sweden. Because the party keeps the sources of its funds confidential, there are no estimates of its financial status. The local sections keep about 20% of the dues collected and forward the remainder to the district organizations, which, in turn, keep 80% of the amounts received and forward the balance to higher units.

3. Liberal Party

a. Membership and electoral strength

The Liberal Party, organized in 1934 by the merger of the Enlightened People's Party and the Swedish Liberal Party, has been one of the principal opposition parties throughout most of the postwar era. Its electoral support has varied from about 15% to 20% of the popular vote. In size the Liberals rank fourth among the parties, with a 1969 membership of about 100,000. Support comes from disparate elements - basically middle class but often with conflicting interests - including white-collar workers, small businessmen, small farmers, professional groups, and some financial and industrial interests. Its most dependable supporters are members of nonconformist Protestant sects and the temperance movement.

b. Organization and leadership

In some structural aspects the Liberal Party is similar to the SAP. Its lines of authority, however, are not nearly as clearly defined; it is probably the most loosely organized of the Swedish parties. The highest authority is the national party convention, which is composed of 360 delegates and meets every 3 years. All but seven of the delegates are elected by the district party organizations on a proportional basis. The convention includes four representatives of the party's parliamentary group, and one representative each of the youth, women's, and press associations. A 68-member advisory council, chaired by the national chairman and including 10 members elected by the national convention and a representative of each of the district organizations and of the two special Stockholm districts, meets once a year to make decisions on matters not taken by the convention. The 27-member national committee, which consists of the chairman, secretary, 22 members elected by the national convention, and the chairman of the youth, women's, and press associations, meets at least three times a year. Activities of the executive committee are determined by the national committee, and it names special committees to collaborate on recruitment, organization, and propaganda.

The national committee selects nine of its members to form the executive committee, which, together with the secretary, carries out the decisions of the national committee, the advisory council, and the convention, and directs the day-to-day activities of the party between conventions. The national organization is duplicated on the district and local levels in much the same way as that of the SAP, except that the basic units at the lowest level are designed "local sections," and propaganda activity is carried on mainly by the district organizations.

The Liberal Party depends to a great extent on auxiliary organizations to supplement its own activity in training party leaders. The most important of these organizations is the Liberal Youth League (FPU), established in 1934. The FPU plays an important role in carrying on general educational as well as propaganda activities. The party maintains a women's organization, the Liberal Women's Association, and the Liberal Student Association.

The Liberal Party is headed by chairman Gunnar Helen, who succeeded Sven Weden in 1969 when he retired because of poor health. One of the primary problems facing Helen when he took charge was the increasingly radical tone of the youth organization, which threatened to destroy the unity of the party. The results of the 1970 elections suggest that Helen may have succeeded in taking some of the sting out of the vocal youth group and placating more conservative elements. The known friendship of the

16

APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200090019-6