Political promise

 Very often, politicians promise a lot of things during an election campaign, but in reality, very little happens.

In Sweden and many other European countries, it is sometimes difficult to secure an absolute majority, and coalitions must be formed.

So, if you get, say, 22% of the vote, you certainly can't push through 100% of your own policies. You often have to compromise.

I understand this, but unfortunately, there are many on the opposing sides who want to score political points and call it a failure.

But then sometimes there are referendums—you’ve surely voted in one—where the result might be a "no," but then suddenly it changes to a "yes." Have you experienced that?

I will mention three examples here that have a connection to Sweden, but unfortunately, this has happened in many other places as well.

The Åland movement emerged during the First World War, when Finland gained independence from Russia in 1917. In an unofficial petition or referendum held between 1917 and 1919, "ninety-five percent" of the population—according to the delegation itself—voted for Åland to join Sweden.

(Åland consists of islands situated between Finland and Sweden.)

They even traveled to Stockholm to appeal to King Gustaf V.

Sweden sought to acquire Åland, citing the will and language of the population, while Finland maintained that Åland was part of Finnish territory.

The Finnish Parliament attempted to resolve the matter in 1920 by offering an Act on Autonomy, but Åland did not accept it.

The conflict was so fraught that it was referred to the newly formed League of Nations—marking the first truly major international case for the organisation.

This was before the UN.

In June 1921, the Council of the League of Nations decided:

Finland was granted sovereignty over Åland

Åland was granted extensive autonomy and guarantees that Swedish would be an official language and that Swedish culture would be protected

Sweden accepted the decision under protest; Åland accepted it reluctantly afterwards.

So, it was not the people of Åland, the Swedes, or the Finns who voted—it was the representatives of eight other countries on the League of Nations Council who voted on Åland’s fate.

Amazing!

Then there is the famous traffic referendum.

On October 16, 1955, an advisory referendum was held on whether to switch to right-hand traffic.

The result was a resounding "no":

82.9% in favor of KEEPING left-hand traffic – 2,139,996 votes

15.5% in favor of right-hand traffic – 400,061 votes

1.6% blank votes

Despite this, the Riksdag decided on May 10, 1963, that Sweden would switch to right-hand traffic anyway. The reason was that the number of cars had tripled since the 1950s, and Sweden was the only country left in Europe—apart from Iceland and Great Britain—driving on the left. The Nordic Council and the Council of Europe were also exerting pressure.

Oh my!

It has happened again (and in many, many other instances)

Gothenburg 2014

57% voted against the congestion tax in Gothenburg. The tax was retained nonetheless, on the grounds that it was a matter for the state and that the vote was merely advisory.

So, is there any point in holding referendums and voting in them?