Valstugor – a Swedish phenomenon? Posted by jennie on Sep 7, 2010 in Culture
It’s only two weeks left until Election Day (Sept 19) in Sweden the final race to win the voters have just begun. Every day is filled with broadcasted debates, talk shows, live chats, interviews…well, Sweden is pretty much nothing but politics at the moment. I was back home this weekend, a friend got married and in between ceremonies and parties I managed fulfilled my duty as a Swedish citizen and voted. In Sweden you can start voting from the September 1. The local library, town hall or council hall has designated voting areas that is open every day up until the election. If you are living abroad but still is a Swedish citizen, you can vote via post.
Anyway. There will be plenty of reasons to come back to the election itself, but today I must write about something the struck me when
being home this weekend. Have you ever seen a valstuga? A valstuga (translate: election cabin) is a little cabin – placed in the town centre of every town in Sweden, big or small – where the party get to meet their voters or has a chance to recruit new ones. Let’s take Kungälv – my old hometown, as an example. The little park in the middle of town is packed with these little cabins now, one for each party (well, the big ones atleast) and if you want to know a little bit more about Folkpartiet, well then you just walk up to that cabin and within seconds you’ll be bombarded with values, promises and point of views. You will also get bombarded with treats, since all cabins are loaded with freebies like sweets, stickers, pins, pens, condoms, leaflets… And I promise you, wherever you go in Sweden these days, you will find the same thing.
The election cabins are a bit of a mystery. Noone really knows when and why they appeared, but they have been traced back to 1940’s. The trend really kicked off in the 1970’s, when the parties got their own money to spend. Nowadays, there are most certainly quite a bit of rivalry between the parties when it comes to election cabins. Who has got the the most inventive design? Who’s got the prettiest cabin? Who’s got the coolest? Who’s got the best freebies? Who’s got the best guests? And come post election – they are all for sale and if you fancy your own election cabin in your back garden, September 20 would be your day!
I’m not sure if these little cabins appear anywhere else in the world around election, but I’m pretty sure that you can fill me in on that.
I do know that they were nowhere to be found here in England this year when we got a new prime minister. But maybe somewhere else? And while we’re at it, is there anyting particular that might interest you when it comes to the Swedish Election 2010? As usual, yor wish is our command!
Photos: Fi, Centerpartiet, Socialdemokraterna
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Comments:
BM:
These structures can be found in Norway as well, but I think it’s usually just in the cities/towns.
Letícia:
You guys have so many days to vote? That’s cool! In Brazil we only have one day to do it (this year we’re voting on October 3).
As for the valstugor, I’ve never seen anything like those, they look pretty cute. The parties here rent regular houses for that same purpose.
Since you asked, I’d like to know what your voting system is like… And the voting process itself. Do you guys use ballot paper or is it electronic?
Daniel:
@ Leticia The election day is just one day (sep 19), but since people might work that day or something like that its allowed to vote by mail in advance. And since it is ok to vote by mail they started to accept regular votes at those places too, even if its a few days left before election day.We use ballot paper since people suspect that it might be easier to tamper with electronic systems. We vote for partys to take places in our Riksdag (349 members). These will then vote for a prime minister that will appoint a regering that need a majority in the riksdag to be accepted.
Letícia:
Thank you for the information, Daniel. 🙂
jennie:
@BM: Ah, you are right! I guess Norway and Sweden kind of works the same in many ways politically. And socially… And… or am I wrong?
@leticia:A whole house? Do you just go there and ring the doorbell? how do you know where to find them?
@Daniel: Thank you!
Letícia:
@jennie: Yes, it can either be a whole (usually small) house or any given number of floors in a building. It’s crazy, I know. And yes, you just go there and ring the doorbell. 🙂 They put a big poster containing the candidate’s photo, name, party and number – we have electronic elections here, so we vote by numbers – on the facade so that people know that that place is a comitê (that’s how it’s called). They publicize their addresses on websites, in case people want to know where to find them. I think it’s a bit of a mess, to be honest, and can’t wait to the election to be over and see all those posters gone!
Janne:
You can see the cabins in Finland too, so it’s a Nordic thing. If the tradition began in the 40s then Sweden probably started it, since her neighbours were not as prosperous in the post-war period.