Publication Laka-library:
Before & After: The Swedish referendum
| Author | Per Ragnarson |
| Date | July 1980 |
| Classification | 2.07.0.00/04 (SWEDEN - GENERAL) |
| Front | 
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From the publication:
On March 23, 1980, the residents of Sweden voted in their first popular referendum* on advanced technology. They were asked their opinion on whether or not Sweden, which in the late 1960s became a leading nation in nuclear power technology, should continue to use this controversial energy source. It was not a question of whether or not Sweden should enter the "atomic age". This choice had been taken de facto about 15 years earlier by technologists and by Parliament, amidst a near-total lack of public interest in energy supply matters as a social issue. But in the early 70s the use of nuclear energy was increasingly questioned, and it evolved into a political matter. Among the supporters of nuclear power were the Social Democrats and the Liberal and Conservative parties, whereas the Center and Communist parties came out against further expansion of Sweden's nuclear power facilities. After the non-socialist election victory of September 1976, in which energy policy was a dominant issue and Center party leader Thorbjörn Fälldin scored a success with his anti-nuclear stance, the next two or three years were marked by continuous disputes on energy issues. In late 1978 these led to the collapse of the three-party non-socialist government. It was succeeded by a minority Liberal Cabinet that relied on the promise of support from the Social Democrats and Conservatives to push through a government bill calling for a cautious expansion of nuclear power. *Referendums are rare in Sweden. Only three have been held before - on alcohol policy, a pension reform and the switch to right-hand traffic. Constitutionally they have only a consultative function but in the case of the forthcoming nuclear referendum all the parliamentary parties have declared that they will abide by the outcome.
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