Editing History of the Riksdag (section)

== Democracy emerges ==
[[File:Riksdag-opening-1897.jpg|thumb|262x262px|Riksdag opening, 1897]]
From the second half of the 19th century, when the Riksdag was founded, until the early 20th century, Swedish society underwent fundamental changes that impacted on the political system. Political demands, but also sheer economic progress, increased the size of the electorate and the degree of political mobilization. This in turn also sponsored the emergence and growth of political parties. As such, the legislature became more assertive against royal authority, successfully asserting [[responsible government]]; a [[parliamentary system]] thus became ''de facto'' established; the [[Monarchy of Sweden|king]] could not (or at least would not dare) keep a government in office against parliamentary objections.

Between 1907 and 1909, universal suffrage to Swedish men was granted. This was carried out under the government led by [[Arvid Lindman]]. All Swedish men above 24 could vote for the Second chamber without any of the prior qualifications involving them having to possess wealth or income.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=12 April 2023 |title=The fight for the right to vote |url=https://www.riksdagen.se/en/how-the-riksdag-works/the-history-of-the-riksdag/the-fight-for-the-right-to-vote/#men-are-given-the-right-to-vote-19071909-10 |access-date=2024-10-27 |website=www.riksdagen.se |language=en}}</ref>

=== Courtyard Crisis ===
{{main|Courtyard Crisis}}
[[File:Gustav V speaks in 1914.jpg|left|thumb|Gustav V's courtyard speech]]
[[File:Hjalmar Branting and Karl Staaff 1914.jpg|thumb|261x261px|[[Karl Staaff]], the prime minister to the right of the column listens to a speech by [[Hjalmar Branting]], the leader of the [[Swedish Social Democratic Party|social democrats]] in the opposition. 1914.]]
The last time the king attempted to assert himself in opposition to the Riksdag was the [[Courtyard Crisis]] of 1914, where King [[Gustav V of Sweden|Gustav V]] delivered a partisan speech which precipitated the resignation of Prime Minister [[Karl Staaff]] and his government.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Edhager |first=Micaela |url=https://fhs.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?aq2=%5B%5B%5D%5D&c=9&af=%5B%5D&searchType=LIST_LATEST&sortOrder2=title_sort_asc&query=&language=sv&pid=diva2:1796614&aq=%5B%5B%5D%5D&sf=all&aqe=%5B%5D&sortOrder=author_sort_asc&onlyFullText=false&noOfRows=50&dswid=4850 |title=Constitutional Crisis And Securitisation : A Political Discourse Analysis of Sweden’s Courtyard Crisis, 6–18 February 1914 |date=2023}}</ref> Though the outbreak of [[World War I]] kept the King's conservative government, headed by [[Hjalmar Hammarskjöld]] in office,<ref>{{Cite web |date=25 October 2024 |title=Gustav V {{!}} Swedish Monarch, Constitutional Reforms {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Gustav-V#ref903963 |access-date=2024-10-27 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> in the face of popular unrest (also resulting from food shortages) and a clear majority for the opposition [[Social Democratic Party (Sweden)|Social Democrats]] and Liberals at the [[1917 Swedish general election|1917 general election]], the King reluctantly resolved to appoint a cabinet from the reform-minded majority in the Riksdag.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Lewin |first=Leif |date=1 May 2007 |title=Majoritarian and Consensus Democracy: the Swedish Experience |journal=Scandinavian Political Studies |volume=21 |issue=3 |pages=195–206 |citeseerx=10.1.1.734.6025 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-9477.1998.tb00012.x}}</ref><ref name=":3" /> The new government's main task was to present bills on constitutional reform.

In 2023, Micaela Edhager argued that courtyard crisis also reflected a confrontation between two different ideas of how Sweden's political system should be arranged, a monarchical one vs a parliamentary system.<ref name=":2" />

=== Further reforms ===
The [[suffrage|franchise]] had been extended to all adult men in 1907; women's suffrage first came in the [[1921 Swedish general election|1921 general election]] to the second chamber of the Riksdag.<ref>{{Cite web |title=How Swedish women got the right to vote |url=https://sharingsweden.se/materials/how-swedish-women-got-the-right-to-vote |access-date=2024-10-20 |website=Sharing Sweden |language=en-GB}}</ref> In 1919, women as well as all other Swedes who were of age, were given the right to vote in elections for county and municipal councils. This reform affected the First chamber, as its members were chosen by the county councils.<ref name=":3" />