Conclusion
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
The Speaker 1 notes that the Riksdag celebrated 500 years since Gustav Vasa was elected king and 50 years since the king's accession in 1973. He emphasizes that the Riksdag is the heart of Swedish democracy and that the members have a responsibility to safeguard this institution 1. He thanks Sven-Olof Sällström for his work in defense policy and other areas 1. Tomas Eneroth (S) thanks the Speaker and the Deputy Speakers for their work and their ability to lead the chamber's debates 2. He emphasizes the importance of democracy, respect for each other's opinions, and the need for a peaceful Christmas holiday 2.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
TALMANNEN
Honorable members! Today marks the conclusion in the chamber before the Riksdag's Christmas break. This conclusion also marks the end of the jubilee year that we have celebrated throughout 2023. Music for lute is typical for the period that has been highlighted through the 500-year commemoration of the election of Gustav Vasa to king in 1523. I am very pleased that Jonas Nordberg will play two pieces for us today. Welcome forward, Jonas Nordberg!
Jonas Nordberg performed his improvisation over a musical fragment composed by Gustav Vasa's eldest son Erik XIV.
Thank you very much for the beautiful music!
Honorable members! As we gather here today, we are at the threshold of the parliamentary year's mid-term break. At the same time, we are at the end of a calendar year, a year in which we have celebrated several major anniversaries.
The Riksdag has noted that it has been 500 years since Sweden left the Kalmar Union and became a fully independent state again when Gustav Vasa was elected king at the Diet of Strängnäs on June 6, 1523. The Riksdag has noted this under the heading "From monarchy to democracy - the Riksdag for 500 years". The anniversary, which coincides with National Day, was celebrated in many places, not least in Strängnäs and at Skansen here in Stockholm.
During the year, the Riksdag has also, as you know, published the anniversary book *Riksdagen i tid och rum - historien, husen, arbetsplatsen*, where we also highlight that it has been 40 years since the Riksdag moved back here to Helgeandsholmen, and recently the reference group for parliamentary research invited people to a seminar on the Riksdag through history. Furthermore, the deputy speakers and I have visited counties where important parliamentary days have been held throughout history.
Sweden has also celebrated that it has been 50 years since His Majesty the King's accession on September 15, 1973. The Riksdag and the government honored the King with a tapestry made based on a watercolor by Lars Lerin. The tapestry now hangs at the palace and the watercolor is here in the Riksdag – I assume you have seen it below the escalator leading down from Bankhallen.
Today, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and I have, on behalf of the Riksdag and the Government, congratulated Her Majesty the Queen on her 80th birthday.
Honorable members! Even though the balance of power between the Riksdag and the regent has varied during the five centuries that have passed since Gustav Vasa was crowned, the long-term trend is that the Riksdag has been given increasingly more to say. The Riksdag is today the pulsating heart of Swedish democracy.
The work of the Riksdag is, as is well known, ultimately governed by the Instrument of Government, which is called the Instrument of Government of 1974 even though it entered into force on 1 January 1975. Here you may perhaps sense the origin of yet another anniversary, and quite rightly – the Instrument of Government turns 50 years old.
On March 6, 1974, the Minister for Justice read out His Majesty's open letter to the Riksdag regarding the constitutional reform. From the Riksdag's minutes, it appears that the members attended this reading standing. On the 50th anniversary of this event, the Committee on the Constitution and I are organizing a solemn seminar in the Chamber of the First House. Do not miss it!
Honorable members! Prime Minister Nils Edén, as is well known, played a central role in achieving the great suffrage reform of 1918. He later led the work on the book published in 1935 in connection with the 500th anniversary of the Arboga meeting. It is a book that deals with the history of the Riksdag, and there he wrote, among other things:
The history of the Riksdag shows how its fates have been influenced, if not determined, by the changes in general conditions. Our own time is full of both world political and societal upheavals, or in Sweden at least socio-political difficulties. Precisely because the Riksdag now completely dominates Swedish state power, it has to face testing pressures; it is the Riksdag's task to master them if it shall in the long run maintain its position.
I believe there are good reasons to reflect on what Nils Edén's words mean for you as members of Parliament today – what the words say about the responsibility you all have to nurture and safeguard the democratic institution that you, and we together, form a part of. It is a responsibility that can sometimes be heavy to bear, especially in difficult times like these. But that being said: I am convinced that the members of Parliament – we together – are well-equipped to master these pressures and that we together can uphold the position of the Parliament well.
Honorable members! Now that we are all gathered for the closing of the session, I would like to take the opportunity to thank a member who has informed me that he will next year conclude his service in the service of democracy and politics in this chamber. Additional members who are resigning will be thanked at the end of the term in June.
I now turn to Sven-Olof Sällström.
You were elected to the Riksdag in 2010, to one of the finest assignments one can have: to represent the voters and your own party in the chamber and committees, with the voters' trust as your basis. You were part of the Sweden Democrats' first parliamentary group when SD entered the Riksdag and have sat in the Riksdag since then. You have, among other things, served as vice chairman of the Committee on Defence and as a member of the Committee on Finance, the Committee on Employment, and the War Delegation, to mention just a few of your assignments in the Riksdag.
In recent years, you have primarily focused on defense policy issues and have thereby also been a member of the Defense Commission and the Riksdag's delegation to NATO's Parliamentary Assembly. Also before Russia's full-scale invasion, you had a great commitment to Ukraine—a commitment that, for natural reasons, has become even greater recently.
With commitment, expertise, political sense, and hard work, you in your role as a member of Parliament have contributed to shaping our country, our present, but also our future. Parliamentary work is performed together with others, but every member leaves their own mark on their assignment. What you specifically have done could no one else have done. Your initiatives, your choices, and your priorities are uniquely yours.
Since you have served for more than twelve consecutive years, you are awarded the Riksdag medal of the twelfth size - the larger size. Warm thanks for your contributions to the Riksdag, for democracy, and for Sweden!
Honorable members! I also want to mention some current issues that affect you in your assignment.
The work of addressing the results of the members' survey is in full swing. Some changes and improvements are being implemented quickly, and others need to be addressed in the parliamentary commission that was appointed a couple of months ago.
In the operational plan for 2024 that the Riksdag Administration adopted last week, it is stated, among other things, that the level of ambition for the maintenance of overnight accommodation shall be raised and that the legal conditions for the administration to further strengthen the members' security in the assignment shall be investigated during the year.
The Chamber App is popular, and I hope you have found the functions that are available there. You know, of course, that it is possible to receive notifications about your committee debates in the Chamber?
The work to digitize functions for members of parliament is ongoing. Now, an analysis is being conducted on how it should be possible to both sign and submit motions digitally, and also improve the digital sharing of bills and other documents.
For two years now, you have been able to submit interpellations and written questions digitally. Those of you who have not tried need to install a function for this in your mobile phone.
Honorable members! I would like to conclude by thanking each and every one of you for the work you have put in for the Riksdag and for Sweden during the year. I would also like to extend a warm thanks to the Speaker's Presidium, the group leaders, and the members of the Committee on the Constitution for good cooperation.
A warm thank you also to the Director-General of the Riksdag and all the employees in the Riksdag Administration! You make invaluable contributions for the Riksdag and its members. Also, the employees at the party offices are central for the political work to be carried out. A warm thank you to you as well!
Even though the time around us is at its darkest right now, I want to emphasize that there is also light. One who has formulated this beautifully is Erik Blomberg.
Do not be afraid of the darkness, for the light rests there. We see no stars where there is no darkness.
In the bright iris ring lies a dark pupil, for dark is all that the light longs for with trembling.
Do not be afraid of the darkness, for the light rests there, do not be afraid of the darkness, which the heart of light carries.
With those words, I wish you all a well-deserved holiday and a very Merry Christmas.
It is not over yet, however! We are going to hear another piece of music, this time played on the bass lute, which is also called the theorbo.
Jonas Nordberg performed Toccata Arpeggiata by Giovanni Girolamo Kapsperger.
Tomas Eneroth (S)
Mr. Speaker and dear members of the Speaker's Presidium! It is tradition that the Speaker of the House's Age President thanks the Speaker and the Deputy Speakers for a good job and wishes them a peaceful Christmas holiday. I know that I speak on behalf of everyone in the Riksdag when I do this now.
We are incredibly grateful for the work you do, for all the hours you devote, for all the time you spend in the chamber allocating the floor and leading the chamber's work. Admittedly, you have the extra salary benefit of getting to listen to the members of parliament's absolutely brilliant speeches, but one can still say that it is a certain amount of work.
With patience, good pedagogical skill, and sometimes an inexplicably good mood, you guide us through the chamber's debates in an excellent way, not least until this Christmas break, which we have long awaited.
As we have waited! I believe that we all long for a peaceful Christmas holiday. I actually believe that the whole world longs for a peaceful Christmas holiday. With so many wars and so much violence as there is in the world, all people would undoubtedly need a truly peaceful Christmas - a time for rest, for reflection, and for caring for ourselves and for one another.
I believe that perhaps now at Christmas time it is extra important that we who are here reflect on the fact that we have a democracy and that we have the opportunity to debate and discuss. We argue, we vote and we enact, and we do it with respect for each other's opinions. It is beautiful.
As I also said before the summer holidays: In a country not so far from here, with a flag as yellow and blue as our Swedish one, women and men are currently fighting for their freedom and for their democracy, and in many other places around the world, the same is happening. May we give them a thought during the Christmas holidays!
On behalf of all members, I thank the Speaker and the Deputy Speakers and not least the entire Riksdag Administration for the fantastic job you do. You make an incredibly good contribution to support democracy but also to support us Members of Parliament in our work. May you sleep well, eat well, read well and have a good time during the Christmas holidays!
As tradition now dictates, I also conclude this time with a poem that I have put together myself. May God and this assembly forgive me for the forced rhymes!
So, from all of us to you, dear Speaker's Presidium:
Shine over the plenary, you speakers who lead! With words and speech we constantly beg you! Hammer our good proposals, make them directly into law! We gladly debate, for from the group leader we then get a star.
Night over the plenary, night over the chamber, where a member keeps watch late, and the coffee is lukewarm. The speakers sleep soundly, the scribes slumber sweetly, awakened by a chorus of voices. It is surely the Defense Committee debating the threat from the east.
So days and hours pass in the chamber. Time flies, my god, wasn't it just the election? The voting buttons have already become worn. I believe after a long autumn that some are now actually a bit tired. So gavel now for Christmas break, for now we want to go home! That I ask, honorable Speaker and you three Vice Speakers!
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.