Introduction
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
The debate concerns the history of the Riksdag, traditions, and the need to balance preservation with renewal. The Speaker emphasizes that the Riksdag manages a heritage and that it requires wisdom to determine what should be preserved and what needs to be changed 1. He reminds that it is now 500 years since the Riksdag meeting in Strängnäs and that it is 40 years since the members gathered in the current chamber 1. He shows that it was close to the Riksdag building being demolished 50 years ago, but that it was chosen to preserve the buildings instead 1.
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! A warm welcome back to the chamber - which I have missed you! I hope that you have had a lovely and relaxing summer, even though several committees have been in operation and we have had interpellations debates and other things.
Now approaches an autumn filled with hard work and important decisions, but also with celebrations and observances. His Majesty the King celebrates 50 years on the throne this week - five decades in which our country has undergone great changes but at the same time in many ways remained true to its roots. On Friday, September 15, it is exactly five decades since Carl XVI Gustaf succeeded Gustaf VI Adolf. That is also a temporary general flag day to mark the day's historical significance - a flag day that was introduced after a decision with broad, if not unanimous, support in this chamber. As chairman of the Foundation Sweden's National Day, I of course remind everyone of this flag day.
The Riksdag, on its part, celebrates that it is 500 years since the Riksmötet in Strängnäs 1523. We have spoken about this a number of times, and I have also raised it in previous speeches here. The Riksmöte that the King opens later today looks very different but fulfills, in several ways, the same fundamental function.
It is about managing a heritage and nurturing traditions, but also about daring to think anew – to be able to adapt without losing one's soul. It is truly no simple balancing act, not for a human being and not for a country. Seeing what is worth preserving and what needs to be changed requires wisdom and good judgment. This applies as much to our own lives as when we manage our institutions, such as the Riksdag, and buildings, such as the Riksdag House.
The chamber where we are now gathered is the result of just such a balance between tradition and renewal. This autumn, to continue speaking of anniversaries, it is 40 years since the members of the Riksdag first gathered here for a session. The transition from a bicameral parliament to a unicameral parliament in 1971 required a new, larger plenary hall.
How the chamber came to have just this placement and design is depicted in the jubilee book that will be launched widely later in September but which I can show already now. Thus, I break without blinking the prohibition on props in the chamber's rules of procedure. You must never show books like this – remember that! The book is called Riksdagen i tid och rum - historien, husen och arbetsplatsen, and it tells about the Riksdag as an institution over the past 500 years, about the Riksdag's buildings then and now, and about the Riksdag as a workplace today.
Already now, I want to show with a couple of pictures from the book that it was not at all a given that the buildings that are today our workplace would be preserved. In hindsight, the choices may appear obvious. Certainly, the buildings in the picture now shown, the eastern and western house, were worth preserving and adapting to the requirements of a new era. Certainly, they are beautiful where they stand and reflect in the water!
But the fact is that the house we are in today was close to being swept up in the wave of demolitions that, at that time, 50 years ago, swept across our country. If those who decided then had made different considerations and made different decisions, we could have been gathered in the same place today but in a completely different building.
One of the proposals in the architectural competition that took place 50 years ago can be seen in the image now being shown; it was called Censeo. The proposals were based on the premise that the house we are currently in would be demolished and that something new and modern would be constructed in its place. In the image now being shown, you see the proposal Tre kronor. You can see the castle in the background. That was also an entry in the architectural competition.
It was close, you should know, that there would be a demolition and a new parliament house. This was the subject of a long debate during the 1970s. But in the end, it was decided that we would preserve these buildings.
The member who wishes to know more about this can already tomorrow collect their own copy of the book at the Riksdag Library's desk in Bankhallen.
Our world continues to change at a rapid pace. It is your task, honorable members, to make the decisions that determine how our country shall handle these changes. Just as the King administers a heritage and an institution, you decide what should be preserved and what should be changed. Perhaps the slogan that has served our monarch well for 50 years can also serve as inspiration for us in this house: For Sweden in the time.
Let me now wish you a fine day and an autumn in which we together build upon the Riksdag's long history and at the same time prepare our country to meet the future. See you again here in the chamber at 14:00!
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.