Domestic policy As leader of a new generation of Swedish Social Democrats, Palme was often described as a "revolutionary reformist" and self-identified as a
progressive. Domestically, his leftist views, especially the drive to expand labour union influence over business ownership, engendered a great deal of hostility from the organized business community. During the tenure of Palme, several major reforms in the
Swedish constitution were carried out, such as orchestrating a switch from
bicameralism to
unicameralism in 1971 and in 1975 replacing the
1809 Instrument of Government (at the time the oldest political constitution in the world after that of the
United States) with a new one officially establishing parliamentary democracy rather than
de jure monarchic autocracy, abolishing the
Cabinet meetings chaired by the King and stripping the
monarchy of all formal political powers. His reforms on the labour market included establishing a law which increased
job security. In the
Swedish 1973 general election, the Socialist-Communist and the Liberal-Conservative blocs got 175 places each in the
Riksdag. The Palme cabinet continued to govern the country, but several times they had to draw lots to decide on some issues, although most important issues were decided through a consensus agreement. Tax rates also rose from being fairly low even by Western European standards to the highest levels in the Western world. Under Palme's premiership tenure, matters concerned with
child care centers,
social security, protection of the elderly, accident safety, and housing problems received special attention. Under Palme the
public health system in Sweden became efficient, with the infant mortality rate standing at 12 per 1,000 live births. An ambitious
redistributive programme was carried out, with special help provided to the
disabled, immigrants, the low paid, single-parent families, and the old. The
Swedish welfare state was significantly expanded from a position already one of the most far-reaching in the world during his time in office. As noted by Isabela Mares, during the first half of the Seventies "the level of benefits provided by every subsystem of the welfare state improved significantly." Various policy changes increased the basic old-age pension replacement rate from 42% of the average wage in 1969 to 57%, while a health care reform carried out in 1974 integrated all health services and increased the minimum replacement rate from 64% to 90% of earnings. In 1974, supplementary unemployment assistance was established, providing benefits to those workers ineligible for existing benefits. Childcare centres were also expanded under Palme, and separate taxation of husband and wife introduced. Under Palme, over half of the Swedish economy was under
state ownership, and the influence of the state had grown massively. Access to pensions for older workers in poor health was liberalised in 1970, and a disability pension was introduced for older unemployed workers in 1972. The Palme cabinet was also active in the field of education, introducing such reforms as a system of loans and benefits for students, regional universities, and preschool for all children. That same year, work-environment improvement grants were introduced and made available to modernising firms "conditional upon the presence of union-appointed 'safety stewards' to review the introduction of new technology with regard to the health and safety of workers". In 1976, an Act on co-determination at work was introduced that allowed unions to be consulted at various levels within companies before major changes were enforced that would affect employees, while management had to negotiate with labour for joint rights in all matters concerning organisation of work, hiring and firing, and key decisions affecting the workplace. , 1 August 1985 Palme's last government, elected during a time when Sweden's economy was in difficult shape, sought to pursue a "third way", designed to stimulate investment, production, and employment, having ruled out classical Keynesian policies as a result of the growing burden of foreign debt, together with the big balance of payments and budget deficits. This involved "equality of sacrifice", whereby
wage restraint would be accompanied by increases in welfare provision and more
progressive taxation. For instance, taxes on wealth, gifts, and inheritance were increased, while tax benefits to shareholders were either reduced or eliminated. In addition, various welfare cuts carried out before Olof's return to office were rescinded. The previous system of indexing pensions and other benefits was restored, the grant-in-aid scheme for municipal child care facilities was re-established,
unemployment insurance was restored in full, and the so-called "no benefit days" for those drawing sickness benefits were cancelled. Increases were also made to both food subsidies and child allowances, while the employee investment funds (which represented a radical form of profit-sharing) were introduced. An outspoken supporter of gender equality, Palme sparked interest for women's rights issues by attending a World Women's Conference in Mexico. He also made a feminist speech called "The Emancipation of Man" at a meeting of the
Woman's National Democratic Club on 8 June 1970; this speech was later published in 1972. As a forerunner in
green politics, Palme was a firm believer in
nuclear power as a necessary form of energy, at least for a transitional period to curb the influence of
fossil fuel. His intervention in Sweden's 1980 referendum on the future of nuclear power is often pinpointed by opponents of nuclear power as saving it. As of 2011, nuclear power remains one of the most important sources of clean energy in Sweden, much attributed to Palme's actions. Palme advocated for nuclear energy to move away from fossil fuels in his speech during the Stockholm Conference in 1972.
Foreign policy SovietSwedish bilateral relations were tested during Palme's second period as prime minister in the 1980s, in particular, owing to reports of
incursions by Soviet submarines into Swedish territorial waters. ese ambassador
Nguyễn Thọ Chân in Stockholm, 1968 On the international scene, Palme was a widely recognised political figure because of his: • harsh and emotional criticism of the United States over the
Vietnam War; • vocal opposition to the crushing of the
Prague Spring by the Soviet Union; • criticism of European Communist regimes, including labeling the
Husák regime as "The Cattle of Dictatorship" (Swedish: "Diktaturens kreatur") in 1975; • campaigning against nuclear weapons proliferation; • criticism of the
Franco Regime in Spain, calling the regime "goddamn murderers" (Swedish: "satans mördare"; see
Swedish profanity) after its
execution of
ETA and
FRAP militants in September 1975; • opposition to
apartheid, branding it as "a particularly gruesome system", and support for
economic sanctions against South Africa; • support, both political and financial, for the
African National Congress (ANC), the
Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the
Polisario Front; • visiting
Fidel Castro's Cuba in 1975, during which he denounced
Fulgencio Batista's government and praised contemporary
Cuban revolutionaries; • strong criticism of the
Pinochet regime in Chile; • support, both political and financial, for the
FMLN-FDR in El Salvador and the
FSLN in Nicaragua; and, • role as a mediator in the
Iran–Iraq War. All of this ensured that Palme had many opponents as well as many friends abroad. In June 1972 at the
United Nations Conference on the Human Environment he described the environmental damage caused by the
Vietnam War (including use of
Agent Orange and other
Rainbow Herbicides to deforst whole areas of the country) as
ecocide and called for it to become an international crime. On 23 December 1972, Palme (then Prime Minister) made a speech on Swedish national radio where he compared the ongoing
U.S. bombings of Hanoi to historical atrocities, namely the
bombing of Guernica, the massacres of
Oradour-sur-Glane,
Babi Yar,
Katyn,
Lidice and
Sharpeville, and the
extermination of Jews and other groups at Treblinka. The US government called the comparison a "gross insult" and once again decided to freeze its diplomatic relations with Sweden (this time the freeze lasted for over a year). == Assassination and aftermath ==