2006
Right bloc · MReinfeldt's Alliance ends twelve years of Social Democratic rule.
2006 infographic: Reinfeldt's Alliance ends twelve years of Social Democrat…
AI-generated infographic using the page's 2006 anchors.
Highlights
- Election and government change: On 17 September, the centre-right Alliance for Sweden won 178 Riksdag seats versus 171 for the left bloc. The Social Democrats scored 34.99% — their worst result since universal suffrage in 1921. Fredrik Reinfeldt took office on 6 October, leading Sweden's first majority government since 1981.
- Pirate Bay raid: On 31 May, Swedish police raided The Pirate Bay's data centre under US industry pressure, seizing servers. The site was back online within three days and user registrations surged, making the raid an international cause célèbre for internet freedom.
- Spotify incorporated: Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon registered Spotify AB in Stockholm. The streaming service launched publicly in 2008 and went on to transform the global recorded-music industry.
Events in this year
2006-05-21 Tre Kronor completes the Olympic and World Championship double Guinness records Sweden as the first country to win Olympic and World Championship ice-hockey titles in the same year, completed in Riga on 21 May 2006. Sports 2006-09-17 2006 Swedish General Election — Alliansen Victory On 17 September 2006 the Alliansen centre-right coalition — Moderates under Fredrik Reinfeldt, Centerpartiet, FP and KD — defeated Göran Persson's SAP after 12 years of social-democratic government. Reinfeldt's reframing of the Moderates as "De Nya Moderaterna" and the campaign focus on high sick-leave rates carried Sweden's first centre-right majority government since the 1928–1932 era. Election 2006-10 Reinfeldt Minister Affair 2006 In October 2006 two newly appointed Reinfeldt ministers, Maria Borelius and Cecilia Stegö Chilò, resigned within days after tax, fee, and licence controversies, turning the Alliance victory into an immediate cabinet-ethics test. Scandal