Feminist Initiative (Sweden)

Feminist Initiative
Feministiskt initiativ
AbbreviationFI
SpokespersonAgnes Lundgren and Luis Lineo
FounderGudrun Schyman
Founded4 April 2005 (2005-04-04)[1]
HeadquartersStockholm
Youth wingYoung Feminists
Membership (2017)Decrease 5,500 [2]
IdeologyFeminism
Equity feminism
Political positionLeft-wing[3][4][5][6][7]
European affiliationEuropean Feminist Parties Coordination Board[8]
European Parliament groupProgressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats[9]
Colours  Pink
Riksdag
0 / 349
European Parliament
0 / 20
County councils[10]
0 / 1,696
Municipal councils[11]
3 / 12,700
Party flag
Website
feministisktinitiativ.se

Feminist Initiative (Swedish: Feministiskt initiativ; abbreviated FI, Fi, or F!) is a radical feminist political party in Sweden. The party was formed in 2005 from a pressure group of the same name,[12] and has since taken part in every election to the Riksdag and the European Parliament. The party won its first elected representative in 2014, with Soraya Post taking one seat in the European Parliament.[13]

Fi received 3.1% of the vote in the 2014 general election, the best result in its history, and won seats in thirteen municipalities in the 2014 municipal elections – including in Sweden's largest cities of Gothenburg and Stockholm, where it became part of governing "red-green-pink" coalitions.[14][15]

Support for Feminist Initiative dwindled, however, and the party only managed to obtain 0.4% of the vote in the 2018 general election, making it the largest political party without representation in the Riksdag.[16] The party lost four seats in the municipal elections, and did not gain any county council seats.

In October 2018, party co-founder Gudrun Schyman announced that she would step down as leader of the party at the next party congress.[17]

In 2023, Agnes Lundgren and Luis Lineo became co-leaders of the party,[18] succeeding Teysir Subhi.[19]

  1. ^ The decision to run for election to the Swedish parliament was taken at congress, 9 September 2005.
  2. ^ "Sjunkande medlemsantal oroar inte Schyman". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). 23 February 2018. Archived from the original on 26 February 2018. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  3. ^ "Parties: Feminist Initiative". Radio Sweden. 24 February 2006. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 19 March 2015. The party originally said it was going to transcend the left-right political divisions. But early on, it began to show more of a left-wing profile.
  4. ^ "Swedish feminist party launches in Oslo". The Local. 27 March 2015. Archived from the original on 29 March 2015. Retrieved 6 April 2015. ... the party is often criticized in Sweden as little more than a vehicle for Schyman, a maverick politician who combines radical left-wing politics with brilliant skills in self-promotion and debate.
  5. ^ "Feminist Initiative hopeful in election bid". Radio Sweden. 9 September 2014. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  6. ^ "Center-left holds on to lead in Swedish elections: SVT projection". Reuters. 14 September 2014. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  7. ^ "ABBA-Backed Feminists Poised to Make History in Swedish Vote". Bloomberg. 28 August 2014. Archived from the original on 7 March 2017. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  8. ^ "Europas feminister utmanar i EU" (in Swedish). 7 August 2013. Archived from the original on 14 September 2014. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
  9. ^ "Fi till S-grupp i EU-parlamentet". Dagens Nyheter. 7 June 2014. Archived from the original on 10 June 2014. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
  10. ^ "2018: Val till landstingsfullmäktige – Valda Archived 30 September 2018 at the Wayback Machine", Valmyndigheten, 6 November 2018
  11. ^ "2018: Val till kommunfullmäktige – Valda Archived 30 September 2018 at the Wayback Machine", Valmyndigheten, 6 November 2018
  12. ^ Charlotte Rosen Svensson (15 November 2009). CultureShock! Sweden: A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette. Marshall Cavendish International Asia Pte Ltd. p. 29–. ISBN 978-981-4435-90-1. Archived from the original on 17 June 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  13. ^ "Preliminary results of Swedish EU elections". Archived from the original on 28 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  14. ^ "Så har Feministiskt initiativ styrt i Stockholm". SVT (in Swedish). 23 February 2018. Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  15. ^ "Fi siktar på riksdagen – Gita Nabavi ny partiledare". SVT (in Swedish). 24 February 2018. Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  16. ^ "Röster – Val 2018". data.val.se (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 17 December 2018. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
  17. ^ Torén Björling, Sanna (28 October 2018). "Gudrun Schyman slutar som partiledare för Fi". Dagens Nyheter. Archived from the original on 31 October 2018.
  18. ^ Gotländska Agnes Lundgren ny partiledare för Feministiskt initiativ
  19. ^ "Teysir Subhi". Retrieved 10 August 2022.