Note (Back) — Chapter XXXII

The enactment of this piece of legislation constitutes a landmark in Swedish political history. Through upwards of a decade the question of franchise reform had overshadowed all other public issues and had distracted attention from various pressing problems of state. Denounced still by the extremists of both radical and conservative groups, the new law was hailed by the mass of the nation with the most evident satisfaction.[830] The question of woman's suffrage remains. At the elections of 1908 the Liberal party emulated the Social Democrats in the incorporation of this project in its programme, and, April 21, 1909, the Constitutional Committee of the Riksdag recommended the adoption of a measure whereby women should be accorded the parliamentary suffrage and eligibility to sit as members of either chamber. In May, 1911, the essentials of this recommendation were accepted by the lower chamber by a vote of 120 to 92, but by the upper they were rejected overwhelmingly. At the opening of the Riksdag of 1912 the Speech from the Throne announced the purpose of the Government to introduce a measure for the enfranchisement of women, and during the session the promise was redeemed by the bringing forward of a bill in accordance with whose terms every Swede, without distinction of sex, over twenty-four years of age and free from legal disabilities, may vote for members of the lower chamber.