1948 Swedish general election

{{Short description|none}}

{{Infobox election

| country = Sweden

| type = parliamentary

| previous_election = 1944 Swedish general election

| previous_year = 1944

| next_election = 1952 Swedish general election

| next_year = 1952

| seats_for_election = All 230 seats in the Andra kammaren of the Riksdag

| majority_seats = 116

| election_date = 19 September 1948

| image_size = 130x130px

| image1 = Tage Erlander 1952.jpg

| leader1 = Tage Erlander

| party1 = Swedish Social Democratic Party

| leaders_seat1 =

| last_election1 = 115

| seats1 = 112

| seat_change1 = {{decrease}}3

| popular_vote1 = 1,789,459

| percentage1 = 46.1%

| image2 = Bertil Ohlin.jpg

| leader2 = Bertil Ohlin

| party2 = People's Party

| leaders_seat2 =

| last_election2 = 26

| seats2 = 57

| seat_change2 = {{increase}}31

| popular_vote2 = 882,437

| percentage2 = 22.7%

| image3 = Axel Pehrsson-Bramstorp.jpg

| leader3 = Axel Pehrsson-Bramstorp

| party3 = Farmers' League

| last_election3 = 35

| seats3 = 30

| seat_change3 = {{decrease}}5

| popular_vote3 = 480,421

| percentage3 = 12.4%

| image4 = Fritiof Domö 1959.JPG

| leader4 = Fritiof Domö

| party4 = Right

| last_election4 = 39

| seats4 = 23

| seat_change4 = {{decrease}}16

| popular_vote4 = 478,786

| percentage4 = 12.3%

| image5 = Sven Linderot.jpg

| leader5 = Sven Linderot

| party5 = Communist

| last_election5 = 15

| seats5 = 8

| seat_change5 = {{decrease}}7

| popular_vote5 = 244,826

| percentage5 = 6.3%

| title = PM

| before_election = Tage Erlander

| before_party = Swedish Social Democratic Party

| after_election = Tage Erlander

| after_party = Swedish Social Democratic Party

| map_image = Riksdagsvalet 1948.svg

| map_caption = Largest bloc and seats won by constituency

}}

General elections were held in Sweden on 19 September 1948.Nohlen, D & Stöver, P (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p1858 {{ISBN|978-3-8329-5609-7}} Despite a campaign by a large part of the Swedish press against socializing insurances, controlled foreign trade and rationing regulations still in use since the war, freshman Prime Minister and Social Democratic leader Tage Erlander managed to defeat the People's Party-led opposition under Bertil Ohlin by a higher election turnout. He maintained his government with only minor losses and the Swedish Social Democratic Party remained the largest party, winning 112 of the 230 seats in the Andra kammaren of the Riksdag.Nohlen & Stöver, p1872 Erlander was to stay on as Prime Minister until 1969.

The election has been described as "one of the fiercest ever" by Rikard Westerberg.{{Cite web |last=Dahl |first=Svend |date=2022-08-18 |title=SMEDJAN {{!}} Valet då näringsfriheten stod på spel |url=https://timbro.se/smedjan/valet-da-naringsfriheten-stod-pa-spel/ |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=Timbro |language=sv-SE}} The election dealt mostly with the freedom of the business community. Tage Erlander described the ferocity of the election in his memoirs, writing, "the political battle also became more focused on individuals than we were used to in Sweden. And it was crazy personal attacks!". According to Westerberg, the block opposing the social democrats thought the Social democrats will tighten control over business freedoms, will lead to mismangment and "economic dictatorship". The social democrats accused the opposition head, Bertil Ohlin of being a servant to the business community.

Westerberg writes that the election was also defined by Russian expansionism as the Russian backed communists seized power through a coup d'état in Czechoslovakia in February 1948, while Sweden declared neutrality in the Cold war the very same month.{{Cite journal |last1=Berglund |first1=Sten |last2=Thomsen |first2=SöRen Risbjerg |last3=WöRlund |first3=Ingemar |date=June 1991 |title=The mobilization of the Swedish vote: An ecological analysis of the general elections of 1928, 1948 and 1968 |url=https://ejpr.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1475-6765.1991.tb01195.x |journal=European Journal of Political Research |language=en |volume=19 |issue=4 |pages=413–424 |doi=10.1111/j.1475-6765.1991.tb01195.x |issn=0304-4130|url-access=subscription }} At the same time, the Swedish economy was enjoying significant expansion thanks to American investment through the Marshall plan.