ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses how the positions of the voters in the division of labour combine with political socialization to produce differing patterns of party allegiances. It examines the effects of structural changes in Swedish society during the postwar period as well as changes in the platforms of the parties on the political preferences of voters in different socio-economic strata. In Swedish politics home owners are a group extensively courted by the political parties in a variety of ways. The chapter describes how party preferences are affected by the life situation of the voter, including experiences on the labour market and in housing. In Sweden, as in the other Nordic countries, religious and ethnic cleavages are of relatively limited significance; it is primarily the individual’s social origin and current socio-economic position which determine party preferences. In the upper middle class substantial changes in party preferences have occurred since the 1956 election.
