[John Farson]

Kingdom of Sweden

Pre-war: Sweden was a constitutional monarchy whose king was a male member of the House of Bernadotte. The government (statsråd) consisted of the prime minister and 14 ministers. Actual government function was carried out in cabinet meetings. Parliament consisted of a 350-member Riksdag that held legislative power and to which the government was held accountable. Before the war the government consisted of the Social Democrats, Centre Party, Moderate Party and Communist Party.

The war: The King, the entire Royal Family and most of the government and Riksdag were killed in the mass panic that engulfed Stockholm following the beginning of the nuclear war. This was soon followed by anarchy and civil war. Only the army maintained some sort of cohesion in the chaos, which made it clear that any governing structure would have to be formed by the military.

Structure: Currently Sweden is led by the Riksdag, which has been reconstituted from the surviving pre-war MPs. They deliberate matters through negotiating, and after a vote the tasks are delegated through the chain of command. This is supported by a network of surviving bureaucrats throughout the Kingdom’s territory. The military puts their communication networks at the civilian authorities’ disposal and in theory they play no other role. In practice, however, numerous military advisors alongside soldiers appointed to replace deceased bureaucrats means that the military holds significant political influence.

Leaders: General Gustav Johansson is Chairman of the Riksdag and Prime Minister. Below him are some civilian politicians, but the most influential posts have been given to the military. Corruption and behind-the-scenes power struggles flourish in the Riksdag. Numerous high-ranking cabinet posts and positions have a rapid turnover as a result. At the moment the government’s most important opponent is a conspiracy consisting of army officers whose names no one yet knows.