Battle of Lycksele

The '''Battle of Lycksele''' ({{langx|sv|Slaget i Lycksele}}<ref name="kvartal-20230317"/>) is the name given to the Congress of the [[Moderate Youth League]], the youth of the [[Sweden|Swedish]] [[Moderate Party]], in 1992, set in [[Lycksele]] in [[Swedish Lapland|Lapland]]. The battle was between the incumbent chairman [[Ulf Kristersson]] and [[Fredrik Reinfeldt]], where the former were defeated by latter. The two went on to become both [[Moderate Party|Leader of the Moderate Party]] (in 2017 and 2003 respectively) and [[Prime Minister of Sweden]] (in 2022 and 2006 respectively).<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Jacobsson |first=Alexander |date=2018-11-27 |title=Reinfeldt talar ut om bråket med Kristersson – för 26 år sedan |trans-title=Reinfeldt speaks about the conflict with Kristersson – 26 years ago |url=https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/gjorde-ont-i-sjal-och-hjarta |access-date=2024-09-15 |work=SVT Nyheter |language=sv}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Lapidus |first=Arne |date=2017-09-01 |title=Ständige förloraren Ulf Kristerssons revansch |url=https://www.expressen.se/nyheter/standige-forloraren-ulf-kristerssons-revansch/ |access-date=2024-09-15 |website=[[Expressen]] |language=sv}}</ref>

It was the culmination of years of ideological conflict between [[conservatives]] and [[liberalism|liberals]] within the Moderate Youth League. The Congress saw [[Fredrik Reinfeldt]], later [[Prime Minister of Sweden]] and leader of the Moderate Party, beat the incumbent chairman [[Ulf Kristersson]] in a highly controversial election. Reinfeldt received 58 votes, while Kristersson received 55. Kristersson was a representative of the liberal faction of the [[Moderate Youth League]] while Reinfeldt became the icon of the Conservatives. [[Gunilla Carlsson]], later Minister for Development Cooperation and deputy chairman of the Moderate Party, was elected vice chairman at the same time.<ref name=":0" />

Then [[Prime Minister of Sweden]] and leader of the Moderate Party, [[Carl Bildt]], was also present and tried to calm down tensions between the two factions.<ref name=":1" />

Because the Conservatives won in Lycksele the following years saw an increase of Conservative power in the Moderate Youth League. Kristersson went into private sector after the battle but later returned to politics. In 2010 Kristersson became Minister for Social Security in the incumbent [[Cabinet of Fredrik Reinfeldt]]. Reinfeldt was elected leader of the party in 2003 and served as Prime Minister between 2006 and 2014. Kristersson has since become the leader of the Moderate Party in October 2017 and Prime Minister in October 2022.

== References == <references> <ref name="kvartal-20230317">"[https://sphinx.acast.com/p/acast/s/kvartal/e/64133663d6d2e40011ff4893/media.mp3 Fredagsintervjun: Muf ska vara som ett femte regeringsparti]{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}" (at 7m38s), ''Fredagsintervjun'', ''Kvartal'', 17 March 2023.</ref> </references>

[[Category:Moderate Party]] [[Category:1992 conferences]] [[Category:1992 in Sweden]] [[Category:Lycksele Municipality]] [[Category:20th century in Västerbotten County]]