Sweden decided early on to invest in nuclear power.

Already in the 1950s, there were plans for an extensive nuclear power expansion and own nuclear weapons.

There were never any nuclear weapons, but nuclear power for civilian use.

In the 1970s, however, new winds began to blow.

Criticism of nuclear power increased.

Concerns about accidents and questions about the storage of spent nuclear fuel became important components of the political debate.

The issue became increasingly controversial during the 1970s and fractured, among other things, a bourgeois government.

The politicians hoped to resolve the knots with a referendum.

It was held in 1980, one year after the nuclear accident in Harrisburg.

Unclear options in the referendum did not facilitate the interpretation of public opinion.

However, a majority in the Riksdag decided that nuclear power would be completely phased out by 2010.

That was not the case.

The battle over nuclear power has continued.

At the same time, six of the original twelve reactors have been closed.

The parties on the right benefited

The first step was taken during Göran Persson's time as prime minister.

The two reactors in Barsebäck were closed after a settlement in 1997 between the Social Democrats, the Center Party and the Left Party.

The remaining four reactors have been closed by decision of their owners, who said, among other things, that they were not sufficiently profitable in relation to the costs of modernization and safety-enhancing measures.

The debate about this became an important issue in last year's election campaign when rapidly rising electricity prices and warnings about electricity shortages were given a lot of space in the election debate.

The parties on the right accused the Social Democrats and the Green Party of having pursued a policy that pushed forward the closure of nuclear power.

The Social Democrats countered that the bourgeois parties were also responsible for the energy policy pursued.

The nuclear power issue undoubtedly played a large role in last year's election.

The parties on the right benefited from public opinion becoming increasingly nuclear-friendly.

The nuclear accident has faded in people's minds

The greatest opposition to nuclear power was in Sweden in the 1970s and 1980s.

In recent years, public opinion has changed.

An important explanation is the growing importance of the climate issue, where some point to nuclear power as a solution.

Another factor is the high electricity prices and a growing need for energy in the future.

At the same time, the last major nuclear accident in Fukushima in Japan, which occurred in 2011, has faded in people's minds.

The opinion company Novus has, for a long period, annually surveyed the Swedish opinion on nuclear power.

Last year, 59 percent of the respondents stated that they want to build new nuclear power if necessary.

This is the highest figure so far in these surveys.

Only 8 percent of respondents wanted to close reactors through political decisions.

For a long time, Swedish governments were negative or divided in their views on new nuclear power.

The new government that took office last autumn is the first government in several decades to unequivocally pursue the issue of new nuclear power, and which also has a majority in the Riksdag for this policy.

The path to new nuclear power thus seems to be open.

How the Social Democrats stand will still be of great importance.

Broad political anchoring in the Riksdag is usually seen as important when it comes to major and long-term decisions that must last over several mandate periods.

It is also something that both Vattenfall and Swedish Business and Industry have called for ahead of possible decisions on new nuclear power.