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POLITICS

Liberals: ‘Throw out the Greens and we’ll talk’

Liberal Party leader, Jan Björklund, has suggested that the opposition Alliance parties in Sweden might be prepared to collaborate with Prime Minister Stefan Löfven’s ruling Social Democrats if he ejects the Green party, from his coalition.

Published: 11 October 2015 18:00 CEST
Liberals: 'Throw out the Greens and we'll talk'
Liberal Party leader, Jan Björklund. Photo: Jacob Stephenson/TT

“Forming a government without the Green Party will make it easier for us to cooperate across the political boundaries,” Björklund told Swedish Radio.

Björklund said that he believes that it would be easier for the Social Democrats to agree with the centre-right Alliance parties on several issues if the government was purely Social Democratic.

“There will always be part of his party that will be more to the left than Löfven but that does not mean that he must come to terms with them on every single issue.”

“It would facilitate compromise between the political blocs if Löfven was willing to undertake a cabinet reshuffle in which he lets the Green Party leave the government.”

Löfven last night called the decision by the centre-right opposition to abandon a political deal with his government as “extraordinarily irresponsible in a difficult time”.

Speaking at a press conference, Löfven said the move could create political and economic instability for Sweden and decrease chances of future collaboration.

READ ALSO: What is the December agreement?

Löfven admitted the so-called December Agreement wasn't perfect but said it had been a deal that worked.

“The December Agreement was neither mine nor the government's first choice,” he said. “The best thing for Sweden is, and should be, cross-party cooperation.”

Under the December Agreement, the four centre-right parties, the Moderates, the Liberal Party, the Christian Democrats and the Centre Party, agreed to approve Löfven's budgets in order to sideline the nationalist, anti-immigration Sweden Democrats, who hold the balance of power in parliament.

The agreement fell apart after a grassroots rebellion at the Christian Democrats convention on Friday prompted parliament's smallest opposition party to pull out of the accord — the other centre-right parties quickly followed suit.

Although the opposition would have to unite on a joint budget bill for the government to fall – a very unlikely event – the chances that Löfven will call Sweden's first snap election in more than half a century have been increased.

A new election could also lead to policy stalemate and endanger Sweden's robust triple-A-rated economy.

The party leaders will all participate in a group debate on Sunday night at 8pm on SVT1's Agenda.

POLITICS

Full steam ahead for Swedish economy in new three-part budget bill

Sweden has won the fight against inflation and expects GDP to grow next year, Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson proudly proclaimed as she presented the government's budget bill for 2025.

Published: 19 September 2024 08:33 CEST
Full steam ahead for Swedish economy in new three-part budget bill

“Going forward, the task will be to ensure that high inflation does not return, and at the same time to implement reforms and investments that build a more prosperous, safer and more secure Sweden for generations to come,” said Svantesson in a statement on Thursday morning.

The government predicts that Swedish GDP will grow 2.5 percent next year followed by 3.2 percent 2026.

Unemployment, however, is expected to remain unchanged at 8.3 percent in 2025, only beginning to drop in 2026 (7.9 percent, according to the government’s predictions, followed by 7.6 percent in 2027).

Svantesson told a press conference that a strong focus on economic growth would create jobs.

The 2025 budget, worked out in collaboration between the right-wing government coalition and far-right Sweden Democrats, is far more expansionary than the restrained budget Svantesson presented last year when Sweden was still fighting high inflation: 60 billion kronor towards new reforms rather than 39 billion kronor for 2024. Almost half, 27 billion kronor, will go towards funding lower taxes.

ANALYSIS:

Svantesson highlighted three areas in which new reforms are prioritised:

  • Strengthening household purchasing power after several years of the high cost of living putting a strain on household budgets, with reforms set to push the tax burden to its lowest level since 1980, according to the government.
  • Reinstating the “work first” principle, meaning that people should work rather than live on benefits. Some of the measures include language training for parents born abroad and increasing the number of places in vocational adult education.
  • Increasing growth, focusing on investments in research, infrastructure and electricity supply.

In the debate in parliament on Thursday, the centre-left opposition is expected to criticise the government for lowering taxes for high earners and not investing enough in welfare. 

Investments in healthcare, social care and education are significantly reduced in this budget compared to last year: down from 16 billion kronor to 7.5 billion kronor. 

Meanwhile, the hike of the employment tax credit (jobbskatteavdraget) – a tax reduction given to people who pay tax on their job income – is expected to lead to a 3,671 kronor tax cut for people on the median salary of 462,000 kronor per year.

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