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On Monday, Prime Minister Stefan Löfven and center leader Annie Lööf stood side by side for the first time at a press conference. Both wanted to participate in the presentation of multi-million dollar investments in the care and health of the elderly. Stefan Löfven called it a “bloody investment in wellness”.
But despite the large additions to municipalities and regions, most of the topics in today’s press conference were about gang crimes and serious crimes, not about welfare and the initiatives that the government and the January parties want to implement. .
That says a lot about the political mood in Sweden today. This summer’s acts of violence, shootings and, more recently, the deputy chief of police’s statements about some 40 criminal clans have clearly focused on crime as a crucial social problem.
Accused of insufficient efforts
The government repeats over and over again that the police have made extensive reinforcements and that several more severe penalties have been implemented and that more and more criminals are in prison.
The opposition, on the other hand, accuses the government of insufficient efforts and of having failed in its policies.
Whatever happens, this problem will haunt the government until Election Day, unless the government and authorities can show a clear trend break in development before then.
It is not a bold assumption that Stefan Löfven and his government are supposed to smoke if they fail to change course.
Today’s press conference is an illustrative example of how crime is currently preventing the government from spreading its message in other areas where it wants to be profiled.
Crime dominates the debate
The government will shortly present a budget that is considered historic due to extensive measures of more than 100 billion SEK. The question, however, is to what extent this can affect a public debate that is currently so totally dominated by a single issue.
The Social Democrats prefer to talk about welfare and they are now making large investments there. Instead, they are constantly forced to answer questions about why they fail to stop organized crime.
Much of the debate is recognizable from last fall. The corona pandemic meant that focus, at least temporarily, shifted to acute crisis and issues like preparing for medical care.
Now, however, most things seem to be on their way as before. This is bad news for the government. On issues related to crime, migration and integration, Social Democrats are clearly less confident than when it comes to issues such as welfare and employment.
The right-wing opposition in the Riksdag also links serious crimes to immigration to Sweden and lack of integration. Prime Minister Stefan Löfven refuses to accept this depiction of reality, suggesting that the issue will continue to be a major conflict issue in Swedish politics.
