Analysis: this is the calm before the storm for Löfven



[ad_1]

The factual political news was few in the Prime Minister’s declaration of government. It was marked by the crown pandemic and the consequences for Swedish society. The level of political conflict was low. The Prime Minister praised not only the health service, but also the opposition.

The government’s declaration was also an extensive catalog of measures to be implemented during the parliamentary year. Most are already known and can be found in the January agreement or other political agreements.

Various problems can cause a government crisis

But behind the rather dry statement of the Prime Minister are several issues that can be very difficult for the government during the fall and winter. Several of them have enough political explosiveness to provoke a government crisis.

The first is the extended precedence rules, which are contained in the January agreement, but where the social partners are now trying to negotiate an agreement. If the parties fail to do so, the government will present a bill on more exceptions and then the Left Party has threatened to declare a motion of no confidence.

Migration policy must also be managed during the fall and winter. The government and the Riksdag will produce new legislation on asylum that can come into force at the end of the first half of 2021. Then the temporary legislation expires. This puts pressure on the government, where the Green Party and the Social Democrats have completely different views on how immigration policy should be formulated. That is, a problem with the potential to break the government. The same applies to the permit decision regarding Preem’s planned expansion of the Lysekil oil refinery. Here, the Green Party has said a resounding no, while the Social Democrats have a different opinion. This is also a political issue that could provoke a government crisis.

Deep crack over defense

Parallel to these disputes, where disagreement is more difficult within the government, there are a series of conflicts between the government and the opposition.

One is defense policy. Although the January parties now agree on allocations for defense in the coming years, there is a deep gap in the vision of the long-term structure of the Armed Forces.

Despite lengthy negotiations, there is still no agreement on the direction of defense policy. A bill will be presented in the Riksdag in a few weeks, but it looks difficult.

Negotiations broke down this summer and there are still no signs that the government can reach a broad consensus on the issue. Instead, the liberals and the center party have sided with the moderates and Christian Democrats, demanding that the military structure also be numbered in 2026 and 2027, which the Social Democrats in particular have opposed.

Complicated transactions

In addition to these problems, gang offenses and serious crimes will continue to be a major issue of conflict between the government and the opposition. Unsurprisingly, it was also here that Swedish moderates and democrats launched the most severe attack on government policy today.

It is true that the budget is described as historic, with investments of more than SEK 100 billion. Still, learn to adapt to the deceptive concessions that will be pointed out and criticized. There is said to be an extension of the unemployment insurance fund increase and tax cuts that can be controversial for Social Democrats, for example, reducing employer contributions and reducing income tax.

[ad_2]