(cont. from § 12) Culture, media, religious communities and leisure (cont. KrU1)

Amanda Lind (MP)

Madam Speaker! I requested a reply to Catarina Deremar's speech first and foremost to say that I truly appreciate the clear marking of the principle of arm's length distance and the freedom of art and culture. It is painfully clear that that type of marking is needed here in the chamber, and it pleases me that the Center Party so clearly stands behind this principle.

I still react a bit to what Catarina Deremar says about the importance of culture being present throughout the entire country and so on. I naturally share that view; it is a very important ambition. But my question to Catarina Deremar is: How does the Center Party's culture budget contribute to this? Unfortunately, I see clearer cuts in a number of areas than in previous years and in previous budgets. This applies to everything from artist grants to handicrafts, to name a few examples.

Catarina Deremar mentions that it is important to strengthen public education, but at the same time, it is done with a rather modest sum: 85 million. This can be compared with the large cuts of nearly half a billion.

My question is therefore: How does the Center Party's budget contribute to strengthening access to culture throughout the country?

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Catarina Deremar (C)

Madam Speaker! Thank you, Amanda Lind, for the question! I truly understand. I first thank you for the warm words. We share this view, and I do not think we can remind ourselves often enough of how important it is with arm's length distance.

The budget is naturally a whole, and we see it as a whole. The Center Party has been careful that our budget shall be financed. We have also prioritized the entire country in a number of different issues that do not fall within the scope of the Culture Committee, but we do want to increase the general state grants by 10 billion kronor. It is our hope that municipalities and regions shall participate and contribute to this where they can do so at the local level.

We do not want to earmark money; that is not our tradition. It is quite Center Party-like to let each level decide on its own money, and therefore we also want to send the general state grants to a greater extent than other parties.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Amanda Lind (MP)

Madam Speaker! That is exactly it, and that is what I thought was positive about the Center Party's budget - precisely the reinforcement of the general state grants. We have debated in the chamber several times during the afternoon how important it is that there are no cuts to either the cultural schools, the public libraries, the support for the non-profit culture, the community centers, or the sports movement. These are all such important things that the municipalities and regions primarily finance.

I interpret Catarina Deremar's speech as suggesting that perhaps one still would have liked to see slightly larger cultural initiatives, for example on the cultural cooperation model, from a national level. I can only hope that the Center Party raises its ambitions during the mandate period so that we can jointly put pressure on the government in these matters.

Before the election, the Center Party expressed in a survey that Sweden needs to step up the work with digitalization. It is an area where I am also a bit surprised that the Center Party does not have any national initiatives. One speaks of the need for both resources so that municipalities and regions can do their jobs and a clear national initiative. This is also something that the Restart Inquiry highlights as important. We need to take this concerted effort over a number of years and invest quite heavily in digitalization, because Sweden is lagging behind compared to other countries.

Personally, I see that we have an opportunity here to view this as a part of our security work. We know that cultural heritage is something that is vulnerable in the event of crisis and war.

My question is how the Center Party views digitalization initiatives and why it is not included in its budget.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Catarina Deremar (C)

Madam Speaker! Thank you, once again, Member Amanda Lind, for this important issue! The Member must not lose sight of our ambition. We cultural politicians in Centerpartiet are like cultural workers in general; we have to fight for every krona.

Digitalization is important in several aspects, not least when it comes to safeguarding cultural heritage and knowing what we actually have in our collections. I see this endeavor as probably slow. But it must be heading in the right direction. It is not just that we have answered this way, but also our party leader has said in interviews that we need to increase the pace when it comes to this. If that has not been included in this budget, I will truly work to ensure it is included in future Center Party culture budgets.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Emma Ahlström Köster (M)

Madam Speaker! I want to begin with loneliness. It is often said that we Swedes are the loneliest people in the entire EU. Some loneliness is actually self-chosen, but far from all of it. The large part that is involuntary is the part that we need to talk about and shine a light on in the submitted budget. I believe that both you and I know someone in our vicinity who sits completely alone.

It has been said earlier today, but it is still relevant: Research shows that involuntary loneliness negatively affects mental and physical health. We humans need to be part of a context in order to feel well and feel meaning.

When it comes to physical health, unfortunately, it is also going in the wrong direction. In 2021, the proportion of overweight people in Sweden was over 50 percent, and the proportion who have been affected by obesity has more than tripled in 50 years. We know that overweight is more common among certain groups such as men, the elderly, and those who live in socially disadvantaged areas. Furthermore, childhood obesity is hitting unfortunate records. It is high time that we take that issue seriously.

The Swedish sports movement, whose successful sporting tradition stretches back many generations, faces great challenges today. Even though up to 80 percent of all Swedish children and young people have joined or in some other way at some point been part of a sports club, they are dropping out of everything previously. It is also difficult to reach children and young people in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas, and it is tough to engage volunteers who are important for leading and supporting the sports movement and making this possible.

Sport as a whole is incredibly effective when it comes to health effects, but it is also crime-preventing. Sport does not only provide skills such as improved fitness, coordination, and endurance. The sports movement and being part of a sports club teaches us to cooperate, take responsibility, arrive on time, set goals, and function in a social context.

Children who participate in sports regularly also tend to be better at planning their time, and sometimes they also succeed better in school. Therefore, this government is focusing on providing support where it is needed most. We do not give everything to everyone, but we prioritize what is needed right here and now to counteract loneliness, to strengthen public health, and so that more people can engage in sports and association life.

As we have already talked about previously, we are introducing an initiative on the leisure card. It is easy to forget that it is a very effective investment. Every tax krona invested in sports gives 30 kronor back to society in the form of social benefit.

But money alone is far from the solution. Other things are also needed that do not cost money but require focus: information, inspiration, and organization. Knowledge that, for example, food, physical activity, sleep, and stress are factors that affect our health and quality of life needs to be conveyed. That sports contribute to better health but also to joy and community. Therefore, more need to come, but more also need to stay and more need to return and rediscover something new. It would have been fantastic to see more training together as a family and across generations.

I also want to take this opportunity in this context to highlight Swedish outdoor life as an important piece of the puzzle to counteract the involuntary loneliness and mental and physical ill health that we see in Sweden. Unfortunately, measurements show that we are utilizing this great asset less and less. Fewer people regularly spend time in the forest and on the land.

Out in our fantastic Swedish nature, fun and educational adventures await in the mountains, in the water, on the lake, on the ice, and in the forests - all year round, for everyone. It costs nothing. I also want to take the opportunity to highlight Skogsmulle, who turns 65 this year. Since 1957, Skogsmulle has inspired over 2 million children to go out and discover Swedish nature. It is important that the next generation of children also get to discover the joy of an active outdoor life for their health, but also for the understanding and respect for animals, nature, and the environment.

I am proud of this well-balanced budget where, despite tough economic times, we choose to prioritize important areas: loneliness, the sports movement, and much more. Contributing to supporting sports is a positive force that can counteract today's challenges.

Therefore, I move for approval of the committee's proposal.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Kristoffer Lindberg (S)

Madam Speaker! Today, the Culture Committee's report KrU1, which deals with expenditure area 17 Culture, media, religious communities and leisure, is being debated. I would first like to refer to the Social Democrats' special statement.

All people have a right to culture and education. Our cultural habits are created already in childhood. Access to music, theater, visual arts, and artistic expression cannot be taken for granted. Here, the culture school has an incredibly important role in giving children and young people the opportunity for cultural practice. The culture school must be accessible on equal terms throughout the country for all children regardless of background.

The municipal music school is fantastic. It opens doors and broadens horizons. It uplifts people, and it develops. It is an important activity for the individual student and their development, but actually also for Sweden's position as a strong music export nation. The foundation for an artistic career is often laid in the municipal music school. So many of us have the music school to thank for so much!

The need for national coordination, potential legislation, and competence supply has been a constantly recurring discussion since the inception of the culture school. For even though the culture school is fundamentally a municipal responsibility, it is also a national matter, argue the Social Democrats. The Riksdag has therefore decided that the state shall contribute to a more accessible and equal culture school of high quality in both offering and teaching.

For it is clear that participation in the culture school is unequal, Madam Speaker. In a report prepared by the Riksdag's investigation service, it appears that 81 percent of the students in the culture school have at least one parent with post-secondary education. This should be compared with the figure for the country as a whole, which is 60 percent. There is also an underrepresentation in the participation of students with a foreign background.

In the 2021 budget, the state grant to the cultural schools was increased and has since amounted to 200 million kronor annually. The development grant is intended to promote the municipal cultural school's opportunities to offer both depth and breadth in teaching. Follow-ups that the Swedish Arts Council has carried out show that the grant has been used precisely to develop the cultural school activities and broaden the existing activities, for example by hiring new educators who have started outreach activities or offered new cultural and teaching forms to reach children and young people who had not previously found their way to the cultural school. This is also something that is confirmed in my conversations with cultural schools here in Hälsingland regarding how the development grant has been used.

Reaching new student groups is of great importance to achieve more equal participation in the culture school. It is therefore pleasing that a strengthened activity in rural areas as well as in areas with socio-economic challenges has been prioritized by the Arts Council in the granting of grants to the culture schools.

Madam Speaker! I hope we all agree that there is a need for a conscious and long-term policy that creates conditions for culture to become a natural part of the everyday lives of children and young people. The municipal culture school reaches many children and young people across the entire country and has the potential to reach even more and contribute to students' development and the opportunity to explore their creativity.

That is why I am concerned about the development we are now seeing. The government's policy risks hitting the country's cultural schools twice when it halves the state development grant to the children's cultural school while the municipalities' finances become more and more strained as the government does not provide the municipalities with sufficient state grants to manage the tough economic situation we face. With a halved state development grant, it will be difficult to reach more children and young people, and without sufficient basic funding for welfare, the municipal funding of the cultural school risks being affected.

For us Social Democrats, it is obvious to prioritize the cultural school and the municipalities' funding. Both parts are necessary for the cultural school to be able to develop and for more cultural school teachers to be able to be employed, and so that one can reach those who have not yet taken part in the cultural school's fantastic activities. In our budget proposal, no halving of the development grant to the cultural school occurs. We also ensure an increase in the general state grants to the municipalities to secure the funding of the welfare system.

Madam Speaker! We Social Democrats want to safeguard the conditions for more children and young people to find the activities of the cultural school. It is also in line with our ambition to break segregation and increase participation in society. Therefore, we believe that the cultural school should retain the development grant at the level of 200 million kronor. These are important resources that make a difference for the municipal cultural schools and for children and young people's access to cultural activities.

(Applause)

In this speech, Lawen Redar (S) agreed.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Louise Thunström (S)

Madam Speaker! The Social Democratic government introduced free admission to state museums for the first time in 2005. The ambition was to make our jointly owned museum collections accessible to more people.

The reform was successful. The number of visits to the museums increased significantly. The bourgeois government that took office in 2006 abolished free admission, whereupon the number of visitors fell.

In 2016, the Social Democratic-led government reintroduced free admission to 18 state museums - once again a successful initiative.

In the budget that the right-conservatives are now presenting, the initiative is scrapped once again. As early as January 1, the museums shall build up entry systems and barriers and check tickets. This occurs at a time when culture is still suffering from the aftermath of the pandemic and when inflation, electricity prices, and recession are changing people's living conditions and behaviors. A museum visit is definitely nothing that is prioritized among the country's families with children or retirees this coming winter. Furthermore, the museums are doubly punished in the right-conservatives' budget because even the restart support for culture disappears.

Madam Speaker! This is happening at a time when accessible culture is becoming increasingly important and the museums' role as carriers of society cannot be emphasized enough.

Our museums are a source of knowledge about our past and our present. They are a meeting place where children and adults, across generational boundaries, can share the joy of a cultural experience that, through its stories, brings people closer together.

For new and inexperienced visiting groups, for families with children, and for those who do not have the possibility to economically prioritize a museum visit, the free entry reform has made a difference. The thresholds have been lowered. The possibility to slip into a museum even if only for a short while, to discover a painting or an object, to then go out again and come back in the near future for another visit is something that has both been appreciated and enabled more visits.

All of us who have gone to a museum with children can also testify that that museum visit has, more than once, had to be interrupted prematurely because little tummies rumbled, because someone fell, or simply because the energy suddenly vanished.

The criticism that has been voiced by the right-wing parties over the years has, among other things, been that the reform has primarily benefited Stockholmers. But we have the Marinmuseet in Karlskrona, the Järnvägsmuseet in Gävle, Skoklosters slott in Håbo kommun, the Världskulturmuseet in Göteborg, and the Flygvapenmuseet in Linköping. Despite that: Yes, most of our state museums have their exhibition premises in Stockholm.

The fact that many state museums are located in Stockholm also constitutes a reflection of the historical development. It can therefore not be an argument for reducing a culture budget. With its 2.4 million inhabitants in the county, and with 15.2 million guest nights in hotels and hostels, Stockholm is of course also the most densely populated region in the country.

Madam Speaker! The debate surrounding the free entry reform seems instead to highlight old and deeply ideological differences, not only through the ping-pong politics that have been conducted during the recent changes of government but also purely historically. The traditional museum, as it developed in Europe, was originally an elitist institution directly designed to restrict access for everyone who did not belong to the privileged classes.

Madam Speaker! For us Social Democrats, there is a strong driving force to increase the education of the population through culture in order to achieve a democratic society and address the unequal structure. Enlightened, educated people can take power into their own hands and refuse to accept a subordinate structure.

For us Social Democrats, culture and democracy have therefore gone hand in hand, whereby an active cultural policy has always been democracy's catalyst. We Social Democrats believe that our museums, our jointly owned institutions of knowledge, shall be open and inviting operations. The museums shall, based on their subject areas, promote knowledge, cultural experiences, and free formation of opinion. This is part of our common cultural heritage in Sweden, which people shall have access to for democratic reasons.

Madam Speaker! We want the initiative for free admission to state museums to be made permanent and strengthened. Should it really be that the museums are to become an exclusive place for a few again instead of an open place for everyone?

(Applause)

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Carl Nordblom (M)

Madam Speaker! In 2017, about thirty young people at a Chanukah party in Gothenburg had to take cover and hide when several people attacked the synagogue with so-called Molotov cocktails. In 2017, the Jewish Association in Umeå also decided to cease its activities due to threats, hate, and vandalism. It was also in 2017 in Malmö that, in connection with demonstrations, we could hear that Jews should be shot.

Madam Speaker! These are just a few examples of that antisemitism continues to exist and act in Sweden. That a former municipal council member in Malmö accused the Jewish minority itself of antisemitism, that the Simon Wiesenthal Center issued warnings to Jewish visitors in Sweden to exercise extreme caution when visiting southern Sweden, that nine out of ten Swedish Jews in an EU report in 2019 stated that they believe antisemitism is increasing, and that one in three Swedish Jews in the same report states that they have been subjected to antisemitic harassment is nothing other than embarrassing, a shame, and a failure to handle this problem in Sweden. I believe that we can all, regardless of party, feel a great consensus on this area.

With reason of examples such as these, it can hopefully please us all, Madam Speaker, that we can read in the government's budget bill that the work against antisemitism shall be prioritized, that among others our Minister for Culture on Monday presented further initiatives from the government regarding precisely knowledge-promoting measures against antisemitism and for the preservation of the memory of the Holocaust with a focus on continued remembrance trips, as well as that within the review of the penal code it shall also be investigated how antisemitic hate crimes can be punished more severely. All of this is good and clear signals from the government that this issue is prioritized through action and not just through words.

It is also pleasing that we can read in the budget bill that the government is allocating additional funds specifically to strengthen security around Jewish synagogues, institutions, and events, and that the government recognizes that security is the foundation for religious communities in Sweden to be able to conduct religious activities.

Many of us here believe that society is greater than the state. A state should be strong, not large. A state that is too large stifles the free and voluntary in society and prevents civil society from acting and growing.

Religious communities are an important part of civil society that in many ways contribute to and develop Sweden as a country. In the budget, we can see that the government also prioritizes them in the form of increased funding to the Agency for Support to Religious Communities.

But at the same time as we should encourage and support civil society to act and grow, the strong state must also intervene when organizations or individuals do not behave, when extremism takes root and threatens common democratic values. It is pleasing that the government now, while with one hand providing support to those communities and organizations that behave, with the other hand shall investigate how to make it more difficult for those communities and organizations that do not behave, this including by investigating a ban on foreign funding of religious communities with links specifically to extremism and Islamism. The government is also very clear in marking, which is pleasing, in this budget bill that public funds shall not be paid out to such communities.

Madam Speaker! I believe that in this way, with a combination of freedom, support, order, and clarity, we safeguard Swedish civil society in the very best way.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Amanda Lind (MP)

Madam Speaker! Thank you, Carl Nordblom, for the speech! I have a question that I actually would have liked to ask the Minister for Culture, but since Carl Nordblom is now addressing the initiatives that the Minister for Culture presented on Monday, I thought I would ask it to him instead.

First and foremost, I want to say that I welcome the commitment against antisemitism. It is very important, and it is important that we can continue to work and build upon the initiatives that have been made and ensure that it happens in a structured and strategic way. When Carl Nordblom now highlights that it is important to act and not just have empty words, I hope that he does not mean the red-green government, because de facto we have made very large, concrete initiatives during the mandate period that has passed, not least under Stefan Löfven's leadership. He himself had a great personal commitment to this. It has been about a Holocaust museum, memorial trips, and the commitments that were made after Malmöforum – everything from language to appointing the inquiry on a strategy for Jewish life and also a number of knowledge-raising initiatives within the school system.

I share the Member of Parliament's view that more needs to be done. Therefore, I was very pleased when the announcement came that the memorial trips will continue next year. I share the picture that has been presented here in the chamber earlier that this was a mistake and that money has now been found to rectify it. That is good.

My first question is: Does the Member of Parliament know where these funds are being taken from – is it some other part of the budget where cuts are now being made? This did not appear in the Minister for Culture's statement on Monday. My second question is: What other concrete new initiatives do you have? An education initiative was mentioned. Can the Member of Parliament tell us a bit more about that, and is it new fresh money involved there?

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Carl Nordblom (M)

Madam Speaker! Thank you, Amanda Lind, for the questions! I can only agree with what Amanda Lind says. I believe that this is an important issue for all of us, and at least I myself consider that there is no greater room for debate or discussion regardless of which party one belongs to.

I believe the consensus on this issue is large enough for all of us to set aside party labels. I can absolutely agree with all the good things that the red-green government and other previous governments have done on this issue throughout history. Amanda Lind herself highlighted Stefan Löfven, and even the Social Democratic Prime Minister Göran Persson has made great and important contributions specifically for the commemoration of the Holocaust.

The questions that are actually directed at the Minister for Culture are probably best answered by her herself. But I thank you for the questions.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Amanda Lind (MP)

Madam Speaker! I shall not prolong the debate. I look forward to continued dialogue on these issues, not least regarding the strategy to promote Jewish life. Some of these issues may fall under the jurisdiction of the Cultural Affairs Committee, for example, initiatives on Jewish culture and the Jewish language, but also under the areas of other committees.

I also want to say in conclusion that I think it is positive with the initiative to see if it is possible to tighten the criminal protection when it comes to hate crimes. I will follow that investigation closely.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Leonid Yurkovskiy (SD)

Madam Speaker! As is often said in such long and exciting debates, I had actually not intended to rise in the debate to begin with. But a number of things have been said that I would like to comment on. I would, however, like to begin by moving for approval of the committee's proposal for a decision.

The Sweden Democrats' position on this area has already been presented exemplarily by my party colleague Bo Broman. But the red-greens have now, during the debate, painted a nearly frightening scenario of some kind of cultural upheaval. But even though there are obviously many problems to clean up after previous governments, there is actually no evidence for the left's concern in the budget that our majority is presenting.

Arm's length distance is still not a fixed, defined, and accepted term. It is a well-intentioned principle that guides the new government, but it is not a free pass to do whatever one wants with the taxpayers' money. Here, the politicians actually have an administrative responsibility for both direction and resources, without directing the work of individual cultural practitioners. The voters also actually have the right to expect that we politicians take responsibility for this.

What we saw regarding the arm's-length distance under the red-green government's rule was a very short and rather untrained arm that holds the taxpayers' wallets very loosely and carelessly. We have all read the report on freedom of art that the Agency for Cultural Analysis published. There, it was clearly shown that the then prevailing cultural policy restricted the cultural institutions' work through its value-based steering. We must move away from that.

Furthermore, billions of kronor have gone to Islamism and fraudulent study associations. That is also a very big problem. The former is proof that arm's-length distance has not worked in practice for the red-greens, and the latter is proof that we others need to take action in the situation, which we also intend to do.

Since then, I only have a short comment regarding the inappropriate story hours. It is actually a municipal matter. From the municipalities' side, one can and should have views on whether this falls under the budgeted mandate for the libraries.

Madam Speaker! One must ask what the public gains from breaking norms for children. One must also ask why adult men want children as the target group for their norm-breaking.

In this speech, Jonas Andersson (SD) agreed.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Lawen Redar (S)

Madam Speaker! It is not my ambition to prolong this debate, but I must nevertheless present some corrections to the statement.

It is true that the grant-giving that existed at the state, regional, and municipal levels was analyzed. The Agency for Cultural Analysis was commissioned by the previous government and the then culture minister Amanda Lind to look further into this.

A report suggested a number of measures. Measures were taken immediately by Culture Minister Amanda Lind and the S-led government to remove the wording that was in the regulatory letter.

Another point included in the report was that measures should be taken to increase knowledge regarding the parts concerning regional and municipal activities in order to maintain the principle of arm's length. That work is the responsibility of the current government and its coalition partners.

But with knowledge from the Agency for Cultural Analysis, I see that there are now completely different ambitions at the municipal and regional level. They are shutting down popular story hours that have been running since 2017. No one has reacted against them. On the contrary, mothers, fathers, and parents have come there. They have been popular story hours. They have been interesting conversations that people have been invited to. They have taken place openly in the public libraries in Kalmar, Malmö, and several other cities. But now, suddenly, a Sverigedemokratisk municipal representative thinks they should be shut down.

Yesterday, a Lucia procession was supposed to take place. Measures had been planned and taken to ensure that it could proceed. But a Sverigedemokrat arrived and wanted to interrupt that activity. It was a regional representative. This was also supported by national representatives, not least the member himself, who in the speaker's chair has expressed that one has problems with these.

How do the Sweden Democrats intend to live up to the principle of arm's-length distance when they are now expressing that they want to stop these activities, against the background of what was also presented in the report from the Agency for Cultural Analysis?

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Leonid Yurkovskiy (SD)

Madam Speaker! The report showed that, for example, there were conditional grants for film based on the film's ability to represent LGBTQ and various diversity perspectives, which resulted in the filmmakers feeling that there was no point in applying for grants. If this is anything, it is political steering, and a rather direct kind. This has occurred for a very long time, and that it required the Swedish Agency for Culture Analysis to point this out in order for a change to be achieved says quite a lot about how the red-greens view this matter regarding the arm's-length principle.

The regions also quota based on gender. We also see that this is being done within public service with the reflection of Sweden. This is therefore a problem that remains, and we will need to continue working on it.

This with the story times is just frightening that the politicians have not noticed previously. In that case, it is good that the Sverigedemokraterna have been elected and can notice such things.

What we will do from the new coalition's side is to actually achieve a firm, clear and logical definition of an arm's length. That is the first step, so that it does not just become a vague paragraph that leads to the problems that we have seen previously.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Lawen Redar (S)

Madam Speaker! There is much to worry about. In today's debate, it has been asserted that an Alexander strike is to be made. When it comes to the next budget, for 2024, we should probably expect that the Sverigedemokraterna will have even more to say and that it will not be a budget corresponding to the one that has now been presented.

Now, the member also stated that an arm's length distance should be defined based on the Sweden Democrats' reflections and values. I find that very worrying. No major definitions of the principle of an arm's length distance need to be made. Measures for how to interpret and understand this were taken by historical figures, not least Winston Churchill in his ambition to democratize Europe after the Second World War.

The principle has been established in the administrative structure. It has been established in many of the Western democracies. The previous government has already investigated and looked further into the issues by tasking the Agency for Cultural Analysis to produce this report. Measures were subsequently taken. This knowledge exists. The report exists. Measures have been taken.

Where measures have not been taken is at the municipal and regional level. There, one also faces great opposition from the Sweden Democrats. They intervene in cultural activities and say that this must be stopped. If we do not ensure that this comes to an end here and now, I am concerned that they will begin to stop more activities and more cultural content that is not in accordance with what the Sweden Democrats consider to be culture.

Let culture be free! Let art and culture be based on an arm's length distance! We politicians shall not define the content. We shall support the activities so that our citizens are reached by a diversity of cultural expressions and themselves gain the capacity to take a stand on what they like and what they do not like. That valuation does not need to be set by the Sverigedemokraterna on the activities.

(Applause)

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Leonid Yurkovskiy (SD)

Madam Speaker! We have been elected for a reason, and the Swedish people have actually not voted for Winston Churchill, but for the Sverigedemokraterna.

The "Alexander-cut" that is being discussed has already been debated in the budget debate that has been ongoing during the day. It is a return to more of a normal situation after corona. It is an adaptation to a very difficult economic situation that requires prioritizations.

A definition of arm's length distance was obviously needed, because the red-greens have not succeeded in it. That this debate is still taking place is evidence of that. But it is correctly perceived that the Sverigedemokraterna will play a decisive role with their influence. It is a natural consequence of the democratic system of government.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Anne-Li Sjölund (C)

Madam Speaker! Sports make society hold together. It is part of the voluntary Sweden that is the glue between us humans. It is many times completely independent of background, economic circumstances, whether one has lived in Sweden all their life or for several generations, or whether one has lived in Sweden for a short time. Sports bring people together.

Sports clubs exist all over the country, and they effectively weave together different parts of society. It is probably more important than any of us can imagine. To that is added all the joy and sense of community that sports provide, the integration engine that sports is, and everything it contributes to regarding public health.

Almost 150,000 children and young people go to training every day. It is a fantastic popular movement.

Riksidrottsförbundet has estimated that if the leaders were to be replaced with a leisure leader's salary, the cost would amount to approximately 20 billion. Every invested krona in the sports movement yields manifold returns to society.

The most important thing politics can do is to facilitate for associations to carry out their activities. Therefore, simpler and better adapted rules were needed for how the sports movement's cooperation with the public sector should look.

Centerpartiet wants to improve the opportunities for civil society to perform social contributions. One way involves better knowledge of the challenges that exist in society. Here, the public sector can become much better at cooperating with civil society.

There must also be access to meeting premises at a reasonable cost even in cities to enable these types of activities. Therefore, the public at all levels need to become better at making their premises available for association life at times that are otherwise unused.

Madam Speaker! Equality is another important issue to highlight. Today, girls stop practicing sports far too early. The spotlight has been placed on the issue, but even more light is needed to get to the bottom of this. Girls and boys shall, as a matter of course, be given equal conditions for their sports.

The legislation regarding sponsorship of sports remains unequal. It needs to be redone and, as said, adapted to function in an equal society.

For people with disabilities, it can sometimes be difficult to find a suitable sports activity. Para-sport can be a way into physical activity. But it is far from all young people who have the opportunity to participate in the sports that are available in the locality or in the sports they are passionate about. If one has a disability, one may, for example, need special transport services to get to training. One may need a companion to be able to participate. One may need special aids. One may also need a leader who is knowledgeable in para-sport.

It is of course very difficult to set an exact price in kronor and ören for sports. But one thing is certain: Sports need the very best conditions to provide opportunities for both elite efforts and Olympic medals, but perhaps most for the sake of public health, togetherness, and joy.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Jonas Andersson (SD)

Madam Speaker! Initially, I would like to express my approval of the committee's proposed decision in this report. It is very pleasing that the Sweden Democrats and the government parties are now ensuring that more and more decisions are passed in the Riksdag in line with the Tidö Agreement.

The cultural policy budget decision that we are now debating is part of the political paradigm shift that we four parties are to carry out together in the coming years. The Tidö Agreement is not actually dominated by issues concerning cultural policy; rather, it focuses on areas such as energy policy, crime policy, and so on. But even in the area of cultural policy, a number of important points can be found in the agreement. Cultural policy will also see major and necessary reforms during this mandate period. There is much for us to clean up after the red-greens have been made to hand over the departments.

An important issue that we four coalition parties will address properly is public education, something that is also highlighted here in the budget. It is an area that was neglected when the red-greens were in power. Here, we want to ensure with force that follow-up, control, and transparency regarding the state grant are sharpened.

We are also reviewing the issue of transferring the responsibility for the state grant to a proper authority in order to avoid conflicts of interest, self-examinations, time-hunting, tax money for Islamism, and other major problems that we have seen regarding folkbildningen. For several years now, the Sverigedemokraterna here in the Swedish Riksdag have on their own motioned that the responsibility for the state grant to folkbildningen should be moved over to a proper authority. Thus, it is obviously a great victory for us that this point is now included in the Tidö Agreement.

Madam Speaker! It is striking that the left side can stand here today and debate in such a high tone considering how they themselves have completely ignored taking control regarding people's education. It is a large appropriation of over 4 billion kronor which constitutes a very large part of the total culture budget. For the study associations alone, it concerns amounts in the billions.

When these parties were in power, folkbildningen became known in the media for problems with tax money going to Islamist study associations, study associations that are allowed to audit their own activities, and study associations that cheat and inflate their figures to get more money from the taxpayers. There have been many such cases in the media reporting in recent years.

But now this is over. We four coalition parties that have a majority here in the Riksdag will put a stop to taxpayers' money being sucked into black holes of fraud, Islamism, and so on. For me, this is an important issue. It is about respect for the taxpayers and how their money is used.

We will ensure that there is order and clarity in the folk education policy and in other areas of cultural policy. We Sverigedemokrater are now exercising a very significant influence over Swedish cultural policy, and we will be a guarantor that it remains so.

In this speech, Leonid Yurkovskiy (SD) agreed.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Vasiliki Tsouplaki (V)

Madam Speaker! I had intended to speak on cultural heritage issues, but I must simply comment on this matter regarding a black hole.

It is still the case that there is so much good folk education work taking place all around in our country. I think the member is really exaggerating everything that is done daily by voluntary actors and study circle leaders. The member ignores so much fine activity at our folk high schools and study associations. I just want to mark against that, because I think it is very strange.

During the five years that I have sat on the Culture Committee, I have noted a proposal from the Sverigedemokraterna that I have thought was good, so I thought I would take the opportunity to bring it up. It is a proposal that has been very close to the Vänsterpartiet's policy regarding how we could expand the free entry reform to apply to the whole country. The member's representative Aron Emilsson often pointed out that we need to ensure that there is also free entry at municipal and regional museums. There is, however, not a trace of that in this budget. Instead, one has gone in the other direction and is now removing the free entry reform.

It is very regrettable, because it really hinders the accessibility to our common cultural heritage. From Vänsterpartiet, we see that it is precisely our common cultural heritage that should be accessible to even more people, but here the Sverigedemokraterna have agreed to go in a completely different direction.

My question to the member is whether they have completely abandoned their ambitions in the cultural heritage area and adopted the view that perhaps above all the Moderaterna have championed here previously, namely that fees were needed, especially for adults, for the museums. We see that this will also make it more difficult for children to visit museums, as they need an adult to hold their hand during their visit. This is therefore a very regrettable development.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Jonas Andersson (SD)

Madam Speaker! It is interesting to hear that the Left Party still wants to give the appearance of caring about cultural heritage issues. It is not something I have seen much of before, neither here in the Swedish Riksdag nor in any other political assembly where I have been active. I welcome it, of course; it would be nice if the Left Party now wants to show both in words and in actions that one cares about cultural heritage.

It is very true that we Sweden Democrats do so. It has always been an important issue for us. Just as has been relevant in many other debates regarding this state budget, one must understand that this is only a first step in the implementation of the Tidö Agreement and the important issues we have therein. I believe therefore that Vasiliki Tsouplaki can be calm. We will, of course, work to implement the points that are stated in the Tidö Agreement, and naturally we will also, in the conversations with our coalition partners, highlight the importance of cultural heritage issues.

There is much to look forward to during this parliamentary term when, together with the Moderates, Christian Democrats and Liberals, we implement the points in the Tidö Agreement. I believe that it will be to the joy of very many out there in Sweden and hopefully also for the Left Party.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Vasiliki Tsouplaki (V)

Madam Speaker! There are a number of initiatives on cultural heritage in our budget this year just as there were last year and the year before that. We have made large investments in the cultural heritage part, but I did not have time to mention them all in my speech earlier.

For example, there is a digitalization initiative of 65 million that spans several years so that we can digitize the collections and make them accessible both to the general public and to researchers. We have allocated money for cultural heritage environments so that the county administrative boards will receive more grants to distribute for maintaining and making the cultural heritage accessible out in the country. We have money to document Roma settlements and to take care of archaeological material that comes to the state from the regions. Over the years, we have also proposed an increase of the ecclesiastical antiquarian compensation. Point by point, we propose different types of initiatives and focus on cultural heritage issues.

What the member did not answer was precisely how one could have agreed to something that goes against what one has advocated for previously. It will be a very big step if it is the case that the member still means that you want to expand free entry to the whole country. To remove the free entry for a very large group is truly to start on the wrong foot.

We have seen previously when this change has been made that it involves very large transition costs. We heard from the Social Democrat earlier here in the rostrum how quickly the museums must now act to build barriers and arrange new payment systems. It is very costly for the museums with the sharp turns every time a right-wing government comes to power. It is really not good, because the museums need to invest in taking care of their collections, caring for them, making them accessible and ensuring that more can visit our museums. You are really making it difficult with the drastic reduction that applies from the turn of the year.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Jonas Andersson (SD)

Madam Speaker! I can guarantee the member that we have not dropped the question regarding the reform that the member previously spoke about and which concerns cultural heritage. We still, of course, think it is a very good proposal. It is important and completely in line with our cultural heritage policy otherwise.

It is in any case interesting to hear about the Left Party's cultural heritage policy. It is not particularly well-known out there among the people. But now we have heard a bit more about it here in the Swedish Riksdag.

My speech was actually about popular education and the major problems we have seen regarding popular education. Now the member cannot answer, but what I took up were the enormous problems we have seen with money going to cheating, Islamism, and so on. Isn't it strange that the Left Party has not acted earlier in the Riksdag to put a stop to this? It has at least not happened during the years I have been involved. You have rather supported the development that has made it possible for money to go to this. You have in no way shown respect for the taxpayers' money or taken popular education policy seriously.

This is a major problem that threatens the entire legitimacy of the folk education policy. Not least the Swedish National Audit Office's report, which arrived earlier this autumn, has shown how enormous the problems are. The point that we have included in the Tidö Agreement is therefore completely in line with what we need to resolve these problems.

I truly regret that you have not taken responsibility for the folk high school policy. I can also assure the members that we will pursue the cultural heritage issues. We have not released the reform that the member is talking about. Of course, I hope that we will be able to achieve our ambitions in this area during the mandate period.

The deliberation was hereby concluded.

(A decision was to be taken on 15 December.)

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