Question Time

TREDJE VICE TALMANNEN

I would like to welcome the ministers. Questions today will be answered by Minister for Infrastructure and Housing Andreas Carlson, Minister for Justice Gunnar Strömmer, Minister for Migration Johan Forssell, and Minister for Financial Markets Niklas Wykman.

A question must be of an overarching and general political nature or concern a subject that falls within the Minister's area of responsibility and relates to his performance of duties. The question shall therefore not concern, for example, conditions within political parties. Infrastructure and Housing Minister Andreas Carlson answers both general political questions and questions within his own area of responsibility.

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Niklas Sigvardsson (S)

Madam Speaker! Before the election, the government parties promised lower electricity prices and extensive electricity support. At the same time, high prices were called "Magdalene prices on electricity."

After three years with the government and the Sweden Democrats, electricity bills are becoming more expensive. It is higher electricity prices, higher grid prices, and a new capacity fee. In January, electricity prices reached levels that make January 2026 the most expensive January month recorded in all Swedish electricity areas.

My question therefore goes to Infrastructure and Housing Minister Andreas Carlson: How can the government defend that household electricity bills continue to increase, despite repeated promises during the election campaign to push down electricity prices?

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Infrastruktur- och bostadsministern Andreas Carlson (KD)

Madam Speaker! Electricity prices have decreased dramatically, with savings of thousands or tens of thousands of kronor for a villa, depending on how one compares and which period.

We have lowered the electricity tax, more industries are getting power, and the power balance is improving in southern Sweden. We have also halved the lead times for grid expansion, and today a positive announcement has also been given regarding nuclear power. We have thus both managed a situation here and now and taken responsibility for the shortcomings in the past, where, instead of planning for stable energy and increased energy production in Sweden, an uncertainty was sown about whether we should have nuclear power at all. That uncertainty still remains in Niklas Sigvardsson's own government basis.

The government takes responsibility. We have delivered. We see that electricity prices have fallen, but there is more to do, and we in the government are, together with our coalition partner, in agreement on the way forward.

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Niklas Sigvardsson (S)

Madam Speaker! January 2026 was the most expensive month in all Swedish electricity areas. Electricity bills have even received a completely new line, the so-called capacity charge. Hundreds of thousands of households are already today paying fees that lack an actual and clear connection to bottlenecks in the electricity grid.

My supplementary question is therefore whether the Minister is prepared to pause the introduction of efficiency fees, as the Social Democrats want, and review the models that have already been introduced.

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Infrastruktur- och bostadsministern Andreas Carlson (KD)

Madam Speaker! It is always possible to come up with various measures that can solve a certain part of this but at the same time not take responsibility for the whole. This gives the Social Democrats a brilliant example of now.

What the government does and will continue to do is take responsibility to ensure that we have a sustainable energy production and capacity in the Swedish power grid that benefits both Swedish households and Swedish industry. Then, nuclear power must also be a part of this.

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Nima Gholam Ali Pour (SD)

Madam Speaker! My question is addressed to the Minister for Migration.

An investigator is currently looking into the question of which crimes in the future could lead to a Swedish citizenship being revoked. A starting point for the Sverigedemokraterna has been that the new rules should target particularly serious organized crime, especially leading figures within criminal networks.

The gang-related crime that receives a lot of attention in Sweden, for example shootings and bombings, is not necessarily the type of crime that leading gang criminals commit. Such individuals often commit serious narcotics offenses and engage in serious money laundering, usury, and the like.

Does the Minister for Migration agree with me that in order to reach the gang leaders, it is also necessary that that type of less visible crime is included?

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Migrationsministern Johan Forssell (M)

Madam Speaker! Thank you, Nima Gholam Ali Pour, for the question!

We are fundamentally changing the rules regarding Swedish citizenship, and we will soon present this. We want people to be proud of being a Swedish citizen and of being a citizen in our fine country, and one becomes proud when one has had to exert oneself to actually become something.

Part of this is to introduce a possibility to, in certain situations involving dual citizenship, be able to revoke a citizenship. It is a model that exists in several neighboring countries but which until now has not existed in Sweden.

We are now waiting for an investigation that will soon be presented. We have said that we would like to see a possibility there to revoke dual citizenship in cases of crimes that threaten the state's vital interests.

This is an important and a major change. It is also a constitutional issue that we will return to in the chamber. We will return to the continuation, but first we shall await the investigation, which we will receive soon.

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Nima Gholam Ali Pour (SD)

Madam Speaker! I would like to thank the Minister for Migration for the answer.

For the Sweden Democrats, this is fundamentally a question of accuracy. If the purpose is that organized crime should be hit, the regulatory framework must target those who actually lead and profit from it, and not just the most visible expressions of violence. It is therefore crucial that the legislation is designed so that even this type of crime is covered.

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Migrationsministern Johan Forssell (M)

Madam Speaker! The legislation we want to see will entail a very large change regarding the rules for citizenship.

It must also be seen in a larger context. When we now speak about heavy gang criminals, the legislation that we will soon present also becomes relevant, as it significantly lowers the threshold for deportations. The investigator has even spoken about the possibility of a sixfold increase in the number of deportations.

It is, therefore, an overall very large change that we will soon be presenting to this chamber.

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Malcolm Momodou Jallow (V)

Madam Speaker! During the week, Sveriges Stadsmissioner published the homelessness report for 2026. It is an alarm bell that should wake the government up.

Despite a national strategy against homelessness, the number of evictions has increased by over 30 percent in three years, that is, during the three years that the Tidö parties have been in power.

Last year, 824 children were evicted. This is an increase of 50 percent over five years. Since the zero vision was introduced, almost 10,000 children have been evicted in Sweden. This is no longer a social problem, but it is a housing policy catastrophe and a state betrayal against children.

Madam Speaker! My question is directed to Infrastructure and Housing Minister Andreas Carlson. How can the government defend the fact that children are still being evicted, even though the Convention on the Rights of the Child is law in Sweden? What immediate measures does the minister intend to take to stop the evictions of children in Sweden?

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Infrastruktur- och bostadsministern Andreas Carlson (KD)

Madam Speaker! The Government takes the evictions of families with children seriously. No child in Sweden should have to be left without a secure home. When families with children are evicted, the children's health, security, and schooling are jeopardized.

The government has taken several measures to counter evictions. We have not only extended the national homelessness strategy but also strengthened it; our government invests five times more than the previous government on this work. We have also tasked the Enforcement Authority (Kronofogden) to work to prevent evictions, and we have strengthened and raised the ceiling for the housing allowance for the first time in 30 years. We also have legislation on rent guarantees for families with children underway.

The question, however, is where these evictions take place. Most occur in Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. There is a municipal responsibility that Malcolm Momodou Jallow completely ignores in his question, Madam Speaker.

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Malcolm Momodou Jallow (V)

Madam Speaker! The Minister wants to blame the municipalities and refers to measures in the strategy. But the Homelessness Report 2026 shows a crystal-clear fact: Evictions are increasing, and child evictions are increasing. Homelessness is increasing.

My follow-up question is therefore: Can the Minister here in the chamber today give a clear statement on which reforms he is prepared to implement now, this spring, which actually stop child evictions in practice? How many more children must be evicted before this government acts?

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Infrastruktur- och bostadsministern Andreas Carlson (KD)

Madam Speaker! I will give a very concrete and clear example: We demand that the municipalities introduce rental guarantees for families with children.

I am not shifting any of my responsibility onto the municipalities, Madam Speaker, but the municipalities already have a responsibility. It seems the Left Party is completely ignoring this, and the Left Party is involved in governing in Stockholm and Gothenburg. I therefore thank you for the tips, but we have taken significantly more measures to counter evictions than others have. However, it is required that the municipalities take an even greater responsibility – and that they take the responsibility they already have, Madam Speaker.

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Ulrika Heie (C)

Madam Speaker! My question will be directed to Minister Carlson.

It is five or six years until the Fehmarn Bält tunnel is completed, and then a large capacity increase for freight crossing the Öresund awaits. We know that the Swedish railway network today does not have the capacity to accommodate that increase. Trafikverket points out that it is about a 40 percent increase in just 20 years, and on our side of the strait, we have difficulty handling it.

We need new capacity, but we also need the opportunity to let new longer and heavier trains run on our railways both in southern Sweden and further north. The measures that would be needed in the short term are, however, very far ahead in the plans that exist.

My question is therefore: What measures does the government intend to take so that longer and heavier trains can be transported in Sweden when the Fehmarn Bält tunnel opens?

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Infrastruktur- och bostadsministern Andreas Carlson (KD)

Madam Speaker! It is an urgent question that Ulrika Heie is asking.

This was on the table when the previous plan was brought forward. At that time, there were concrete objects that Trafikverket said we had to address to increase capacity when the Fehmarn Bält connection opens, but it still did not make it into the national plan that the government at the time adopted in 2022. The current government changed it in October 2023, when we included these objects.

We are ensuring that the capacity is increased on the Swedish side. On the same day that the Swedish government made its decision, Denmark made a decision on measures on the Danish side, and these measures increase the capacity on the Öresund Bridge by over 30 percent. We have presented this, and we have expedited the assignment to Trafikverket to ensure that it is implemented faster. It is clear that one can come and think that it is a bit late, but the government did this already after one year.

We have corrected and accelerated measures to increase capacity so that we can manage the situation when the Fehmarn Bält connection opens. However, there is more to be done, and we will return to the national plan during the spring.

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Ulrika Heie (C)

Madam Speaker! I think we are all waiting for the national plan, but this is important, not least for many companies that are dependent on the freight transport functioning. Is the Minister prepared to lay additional sections that will allow us to run up to a kilometer-long trains? Will it be possible to increase the speed to increase the capacity? Now there is only talk about that we will lay sections for increased capacity – can the Minister be a bit more precise?

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Infrastruktur- och bostadsministern Andreas Carlson (KD)

Madam Speaker! I would gladly do so! We were already precise on 23 October 2023, when we submitted measures that the previous government seemed to have forgotten.

It is about measures that are completely necessary for us to manage the capacity reinforcement needed as a result of the Fehmarn Bält connection opening. It is, therefore, a connection between Denmark and Germany that will make it approximately as smooth to travel from Malmö to Hamburg as it is to travel up to Jönköping. This truly binds the countries together.

It is clear that measures are needed. The Government has taken measures, and we intend to return with further measures ahead.

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Amanda Palmstierna (MP)

Madam Speaker! My question is addressed to Minister Andreas Carlson.

All children need a safe home, a place to call their own, so that they can go to school in peace and spend time with their friends – yes, build their lives for the future. Last year, however, hundreds of children were evicted from their homes, and in fact, hundreds of children have been evicted every year since the Tidö Government came to power. The figure has also been increasing more and more.

The reason for this is that people simply cannot pay their rent. In that case, the housing allowance is very important, but last year the government lowered the housing allowance by up to 2,100 kronor. Then it was restored to less than half, which is not at all sufficient. It is an erosion.

My question to the Minister is: Is the government prepared to truly reform the housing allowance and link it to increasing costs so that it is not constantly eroded, but actually becomes a help for families with children who are having a tough time?

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Infrastruktur- och bostadsministern Andreas Carlson (KD)

Madam Speaker! I would like to thank Amanda Palmstierna for an important question.

This is an important and pressing issue for the government, and from the turn of the year, we increased the housing allowance for economically disadvantaged families with children by at most 800 SEK per month for families with one child and 1,000 SEK per month for families with two or more children.

We have also indicated that we will make it mandatory for municipalities to provide rental guarantees to families with children under certain conditions. This was part of the investigation into measures for a better housing supply and in the bill that we submitted as a result of the investigation. The changes that entered into force on March 1, 2025, imply a greater responsibility for the municipalities to develop action plans for housing supply and that they should take the responsibility they already have more seriously.

We will also ensure that requirements are placed on rental guarantees. It is an important part of the work to address structural homelessness and a part of the social housing policy that the government is implementing.

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Amanda Palmstierna (MP)

Madam Speaker! This matter regarding rental guarantees was a proposal that the former Minister from the Green Party, Karolina Skog, investigated. In 2022, she submitted the proposal that the municipality should act as a guarantor and guarantee that the rent will be paid, which is very good when someone has uncertain income. But the proposal was submitted as early as 2022, and I really wonder why it has taken four years to submit your proposal. We also had a legislative proposal that was submitted in 2024, but then it was chosen not to proceed with it.

Why has it taken so long? Why has one allowed all these children to be evicted during these years?

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Infrastruktur- och bostadsministern Andreas Carlson (KD)

Madam Speaker! It is an important announcement that the government is now moving forward with rental guarantees for families with children. We have also tasked the Enforcement Authority (Kronofogden) to work to counteract evictions, and we have fundamentally changed the Social Services Act to clarify responsibilities and provide other tools. We have, therefore, done very much. We have also allocated funds to the national homelessness strategy, where Housing First is an important method.

The measures that the government has taken have thus been extensive, but it is of course important to constantly do more and do what is required. That is why we are moving forward with the changes that we are moving forward with, Madam Speaker.

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David Josefsson (M)

Madam Speaker! Last year, the Social Democrats stated that they want to forcibly mix the population by building rental apartments in villa areas.

In my home city of Gothenburg, the red-green government has concretized these plans by proposing high-rise buildings both at Sankt Sigfrids plan in Örgryte and at Gamla Särövägen in Askim. At Sankt Sigfrids plan, they want to build houses up to six stories high in a park from the 1920s, and at Gamla Särövägen in Askim, they want to build over a hundred apartments in two hundred-meter-long rows in a nature area.

At the same time, we know that seven out of ten Swedes want to live in their own house, but only four out of ten do so today. Those who have the hardest time affording to buy or build a house are, of course, those who have the worst finances.

Does the Minister for Housing believe that we contribute to increased integration by building high-rise buildings in garden cities, or is it better to focus on ensuring that more people can fulfill their dream of owning their own house?

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Infrastruktur- och bostadsministern Andreas Carlson (KD)

Madam Speaker! I answer no to question A and yes to question B, if I understood the questions correctly. The Government is not for reckless densification. The Government is not for forcing anything upon people from above that has been described as forced mixing. I believe that would be the wrong way to go.

On the other hand, we see that by making it possible for people to realize their housing dreams and by ensuring that more can move into their dream home – a small house, a villa or a terraced house – it can contribute to both freedom and security.

We also view garden cities positively where there can be varied, small-scale construction. Detached houses and terraced houses have a part, but there is also room for apartment buildings on a human scale, on streets where children can run around and roll out floorball goals. The cars are there, but they do not take over the entire area.

The government has taken many measures to achieve this policy. In recent weeks, for example, we have presented a reform for rent-to-own that can lower the thresholds even further.

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David Josefsson (M)

Madam Speaker! Thank you, Minister, for the answer!

In an article in Dagens Nyheter in the autumn, the architect Kjell Forshed said that an important thing when designing a new residential area is that children can play hide and seek. A house builder I met in Halland said that the most common thing customers for terraced houses request is a garden that is large enough to fit a trampoline.

How can we in the Riksdag and government ensure that more garden cities are built so that more children can play hide-and-seek and jump on a trampoline?

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Infrastruktur- och bostadsministern Andreas Carlson (KD)

Madam Speaker! The Government took an important step today by deciding on a bill regarding a raised mortgage ceiling, which can shorten the time it takes for a family with children to save up for the down payment by two to four years.

The model I mentioned with hire-purchase means that one can rent their housing, move into the dream home and successively pay off or save up for the down payment while living there. This is a very important step to lower the threshold to the dream home.

These are two concrete measures that will have an effect.

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Christian Carlsson (KD)

Madam Speaker! The Christian Democrats want to abolish the tax on the sale of housing, the so-called moving tax. People should be able to change homes when needs change without being hit by an unreasonable taxation that makes them prefer to stay in a home that is too large. This would also speed up the moving chains, which would mean that more families with children can realize the dream of a villa, Volvo, and a dog.

My question to Minister for Infrastructure and Housing Andreas Carlson is: What is the government doing so that more families can move into a villa?

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Infrastruktur- och bostadsministern Andreas Carlson (KD)

Madam Speaker! It is indeed an urgent question that Christian Carlsson is posing.

I was just in there that earlier today we made a decision on a raised mortgage ceiling. We are removing the strict amortization requirement and introducing a new model for rent-to-own. We have an incentive – a bonus – for municipalities that create space to build the houses. We are also changing the shoreline protection regulations so that one can build in more attractive locations.

We have tasked Boverket with developing proposals for type approval of small houses, which under certain conditions can be built completely without a building permit. We have also made the largest building permit simplifications in 15 years as part of our massive regulatory simplification agenda.

We have appointed a housing commissioner in Stefan Attefall with the aim of promoting a homeownership movement, increasing small house production, and promoting garden cities. One of his observations so far is that approximately one million people who today live in rental apartments would have wanted to live in small houses if they had been given the chance. We want to give that chance to more people.

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Christian Carlsson (KD)

Madam Speaker! As part of the Social Democrats' policy to mix the population, we now unfortunately see how in Stockholm and in other municipalities, there is a desire to densify and completely change the character of safe and pleasant villa areas. They want to remove green spaces and build apartments into existing villa housing.

What is the government doing so that more villas are built instead?

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Infrastruktur- och bostadsministern Andreas Carlson (KD)

Madam Speaker! There are reasons to view that type of careless densification with concern, which does not contribute to increased safety but actually risks contributing to the opposite.

We see that there are good examples where, instead, opportunities have been opened for small houses in areas where there have been multi-family dwellings and opened for more ownership in areas where there has been a large rental stock. It is about achieving a mix that meets people's needs but that is not forced from above.

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Martin Melin (L)

Madam Speaker! The Government changed the law on camera surveillance last year. The intention was that it should become easier to obtain permission to install cameras in order to prevent, investigate, or, in the best case, deter criminal activity.

Installing cameras in schools has proven to be very effective. Disorder and brawls, thefts, and not least the handling of narcotics have decreased significantly in the schools where cameras have been installed.

I direct my question to the Minister for Justice.

The problem today is that Imy, the Swedish Authority for Privacy Protection, considers that the cameras may not be used when the risk profile is no longer the same in the school in question. This is very strange. All thinking people understand that the problems will return when the cameras, which have been used with great efficiency and good results, are no longer used. Then one must apply for a new permit and go through a new permit process. The school must constantly record measures so that one can apply for a new permit. Is it intended to be like this?

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Justitieministern Gunnar Strömmer (M)

Madam Speaker! Thank you, Martin Melin, for a very justified question!

My basic answer is: No, that is not how it should be – or, more accurately said, that is not how it should be. I do not, however, naturally question Imys assessment of the legal situation as it stands today.

It is quite true that we implemented a very important reform regarding cameras last year. We abolished the permit requirement and thereby made it possible for municipalities and other actors – including other authorities – to install cameras to promptly meet the needs that are best known locally without first having to turn to the County Administrative Board and go through a complicated bureaucratic permit process.

This was a very important reform, and it has also had great positive effects. The next step is to review the legal regulation of in which situations one is actually allowed to use cameras.

The problem that Martin Melin raises here has also been raised by several others. Many school principals and municipalities have mentioned it. We are working on the issue, and I ask to be allowed to return to exactly how we intend to take this further.

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Martin Melin (L)

Madam Speaker! I am satisfied with the answer. I look forward to receiving continued answers on this in the future.

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Justitieministern Gunnar Strömmer (M)

Madam Speaker! I say as I usually say: When Martin Melin is satisfied, I am also satisfied.

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Carina Ödebrink (S)

Madam Speaker! Yesterday, the Committee on Transport debated road safety. One issue that came into focus was the government's decision to significantly reduce the funds that Trafikverket has to distribute to civil society organizations working with road safety. The appropriation is being reduced from 15 million to 7 million.

I have met several of these organizations. They are now expressing great concern for their continued operations. Civil society plays a crucial role in reaching the zero vision's goals and reaching groups that authorities have difficulty reaching.

At the same time, the government speaks of historical investments in infrastructure. My question to Minister Carlson is therefore: Why does the government choose to more than halve the support to civil society organizations that work with road safety, and how can this improve road safety?

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Infrastruktur- och bostadsministern Andreas Carlson (KD)

Madam Speaker! The Government is making significant reinforcements of the budget for infrastructure and for measures to increase traffic safety. We have simultaneously reviewed some of the costs in the Swedish Transport Administration's management and the appropriation that Carina Ödebrink mentioned.

What we have ensured and been clear about is that road safety shall carry great weight when the remaining funds are distributed. I also want to give this message in the chamber today: When it comes to the funds that remain for civil society organizations, the emphasis shall lie on precisely the work with road safety.

Sweden has a proud history of road safety work. We are world leaders in the work with civil society, academia, the business sector, vehicle manufacturers, and authorities. We shall continue to be that, and the funds available should therefore also in the future primarily go towards road safety work.

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Erik Hellsborn (SD)

Madam Speaker! My question is addressed to Minister for Finance Wykman.

Statens fastighetsverk fulfills an important function in its work of managing culturally and historically important buildings for future generations. Unfortunately, the agency was underfunded for many years, which was noticeable across the country. It naturally hurt extra much in a Halland heart to see Varbergs Fästning not receive the maintenance it so much needed.

That is why it is good that the government, together with the Sweden Democrats, has granted the agency increased appropriations. These funds have, among other things, been put to good use in necessary repairs of the fortress's outer wall and old prison. The question is only whether the appropriations are sufficient. When the agency's real estate director was interviewed and asked about the financial needs, significantly larger sums were indeed mentioned.

Does the government judge that Statens fastighetsverk can carry out its important mission in a satisfactory manner with the current budget, or could it be relevant to provide more funds before 2027?

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Finansmarknadsministern Niklas Wykman (M)

Madam Speaker! I thank Erik Hellsborn for the question. I also thank for good cooperation between the Tidö parties to rectify something that has not been good in Sweden.

In Sweden, for a long time, we did not take care of our fantastic cultural heritage. The Swedish cultural heritage is very broad because we have lived and worked in this country for a long time, which has resulted in many fantastic buildings and historically important sites. For a long time, the appropriations for cultural heritage were very meager, which led to tough prioritizations and, as the questioner said, in their own way, a very neglected maintenance.

The Tidö parties have been able to partially rectify this, but work remains. I will not anticipate any budget negotiations, but it is also important to bring in more responsible and interested private actors who want to be involved and contribute. A strong ownership where many people are involved and take responsibility, I believe, is fundamentally better for the entire cultural heritage – alongside the state taking its responsibility.

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Gudrun Nordborg (V)

Madam Speaker! The National Board of Health and Welfare has recently published two weighty reports on women and children who have been subjected to severe or even fatal violence. In the report on children, it is stated that social actors are failing in their preventive work regarding children with norm-breaking behaviors. Two agencies that are criticized are the Police Authority and the Prison and Probation Service. These children are invisible in their investigations.

These two authorities fall within the Minister for Justice's area of responsibility, and I therefore ask the Minister: How will the Minister ensure that these children become visible and receive crime-preventive measures? I ask the question specifically based on the fact that the government wants Kriminalvården to also have responsibility for children as young as 13 years old.

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Justitieministern Gunnar Strömmer (M)

Madam Speaker! I thank Gudrun Nordborg for an important question.

It is extremely important to be able to implement preventive measures in relation to children, especially long before they can become subjects of interventions involving deprivation of liberty, regardless of whether it concerns state youth care or criminal justice.

The single most important reform we are implementing to achieve this is that we are now tearing down the secrecy barriers so that social services, the police, and schools can share information with each other in a completely different way, with the aim that all relevant actors can get involved much earlier and, based on the information they can now share with each other, work preventatively, preferably on a broad scale long before the child is drawn into the risk zone for serious crime. Naturally, this also applies to other issues, for example children who become invisible in relation to parents who commit serious crimes – or for that matter, completely different types of issues, such as substance abuse and other matters.

A follow-up on how these rules take effect in practice is, however, of paramount importance.

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Martin Ådahl (C)

Madam Speaker! I shall pose a question to the Minister for Migration which I believe many Swedes are asking right now.

How can it be an orderly and strict migration policy that an 18-year-old who has lived almost their entire life in Sweden, completed their entire schooling in Sweden, speaks Swedish, has their friends here, studies hard, has bought a student cap and works part-time, and whose parents have permanent residence permits, is not considered to have ties to Sweden and is not considered Swedish, but is to be deported on short notice after their 18th birthday?

How can this be good for the economy? Above all, how can it be good for the general sense of justice that we, while failing to deport rapists and other criminals, deport Swedish teenagers and people who follow the rules?

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Migrationsministern Johan Forssell (M)

Madam Speaker! I thank Martin Ådahl for the question.

I cannot comment on individual cases. In a Sweden with regulated immigration, it is the authorities and independent courts that make these types of decisions. Let me, however, remind Martin Ådahl that the legislation we have is the result of decisions and changes in Swedish migration policy that occurred ten years ago and which had very broad support in the chamber, including from Centerpartiet.

For the government, it is important to have a restrictive migration policy regarding family immigration and a system that is uniform. It is therefore why we also tighten the regulatory framework linked to, for example, future maintenance.

It is however important that we also have rules that are reasonable for all hardworking people who exist in our country. We have recently received an investigation on our table that looks at precisely the question of the 18-year-olds, and we will address the question and return with a decision.

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Linus Lakso (MP)

Madam Speaker! Before the election, Elisabeth Svantesson promised that new nuclear power would begin to be built within 100 days, and Ulf Kristersson promised that it would happen without subsidies. The government has painted a vision of ten new nuclear reactors to be able to meet a consumption of 300 terawatt-hours.

Recently, Niklas Wykman announced that there will be no ten new nuclear power reactors. There probably won't be four reactors either, because there aren't even applications for two. It is therefore highly uncertain whether anything will happen at all because there are no decisions. At the same time, the expansion of all other power production has been stopped, and the expansion rate has decreased by 75 percent.

My question to Niklas Wykman is therefore: Where will the electricity come from for the government to reach its goal of 300 terawatt-hours?

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Finansmarknadsministern Niklas Wykman (M)

Madam Speaker! One rarely sees as much hidden schadenfreude as when an environmentalist gets to describe how he or she thinks the stabilization of the Swedish energy system is going. I do not think it is particularly pleasant considering what Swedish households have had to face in recent years since Miljöpartiet pushed to shut down functioning Swedish nuclear power. I am talking about the prices households have had to pay, the uncertainty people have had to face, and the connection problems we have had.

Madam Speaker! Almost none of what Linus Lakso says is correct. We have removed obstacles to building new nuclear power in Sweden and removed the limitations that previously existed. We also have a state support model. It has never covered anything other than the 5,000 megawatts that the Riksdag has decided on, and we have a budget authorization for 2,500 of them. Linus Lakso simply needs to do his homework.

(Applause)

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Mikael Damsgaard (M)

Madam Speaker! My question is addressed to Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer. We see that it has become more common for very young people to be involved in serious crime. It is difficult to grasp that 52 children under the age of 15 were involved in legal proceedings regarding murder and murder plots during the past year.

We know that the current arrangement with closed youth care for young people between 15 and 17 years old, which is carried out under Sis's responsibility, functions all too poorly. We also see that crime prevention measures for children and young people over time have been weak and have come all too late.

My question to the Minister of Justice is therefore: What measures does the government take when it comes to young people who commit serious crimes?

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Justitieministern Gunnar Strömmer (M)

Madam Speaker! Thank you, Mikael Damsgaard, for the question!

There are aspects of this problem that we must address. One is what we do when young people commit very serious crimes, including killing other children or subjecting other people to life-threatening violence. In that regard, it is important that we now have a reform regarding youth prisons that shall also cover 13–14-year-olds who commit truly serious crimes.

It is naturally not an answer to the question of how we should prevent children from ending up in such serious crime, regardless of whether they are 13, 14, 15, or 16 years old. There, we must do completely different things. It is about something other than an additional 10 million kronor for a policy that obviously has not worked. That is why we are tearing down the secrecy barriers. That is why we have a new Social Services Act in place. That is why we are now preparing new tools for the social services so that interventions can be made even in cases where families and parents have said no. That is why we are reviewing LVU. That is why we are reviewing state youth care.

In this way, we can both protect people from life-threatening violence and break destructive patterns surrounding the children we are talking about.

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Mikael Oscarsson (KD)

Madam Speaker! On Saturday, over 13,000 people gathered at 3 Arena at the anti-violence rally Det räcker! There were parents who testified about how they had lost their children, for example Adriana's mother who lost her daughter who was out with her dog. Queen Silvia, the Prime Minister, Sebastian Stakset and many others participated – it was a broad gathering.

My question to the Minister of Justice, who was also there, is: How can we move forward? How can we join forces with civil society, with anti-violence organizations, and with churches to concretely move forward, stop new recruitment, and prevent violence that can end in shootings?

A concrete issue that was raised was Australia. Criminal organizations often use such platforms as Facebook to be able to recruit. Australia has stopped this by introducing a 16-year age limit, which is now working. Can we do something similar in Sweden?

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Justitieministern Gunnar Strömmer (M)

Madam Speaker! I thank Member Mikael Oscarsson for highlighting the absolutely fantastic initiative that Det räcker! represents, in the form of both the gala and the long-term work that civil society is now doing to help prevent and stop children and young people from being drawn into serious crime. There was much that was magnificent in the arrangement, but the most touching thing, of course, was the testimonies from relatives who have lost family members and loved ones to violence.

In March, I will receive a proper mapping from the Crime Prevention Council, with a single explicit purpose: How can we mobilize civil society into the crime prevention work? That will be the starting point for our work, and there we will involve various actors from civil society and the business community to achieve what I perceive to be the entire purpose of the gala, namely to emphasize that the whole of society must be mobilized if we are to seriously be able to save children from the gangs' darkness and claws.

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Blåvitt Elofsson (S)

Madam Speaker! I turn to Migration Minister Johan Forssell. Many people have been able to read in the media during the recent period and have been outraged by how teenagers with temporary residence permits and long-standing roots in Sweden are receiving decisions that they are to be deported, sometimes in the middle of an ongoing upper secondary education.

At a press conference in January, the Minister for Migration, in response to a question about the so-called teenage deportations, stated that the government has looked into a valve for this group and that a bill is planned during the spring. Therefore, I and many with me wonder: Will the planned bill Stricter conditions for family immigration contain proposals that will address the cases of unreasonable deportations of teenagers?

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Migrationsministern Johan Forssell (M)

Madam Speaker! Thank you, Blåvitt Elofsson, for the question!

Just as I mentioned earlier, the system we have today is a consequence of a legislative change ten years ago. For us, it is important that we now change the regulatory framework for family immigration. This is something that we have promised the Swedish people and that we do for an important reason, namely that we shall improve integration and ensure that people who come to Sweden do not immediately end up in exclusion, overcrowding, or unemployment.

Then there is the question of 18-year-olds who have previously been granted residence permits linked to their families. At some point in life, one is an adult – that is the way it is. We have received a proposal and are looking at the issue. We are preparing it right now and will come back to it. But at some point in life, one is still just an adult. If one has grounds for asylum, one will always be granted sanctuary in Sweden, but if one does not, one will sooner or later have to go home.

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Patrik Jönsson (SD)

Madam Speaker! My question is directed to Infrastructure Minister Carlson.

Like previous winters, this winter also seems to come as a surprise for Trafikverket. It is black ice, accidents, chaos and total stoppages, and it creates major problems for the business community, whose deliveries are delayed. It concerns the E6, the E22, the E4 – the list can be as long as you like.

As late as November 20, a responsible contractor completely failed to clear the E22 on the notorious stretch between Gårdstånga and Lund. Several hundred cars were stranded. Something similar happened on the E6 at Glumslöv. Sweden's trucking companies are clear: Their collective view is that the preventive measures, which are crucial for the outcome, are often implemented far too late.

Inadequate winter road maintenance costs lives, but it also costs society and the business community large sums. This is not sustainable. Sweden can do better.

Does the Minister intend to take any measures, and if so, which ones, to improve winter road maintenance in order to reduce the number of accidents and total stoppages on the roads?

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Infrastruktur- och bostadsministern Andreas Carlson (KD)

Madam Speaker! Yes, the government is taking and has taken several measures. During 2024, the government gave a mandate to Trafikverket to report on improvement measures and to develop a concrete action plan for improved winter road maintenance.

Trafikverket has delivered concrete measures since then. The work of deploying heavy snowplows and tracked vehicles in advance and following the weather reports from SMHI has improved. The information to the public has become significantly better. The cooperation with county administrative boards, police, and emergency services has improved.

I have called in the larger road contractors together with Trafikverket to see what more can be done. This winter has so far shown progress in the work. There is more to do, but there is a big difference in the winter road maintenance work now compared to when the government took office and when we experienced the chaos on the E22 during the winter of 2023/24. The work is ongoing, Madam Speaker.

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Martina Johansson (C)

Madam Speaker! For me and the Centre Party, it is important that decisions are made based on facts, even if we sometimes may arrive at different conclusions. When it comes to support for children and young people, it is often said that families decline interventions, but we do not know specifically why. Is it a no to support, or a no to interventions that do not work in everyday life?

Gunnar Strömmer said in Skavlan & Sverige that there are areas where 100 percent refuse interventions. I would like to know where that figure comes from. In the government's own investigation on so-called intermediate coercion, figures of 17–43 percent are stated. My question to the Minister of Justice is therefore: Where does the figure of 100 percent come from? And why is the government pushing forward heavily criticized proposals before we have gained better knowledge about why families refuse?

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Justitieministern Gunnar Strömmer (M)

Madam Speaker! There is a fairly broad debate and an experience that very many families whom the social services assess should be subject to interventions to save children in vulnerable situations refuse the interventions.

This means that everyone who speaks about social prevention and would like to set it in opposition to repressive measures will reasonably be held responsible. If our social interventions do not reach through at all – what will we be left with?

Whether it concerns 17–43 percent of the families or families who time and again in 100 percent of the cases say no to the interventions, it is clear that we have a problem that we must handle.

I think it is absolutely excellent that we now have a new Social Services Act, but it will of course not remedy this specific issue. That is why we now have well-investigated proposals on the so-called "middle-gap". They have very good reasons for themselves, and we intend to return with them to the Riksdag.

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Jan Riise (MP)

Madam Speaker! My question is addressed to the Minister for Infrastructure and Housing, Andreas Carlson, and concerns the so-called cumulative effects, i.e., what happens when one problem is added to another, one challenge to another, or stone upon burden, if you will.

This is an issue that the primary industry has known about for several decades. Different requirements on land use can be layered on top of each other, and it eventually becomes insurmountable. One starts with a road, then it becomes a railway, and then perhaps a mine.

The proposed expansion of the Per Geijer mine in Kiruna entails consequences both for Kiruna municipality and for the Gabna sameby. In the case of Gabna sameby, it could mean that it is split in two and that all reindeer husbandry or at least all movement of reindeer in such a way is made impossible.

My question is: Is it a reasonable balance we have between the demands for simplifications for new activities on one hand and the mining industry's and the Sámi people's demands for rights and opportunities to practice their livelihood on the other hand?

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Infrastruktur- och bostadsministern Andreas Carlson (KD)

Madam Speaker! I thank Jan Riise for the question.

There are several layers to this, including national interests that are overlapping and exist in different parts of the country. The Government has indicated that we intend to present an inquiry concerning national physical planning to provide better tools to manage the types of goal conflicts that may arise. This is an extension of the work that was initiated with the inquiry led by Lena Erixon, the former Director General of the Transport Administration.

The Government will return with an investigation working on national physical planning, and I do not, of course, rule out that the type of issues that Jan Riise raises here in the chamber today can be included in the considerations made within the framework of such an investigation work.

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Magnus Resare (M)

Madam Speaker! My question is addressed to Migration Minister Forssell.

Today, it is difficult to deport a person who holds refugee status. This can apply even in cases of very serious crimes, for example rape or robbery with humiliation. It can also be about someone being a central actor in one of the criminal gangs that are tearing apart our society today.

This obviously means that crime victims risk encountering their perpetrators once these individuals have served their sentence, but it also means that we are making room in Sweden for obviously dangerous individuals. We allow them to continue to be here and expose new people to new crimes and create new crime victims in the future.

I understand that a major problem when it comes to specifically refugees and persons who hold refugee status are international conventions.

My question is therefore: Does the Minister see that it is still possible to do something about this and try to solve the problem?

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Migrationsministern Johan Forssell (M)

Madam Speaker! Thank you, Magnus Resare, for the question!

The vast majority of people who come to Sweden commit no crimes. They are honest, and they just want a better life for themselves and for their family. But there is a small group that for far too long has been able to commit very serious crimes without any visible consequences. They have been coddled. They have been able to continue to commit crimes, and they have been able to continue to destroy the lives of their crime victims. It is not pleasant to meet crime victims who testify to the form of double violation that they experience.

I will soon go to this Riksdag with entirely new legislation regarding deportations. This means that Sweden will get the toughest regulatory framework in the entire Nordic region for this.

It is however not enough, and we need to do more. We also need to change the international conventions that are outdated, because they would never have looked like this if they had been written today. I am proud that the government has now made a decision that we shall take on the leadership role and try to change even the UN refugee commission, specifically in the part that concerns this.

Rapists who are not Swedish citizens shall always be deported from this country.

(Applause)

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Hanna Westerén (S)

Madam Speaker! Gotland's patience is running out. In recent years, the prices for freight and passengers in Gotlandstrafiken have increased by over 50 percent. We have residents on Gotland who cannot afford to leave their home municipality. It is unfair, and it is unworthy of Sweden.

The price crisis has recently been on the agenda here in the Swedish Riksdag, and Region Gotland has clearly shown that prices are higher than reported and, moreover, unpredictable. Two committee initiatives have been voted down with reference to ordinary processes, but the Minister for Infrastructure himself has appointed a working group with the aim of achieving just more reasonable prices. It is an important working group, and it has a laudable and urgent purpose.

Therefore, I ask: When will the residents of Gotland be able to travel at more reasonable prices in Gotlandstrafiken?

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Infrastruktur- och bostadsministern Andreas Carlson (KD)

Madam Speaker! Thank you, Hanna Westerén, for the question!

I have great respect for the Gotlanders' frustration over the prices, and I share the view that Gotland should have good and reasonable connections with the mainland.

That is why Trafikverket is working with a working group to review how Destination Gotland can specifically be phased into the new tonnage tax system during 2026.

The government has changed the tax system so that Destination Gotland and Gotlandsfärjorna can be included in the tonnage tax system we have in Sweden. This makes it more favorable, and it makes it possible to dampen the price development. This will be possible primarily in the new agreement, which will enter into force from 2027. To bridge over to this, the working group has work underway to see how this can be phased in already during 2026. The work is ongoing.

Trafikverket has also opened a question that has previously been dismissed, namely to look at state tonnage for the next contract period. I believe that this is an important discussion, while Trafikverket here and now is reviewing the work during 2026.

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Mats Hellhoff (SD)

Madam Speaker! My question is addressed to Minister Andreas Carlson.

When building a standard small house, up to a third of the cost can end up on things that are not the construction itself. It concerns building permits, planning fees, connection to water and sewage networks, connection to the electricity grid and fiber network, new construction maps and staking, Lantmäteriet, title deeds and mortgage deeds. On top of this come costs for consultants and interest when the processes drag on.

Regulatory requirements and processing have been built up over a long period, and several points and longer lead times make new constructions more expensive.

My questions are: What are the most important things Minister Carlson wants to do to press down bureaucracy and connection costs? When can we expect that the one who is going to build – hopefully a Sverigehus – will notice it?

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Infrastruktur- och bostadsministern Andreas Carlson (KD)

Madam Speaker! Mats Hellhoff is pointing out something that is very important, namely how the threshold can be lowered so that more people can realize the dream of living in their own house.

The government has made significant changes regarding regulatory easing and shorter lead times, and all of this aims to make the whole process simpler, cheaper, and faster.

We have also appointed a smallholding commissioner, who in their third interim report presents and maps out the costs that Mats Hellhoff gives examples of. The government is therefore not sweeping this under the rug, but we see that it needs to be made visible so that we can develop the measures required to handle cost increases, for example regarding tariffs and fees. There, of course, the municipalities have an important responsibility, and even the authorities involved need to work on dampening the skyrocketing tariffs.

The Egnahemskommissionären has, in the proposals he has submitted to the government, pointed out that incentives are required. We of course consider this as we continue our work so that more people can realize their housing dreams.

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Anna Lasses (C)

Madam Speaker! This autumn, Minister Forssell and Minister Dousa visited Syria to, just as in Somalia, conclude an agreement intended to promote return migration and deportations, but this time to Syria. This time, I understand it has cost 295 million kronor in aid funds. An agreement has also once again been concluded with a highly questionable government, which previously, among other things, was involved in persecuting and killing Christians and which, just a few weeks ago, attacked the Kurdish autonomy.

To this is added Israel's recurring bombings in Syria as well as signs of increased activity from IS.

My quiet wonder is therefore: Does the Minister for Migration consider the 295 million kronor to be an effective investment? And how many are returning, alternatively are we deporting, right now to Syria?

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Migrationsministern Johan Forssell (M)

Madam Speaker! I thank Anna Lasses for the question.

The short answer is yes. This is 295 million kronor of Swedish aid money that goes to various UN agencies, for example, to ensure that people in the very war-torn and severely tortured Syria can have a better future, in reality food for the day and a roof over their heads. The needs are enormous.

Then perhaps it lies in the nature of the matter that aid operates in complex environments. In perfect democracies that are rich and well-developed, aid is not needed. It is precisely in environments such as Syria where it can make a great difference for people.

The change here is that the aid is no longer an ATM, but that we also set requirements that the country shall receive its own citizens.

In the current situation, I believe we have 128 Syrians who are sentenced to deportation due to crimes they have committed in Sweden. They should not be here. They should not be able to continue committing crimes. They should not be able to continue destroying the lives of their crime victims. We intend to ensure that.

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Jacob Risberg (MP)

Madam Speaker! In divorces and separations, the division of property often drags on. A wealthier party, often the man, can maneuver, drag out the division for a long time and without major problems hide assets.

Today, a partition administrator has very limited possibilities to independently obtain documentation regarding specifically economic assets. Furthermore, interest is currently calculated from the date of the partition, which means that the wealthier party can earn more by postponing the timing of the partition. It can therefore take years before the economically weaker party can obtain its right, if it even obtains what it is entitled to.

If the interest were instead to be calculated from the date of divorce, there would be an increased economic incentive to achieve a division of property more quickly. Furthermore, giving the division of property officer the authority to obtain information from banks etc. would also increase the security that the division of property becomes fair.

My question to Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer is: Does the government want to review from which date interest accrues and grant partition officers extended powers to increase economic security in cases of divorce and separation?

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Justitieministern Gunnar Strömmer (M)

Madam Speaker! I thank Jacob Risberg for raising these questions. They are extremely important and underscore the importance of our ability to address several issues simultaneously when we are to tackle men's violence against women – both physical and psychological violence, but also economic violence and post-violence which, above all, property divisions have shown can be used for.

I am very pleased that in January I received a very well-elaborated package in the form of an investigation to address this issue. These questions were highlighted for the first time 20 years ago, in 2005. Much could have been better if things had been done earlier. Now I am very pleased that we are getting this in place.

Among the proposals, which are now out for consultation, there are several of the things that Jacob Risberg raises up, such as expanded possibilities for partition officers to speed up the process and ensure that the economically weaker party can receive an advance at an earlier stage, for example, in order to be somewhat more economically equal during the process. Not least, expanded tools are also proposed to independently obtain information from, for example, various financial institutions.

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Tomas Kronståhl (S)

Madam Speaker! My question is directed to Infrastructure Minister Andreas Carlson.

The Armed Forces consider it to be of national interest to ensure functional, robust, and long-term sustainable connections between Ostlänken and the existing railway system in adjacent regions. This includes that Stångådalsbanan Kalmar–Linköping and Tjustbanan Västervik–Linköping are given systemically functioning and long-term sustainable connections to Ostlänken.

My question is whether it is the Minister's and the Government's ambition and will to ensure that these tracks receive a functional connection to Linköping's future station location.

Then I want an answer to one more question. My colleague Niklas Sigvardsson did not get an answer to his earlier question regarding whether the government is prepared to pause the introduction of power surcharges here and now to facilitate things for Swedish households.

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Infrastruktur- och bostadsministern Andreas Carlson (KD)

Madam Speaker! I answered Niklas Sigvardsson's question earlier, so I will focus on the question that Tomas Kronståhl is asking.

The government is allocating 1,200 billion kronor to infrastructure over the next twelve years. It is a historically large investment. It is an increase of a full 27 percent compared to the current plan. This is, of course, important for us to clear the maintenance debt that has accumulated over decades.

When we now prepare the proposal for a new national plan that Trafikverket has submitted to the government, together with the referral responses that have been received from different parts of the country – including from the business community, but the list can be long – we will, of course, listen to the different regions' views and to the Swedish Armed Forces' needs.

I will not give any information today regarding something that the government will return to, namely what the national plan will look like. I do, however, look forward to returning and thank Tomas Kronståhl for raising an important perspective here in the chamber today.

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Eric Westroth (SD)

Madam Speaker! The Fortification Agency, which manages the defense's real estate, was created in 1994 and placed under the Ministry of Finance in 1997, a model from the 90s disarmament and naive faith in eternal peace.

Today, with increased tensions and demands for rapid reconstruction of the total defense, regiments, airfields, ports, firing ranges and bunkers are crucial for the Armed Forces' capability. Nevertheless, the responsibility remains with the Ministry of Finance.

Even the 2006 rental model involves billions in internal rents annually. It creates bureaucracy, unnecessary circulation of money and increased costs for investments, which hinders the rapid upgrading that Sweden needs.

Therefore, I want to ask Minister for Finance Niklas Wykman: Does the government have plans to move Fortifikationsverket to the Ministry of Defence and simultaneously review or replace the 2006 rental model in order to reduce bureaucracy and facilitate readiness? If not, why retain this 90s solution when the need to quickly scale up Sweden's defence is now acute?

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Finansmarknadsministern Niklas Wykman (M)

Madam Speaker! It is not my place to decide which activities should fall under which departments. However, I can explain why Fortifikationsverket falls under the Ministry of Finance. It is not due to any ambition for decommissioning, but rather it is about our desire to maintain two things.

One thing is transparency towards the citizens regarding how tax money is used. If one mixes up the use of the property with the management of the property itself, it is unclear what the operation actually costs. Therefore, we would like to have this separate reporting between the use and the management so that taxpayers can go into the budget and check what they are getting for their money.

The second is a unified real estate management. We manage many properties, including military facilities but also very many more. We have talked about Statens fastighetsverk. It is more efficient if we can do it together and in a unified manner. It becomes economies of scale, quite simply.

Finally, we can also state that Fortifikationsverket's main customer is the Armed Forces, but not exclusively. There are others who use Fortifikationsverket.

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Ida Ekeroth Clausson (S)

Madam Speaker! According to the Enforcement Authority, 450,000 people in Sweden are in debt today. Over 3,000 people have lost their homes as a result of evictions. Among them are 824 children.

This is not a coincidence. It is a result of political decisions that have made it more expensive for ordinary people to live, while the safety nets have been weakened. When almost nine out of ten evictions are due to the rent being unaffordable, it is not about a lack of responsibility; it is about people being pressured out of their homes and about a society that no longer holds together.

Therefore, I want to ask Minister for Financial Markets Niklas Wykman if he considers that his and the government's measures against over-indebtedness and evictions have been sufficient.

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Finansmarknadsministern Niklas Wykman (M)

Madam Speaker! If I remember the figures correctly, the Social Democrats themselves have sent 8,000 households to the Enforcement Authority for their lottery debts. There, one can indulge in some self-criticism.

When it comes to addressing the over-indebtedness, this government has taken powerful measures that should have been taken long ago. A banking license shall be required to lend out money. The predatory practice of both gambling advertising and advertising to borrow money without credit checks is indecent in a well-functioning society. Therefore, we have introduced the requirements for banking licenses.

Previous governments thought that one could charge 40 percent interest on so-called SMS loans. We have lowered that to 20 percent. It should not be part of the business idea that people cannot repay their debts. A solid credit check is absolutely necessary.

So one can continue area by area, where previously exploitation was permitted and where there is now order and tidiness. With this, we take great steps towards a much safer society for the most vulnerable people.

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Lorena Delgado Varas (-)

Madam Speaker! My question is directed to the Minister for Housing – excuse me, the Minister for Housing.

A question that has been raised several times today has been the evictions of families with children. We know that they have increased continuously year after year. The answers we have received from the minister are band-aid solutions. People talk about rent guarantees and so on.

The real problem is that housing is not being built. It would have been fantastic if a housing minister actually took responsibility for such an issue. Every year, 20,000–25,000 fewer homes are built than what is the need. It is a spiral that cannot be stopped.

We need more housing in order to be able to stop the evictions and not force families into hostels or shady hotels in the cities.

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Infrastruktur- och bostadsministern Andreas Carlson (KD)

Madam Speaker! The Minister of Justice does not sound so serious – thank you very much for that, Member Lorena Delgado Varas!

Approximately 1 million of those who live in rental apartments dream of moving to a villa, but the threshold is far too high. By ensuring that more villas can be built and more garden cities can be established, more people can realize their housing dreams. Then, apartments in the existing stock can be freed up, so that there are such positive move chains as have been talked about for decades.

An already built apartment in the rental housing stock has a significantly lower rent than a newly produced apartment. The government has taken several different measures to facilitate new production, and at the same time, we must look at how we utilize the existing stock so that more people can have a roof over their heads and have a bearable and pleasant home.

Therefore, we view positively the measures we have already taken to facilitate new production and measures to be able to live in the existing stock and utilize it more efficiently.

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Pontus Andersson Garpvall (SD)

Madam Speaker! When the Sweden Democrats and the governing parties took over responsibility for Sweden in 2022, the country was not doing well. We had seen a tripling of gun violence in a short time. In 2022, it was set to end with 62 fatal shootings. Since our legislative proposals have entered into legal force, we have seen a successive decrease in fatal gun violence in Sweden.

36 days into the new year, we have still not seen any fatal shooting. It has actually been 54 days since the last fatal shooting in Sweden. Only one person has been injured in a shooting in Sweden so far this year.

Which measures that we have implemented over the last four years does Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer consider to have been the most important for reaching the improved situation for Sweden?

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Justitieministern Gunnar Strömmer (M)

Madam Speaker! I thank Pontus Andersson Garpvall for raising these important questions.

We have said from day one that this is a long race, and we are in the middle of it. We are on the right track, but we are far from finished. We know that there is a large amount of violence capital among the criminal networks. The conflict levels are high. The risks for new acts of violence lie latent under the surface. Every time a shooting or a bombing occurs, the surrounding society must, of course, be there and meet the anxiety and fear that exists among crime victims and in the surrounding society.

At the same time, we must take note of the great progress being made. It is a great success for our society that in three years we have managed to reduce the fatal shootings and thus the fatal gang violence by half.

What has been most important? It is new ways of working, new resources, using covert coercive measures preventively, and locking up dangerous individuals for longer periods so that they cannot commit new crimes. There we have some of the most important components.

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Laila Naraghi (S)

Madam Speaker! The Parliamentary Ombudsman, JO, has reviewed the Prime Minister's Office's handling of certain issues concerning the Landerholm scandal. It concerns the Prime Minister's best friend who became a security advisor, was negligent and behaved improperly.

JO directs sharp criticism at the Prime Minister's Office. The head of the Office, the Prime Minister, is not covered by the supervision, but it is up to the Riksdag to carry it out according to the constitution.

The crux is that the Prime Minister is now preventing the Riksdag from fulfilling its task. Despite the fact that the JO has, according to practice, reviewed it, Kristersson refuses to let the KU do the same. When we direct interpellations to him, he hides behind Strömmers weight, and the Minister for Justice has conceded that the Prime Minister has made a mistake.

The Riksdag must be allowed to do its job and scrutinize the Prime Minister so that we can learn from what has happened. It is about Sweden's security.

Why is the Minister for Justice specifically standing in the way of letting the Riksdag scrutinize Kristersson according to the constitution? Ström is furthermore being drawn deeper and deeper into the Landerholm disaster himself.

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Justitieministern Gunnar Strömmer (M)

Madam Speaker! Now it is I who am being asked questions, but I would actually like to ask: In what way then? That was a rather far-reaching statement at the end.

One must keep in mind that it is not Kristersson or even a Minister for Justice – I take "pondus" as a compliment – who makes decisions in the Committee on the Constitution. The Committee on the Constitution governs its own process.

Laila Naraghi and all members of the Riksdag are warmly welcome to interpellate and ask questions, which is also done, and answers are given in the chamber. In that part, other reviews take place – the Parliamentary Ombudsman's reviews are, of course, directed at the Government Offices, not the Prime Minister – such reviews naturally take place as well. It is therefore not the case that anyone is standing in the way of any review at all.

I believe that questions have been submitted by Laila Naraghi in the form of interpellations that are to be answered in the chamber in the near future. These are indeed important issues, but I dare say that they do not gain any ground in their handling by members of parliament spreading conspiracy theories in the chamber.

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Daniel Riazat (-)

Madam Speaker! The government is good at talking about crime and about combating crime and criminality. But there is a certain crime that this government rarely wants to talk about, namely the far-right violence that has shaken our country for several years. The violence is found in a large majority of the politically motivated murders and acts of violence during the last three decades in our country.

A grouping and a political opinion have, via relatives, even penetrated deep into the Government Offices. This has led to the fact that today we have a government supported by a party that was founded by Nazis.

What will Gunnar Strömmer do to ensure that we can counter right-wing extremism, not reward it? Gunnar Strömmer owes an answer to those who were killed at Campus Risbergska and their relatives, those who have relatives in Kronogården in Trollhättan, and other people who have been affected by right-wing extremist violence.

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Justitieministern Gunnar Strömmer (M)

Madam Speaker! I truly hope that those who are victims of right-wing extremist violence in this society have better representatives, better spokespeople, than Daniel Riazat. He makes very sweeping claims.

There is no doubt that there was a racist motive in Trollhättan, but there is nothing in the police investigation that indicates that in Örebro. Be careful with those types of statements.

We have, to begin with, a broad perspective. We see the far-right violence, we see the violence-promoting Islamism, and we see the autonomous left's threats against people's lives and health. We proceed just as firmly against all of it.

The second thing is, if I am to point to any measure that we are taking, that if Vänsterpartiet during the last parliamentary term, together with some other parties here in the chamber, had not blocked what we wanted to do, namely to introduce a crime of participation in criminal organizations, we would already now have legislation in place to be able to go straight at the structures that you now say you want to go at so effectively. Pleasantly enough, we have now received a majority that is for that, even when it comes to changing the constitution.

A piece of legislation is on the way. The proposals will arrive in a few weeks. Then things will be able to happen, thanks to a government led by the Moderaterna and thanks to the fact that Vänsterpartiet is very far away from that handling.

(Applause)

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Jesper Skalberg Karlsson (M)

Madam Speaker! The day before Christmas Eve, the first application was submitted to the government regarding financing for new nuclear power. But families and companies are impatient. Lower electricity bills and strengthened competitiveness cannot return fast enough.

Therefore, I want to ask the Minister for Finance for an update on the current situation. Have the negotiations started, and how are they going?

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Finansmarknadsministern Niklas Wykman (M)

Madam Speaker! Thank you, Jesper Skalberg Karlsson, for the question!

The impatience is justified. What Swedish households and Swedish companies have had to endure should, of course, not have had to be endured in a well-developed country like Sweden. But the decisions regarding the decommissioning of nuclear power in Sweden had far-reaching consequences: volatile electricity prices, higher costs, and connection problems. These are decisions that should never have been made but which dug straight into Swedish households' wallets and created major problems for Swedish jobs, Swedish wages, and Swedish companies.

This is now beginning to change. Today, at a press conference, I could give the Swedish people the very pleasing news that the Ringhals negotiations have begun. At this moment, concrete steps are therefore being taken towards new nuclear power in Sweden.

It is pleasing that there is a broad consensus around this. Laila Naraghi received a bit of criticism from the Minister of Justice here but can be rewarded with praise from me because we now have the same budgets, both from the government and the Sverigedemokraterna and from the Socialdemokraterna, to get new nuclear power in place. Many have worked hard for that.

Now we move towards a better future.

Question time was hereby concluded.

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