Questions on public service and film

Kristina Axén Olin (M)

Mr. Speaker! Sometimes – quite often – it is claimed that we in Sweden are the world's, or at least one of the world's, loneliest people. That may be true when it comes to how we live, for in Sweden, every fifth person lives alone. That concerns over 2 million adult people without children. It is probably the highest figure in the world; possibly Iceland has more one-person households. In that way, we are therefore very lonely.

If one then looks at how many people experience loneliness in Sweden, one sees however that it looks quite good. In Sweden, it is only every tenth person who says they are lonely and live in involuntary loneliness. That is, in itself, also a far too high figure, but it is far from the worst in the world. In Poland, every fifth person experiences themselves to be involuntarily lonely, and in Italy - which we see as a family-oriented country - every fourth person says they are far too lonely.

I am convinced that one of the reasons why we nevertheless experience having company and do not live in involuntary loneliness is our fantastic range of TV programs and our wonderful public service. We have wonderful entertainment 24 hours a day. We receive education, news reporting, entertainment and joyful messages, and it is certainly a great company for all lonely people.

We Swedes watch a lot of TV, Mr. Speaker - 114 minutes per day, according to the latest figures. It is, however, somewhat lower than the year before, when we watched a bit more; last year, a decrease of 8 percent had occurred compared to previous years. In some groups, it has decreased even more, especially among the younger, who no longer watch linear TV.

Last year, TV4 was actually the channel that people watched the most for the first time. The most hours were watched on TV4. But the program that is unbeatable when it comes to reaching high viewership figures is På spåret, which is watched by more than 2 million Swedes. Those are completely fantastic figures.

Mr. Speaker! We have a high level of trust in public service in Sweden - 75 percent have trust in SVT1 and SVT2, and 72 percent have trust in the radio. These are also high figures, but it has begun to polarize. Some groups have lower trust while some groups and ages have much higher trust.

It is evident from the motions from both parties and individuals that we have a great commitment to public service issues. Therefore, it is pleasing that the government has now appointed a parliamentary committee, in which I have had the pleasure of being included. It is to look specifically at public service: How can we ensure that public service is given the opportunity to operate and have the fantastic range of programs it has? How can public service work to gain even greater trust among all groups of residents in Sweden?

There is war in Ukraine, which naturally has also created entirely new conditions for TV and radio since we know that trust in public service is very high during a crisis or war. We unfortunately must prepare ourselves for worse things to happen in Sweden, so how can we prepare public service to operate even under those conditions and provide the conditions for that?

With that, Mr. Speaker, I move for approval of the committee's proposal for a decision regarding our motions on public service and film.

(Applause)

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

Amanda Lind (MP)

Mr. Speaker! Just as Kristina Axén Olin pointed out, we live in a restless time, and the importance of independent journalism has perhaps never been greater. Russia's invasion of Ukraine puts pressure on journalism and on free speech, naturally in the affected countries but also here in Sweden, where the need for factual information and independent journalism is enormous. Unfortunately, we see threats and hatred against journalists spreading. Disinformation and propaganda from different countries increase the demands for independent news reporting.

Mr. Speaker! Public service, namely Sveriges Television, Sveriges Radio and Utbildningsradion, plays an indispensable role for our democracy and for a vital media market. This concerns news reporting throughout the country, the reflection and public education mandates, broadcasts in the national minority languages and, of course, public service's contribution to a rich cultural life, including its contributions to strengthening the Swedish language and for a vibrant film and TV production market.

In times of high alert, we know that public service plays an important role. During the pandemic, many turned to SVT's broadcasts, Sveriges Radios reporting, or Utbildningsradion's explanatory programs for young people. It is the same now during Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine.

Mr. Speaker! Just as has been pointed out previously, the work in the parliamentary public service committee has now commenced ahead of the broadcasting period 2026-2033. Miljöpartiet will participate constructively in the committee's work, where the issues addressed in this report will be discussed. Therefore, we have chosen not to submit a reservation regarding the general public service policy. Instead, we have submitted a specific statement with reference to the upcoming work in the committee.

Our starting points are, however, known. We safeguard a broad public service that promotes the public's knowledge of the public service companies and their relevance, among other things as part of the mirroring mandate. Everyone should feel that public service is something for them.

We are critical of the signals initially sent by the government regarding a narrowed mandate. At the same time, I have noted that the Minister for Culture has emphasized that the public service committee's mandate is open and that the broad mandate of public services naturally has significance.

I hope, not least with reference to the important role that public service plays, that we can find ways forward so that we can further strengthen confidence in public service in all groups in society without eroding the breadth that has a decisive importance for broad confidence.

Mr. Speaker! The visibility of the national minorities and the minority languages in society through public service is of great importance for achieving increased awareness and knowledge about the national minority languages. News and information as well as cultural experiences in both radio and TV make the minority languages visible and thereby also the minorities who speak them.

With public service, the minority languages are given a natural place in society. This promotes many people's opportunities to participate in their minority language and their culture regardless of where in Sweden they live. Not least, a broad TV and radio offering in the national minority languages ensures that the younger generations get better opportunities to keep their language and their culture alive.

In the previous broadcasting license, the first broadcasts in each of the national minority languages, namely Finnish, Yiddish, Meänkieli, Romani Chib, and Sami, were increased. We believe that the Riksdag should already now signal that the public service program offerings in the national minority languages shall increase in upcoming broadcasting licenses. Both more news items and more cultural items are needed to keep minority cultures and minority languages alive. Exactly how this shall be done will be a matter for the committee, naturally after dialogue with the national minority organizations.

Mr. Speaker! Other important and major issues for the public service committee's work will be the handling of the preparedness issues, a technology-neutral regulation, a public service act, the important educational and cultural mandate, and, not least, the work with local journalism throughout the country.

The other day, the cultural committee visited SVT in Norrbotten. It was pleasing to hear that the reinforcement of local journalism that we agreed upon in the previous broadcasting license has, among other things, resulted in a new newsroom being opened in Arvidsjaur. In a county of Norrbotten's size, it is naturally impossible for all coverage to take place from the county seat. Proximity to what is happening is important in journalism - this applies both in sparsely populated areas, in the countryside, in small towns, in suburbs, and in large cities.

Mr. Speaker! That SVT and SR during the current broadcasting period have strengthened their local news reporting is important, and this is a task that should continue. There should be no white journalistic spots in our country.

I move on to the second part of the report, Mr. Speaker, namely the film policy.

Sweden is a fantastic film country that is full of producers, screenwriters, directors, actors and film workers in all professional categories of the highest class. Under the recent red-green governments, several steps have been taken to strengthen the conditions for Swedish film. I am thinking, among other things, of the transition to a new state film policy, the extensive crisis and restart support during the pandemic and the long-awaited introduction of production incentives for film.

But more needs to be done for Swedish film to stand strong in a time of rapid change and new conditions for both production and distribution as well as consumption of film. Miljöpartiet believes that the government should rather appoint a new film policy inquiry. Since the new film policy was launched in 2017, the conditions for Swedish film have drastically changed. The pandemic, the explosive development of streaming services, the introduction of production incentives, and new behavioral patterns for how we consume film are examples that it is now time to both evaluate the conducted film policy and map out a new direction forward.

I note that the committee majority in its response refers to the fact that a discussion is ongoing within the government and that new considerations shall be made in this area. I choose to view that positively and look forward to the government returning on this issue.

We mean that there are different issues that should be analyzed and considered in a new film policy investigation. I hope, for example, that the government chooses to look at how the supply of skills and broadened recruitment can be strengthened within Swedish film, at the conditions of film workers, at how cinemas can be protected moving forward in the whole country, and at the possibility of introducing a fee for co-financing of domestic production of film and TV drama. This is something that, thanks to EU legislation, can be taken from the platforms. It is something that has been introduced or is in the process of being introduced in several of Sweden's neighboring countries. I mean that it is well worth looking further into this and analyzing whether it can be an addition to the Swedish film market and to the film policy in the whole country.

Mr. Speaker! That the production incentives are now in place is very important for the film sector to recover after the pandemic and to level the competitive conditions against other countries in Europe. There are, however, already reasons to reflect on the introduction and application of them. We know that Tillväxtverket had to shut down the application system for the production incentives already after one day due to the large influx. The Government should promptly evaluate the lessons learned and review how more resources can be allocated to the system.

Mr. Speaker! All of Sweden stands to benefit from the production incentives for film being developed and from Sweden becoming a favorable place to film. It provides increased revenue for the tourism industry and benefits the economy and the cultural industry in the regions, while the film sector is strengthened across the entire country.

Mr. Speaker! I naturally stand behind all our reservations, but for the sake of time, I move for approval of only reservation 2.

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

Roland Utbult (KD)

Mr. Speaker! What is it like in our country – can one discuss anything, or is there a fear of being different that has caused us to create a monoculture and a kind of political correctness that is boring and not particularly progressive?

Today we are discussing public service and film. Public service, namely Sveriges Television, Sveriges Radio, and Utbildningsradion, is an area where many questions are being - and can be - asked. Is it too much with almost 9 billion of taxpayers' money to public service every year? Is it okay to increase the cost by 2 percent every year? I may not be right on the decimal, but it will probably amount to 175-180 million kronor per year.

Shouldn't the non-profit forces in Öppna kanalen and närradion get a share of this big cake? They get nothing. Those who are aware of their non-profit, important democratic work might think that they should be able to get a small part. It would make a big difference for Öppna kanalen and närradion all around Sweden.

Another question is whether the review of public service is functioning.

Is public service left-wing? It is an interesting question that one must be allowed to ask. At first, there was only a single TV channel, but in 1969 TV2 was started. They recruited people from the journalism colleges, and they were so strongly influenced by the 60s counterculture movement that even Social Democrats in the mid-70s reacted to the fact that it became a bit too much left-wing in the TV offerings.

A lot has happened since then, but the questions must be asked even if the answer is not simple.

In the Tidö Agreement between the Moderates, Christian Democrats, Liberals and Sweden Democrats, it states: "The independence of public service media shall be maintained and its long-term funding shall be sustained. In a partially new media landscape, public service activities need to be developed as part of the democratic infrastructure."

Mr. Speaker! We know that a new public service inquiry is to review the future of public service, and that is what is truly interesting. In almost exactly one year, the findings are to be reported. The purpose of the inquiry is to find solutions that, in the long term, safeguard an independent public service. Furthermore, the inquiry shall investigate how confidence in public service can be further strengthened.

It is primarily about seeing what needs to be changed before the new broadcasting license 2026-2033. During these eight years, one cannot interfere that much, as it will just roll on in public service. Since it concerns the entire eight years, it is incredibly important what the investigation concludes, especially when it comes to the additions that need to be made to public service's mandate.

So, a bit of history again. For the current broadcasting license, 2020-2025, a number of new assignments were given to public service. These included, among other things, that minority groups should be given more space and that persons with disabilities should be given more equitable opportunities to access public service. It was also about the so-called white spots, i.e., areas with little local news coverage.

The questions are many, and I hope that the newly started investigation gives us the answers in a year.

Mr. Speaker! This week, I visited the cultural initiative Filmpool Nord, which, together with Film i Väst, are the two largest regional film pools in Sweden. Filmpool Nord is a regional resource center for film, and approximately 75 feature films and 400 short and documentary films have been made in the county. Among the feature films are the two well-known and appreciated films Jägarna and Så som i himlen.

As we heard earlier, it is good times for Swedish film, and the film policy is well-anchored.

For the previous government, however, it was slow to address criticism from the Riksdag. The then Minister for Culture, Alice Bah Kuhnke, proposed a new film policy in 2015, "More film for more," but it was rejected on, among other things, financing, organization, production conditions, and cooperation. Furthermore, she shock-increased the cinema VAT from 6 to 25 percent.

But Swedish film is a survivor, and we should not only criticize the previous government. 100 million was invested in production incentives for film to attract foreign companies to film in Sweden and also to strengthen Swedish production. It is too early to draw any conclusions about the effects of the support that was introduced last spring. But it became a free-for-all regarding the money when it was to be distributed, which unfortunately created some injustices and irritation in the industry. This time, however, it was not the fault of politics.

I vote in favor of the committee's proposal.

In this speech, Leonid Yurkovskiy (SD) agreed.

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

Lawen Redar (S)

Mr. Speaker! On the morning of 24 February 2022, the foreign correspondents of Sveriges Television and Sveriges Radio were the first on the scene to report to the Swedish population about Russia's war of invasion in Ukraine. The emergency mission, with constant reporting on the war's development, has over time come to require more war correspondents, security policy expertise, resources to ensure accurate coverage, and a developed digital capability to see through fake videos, audio recordings, and disinformation. SVT has since the outbreak of the war been the most used source of information in Sweden and also the one with the highest trust.

That Sweden's Television and Sweden's Radio are the media companies that enjoy the highest trust and to which the Swedes turn in the event of a crisis is nothing to be taken for granted. The former parliamentary public service committee's conclusions regarding the recognition of the upheaval in the Swedish media landscape have been absolutely crucial. It very well could have been the case that the population, as a primary source of information, turned to biased news or, even worse, disinformation channels.

We know today, not least by reason of Sweden's process to become a Natoland, how antidemocratic states act to mislead and polarize. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance that the Swedish people today and in the future have access to independent, secure and objective news coverage that serves the public interest.

Mr. Speaker! Thanks to technological development and digitalization, the media landscape is now globalized. Today we consume news, series, films, music, documentaries, reviews, and podcasts from all over the world. Furthermore, we want to decide when and where we press the play button.

That the previous public service committee decided to allow SVT, SR and UR to develop platforms and program services digitally is something we can be grateful for today. It has been crucial for the companies' rapid transformation from linear radio and TV to services on the internet.

Today, all of this may seem like a self-evident matter, but when the decisions were to be made, we were not in the media landscape we now see emerging. The committee was also concerned that the companies would take too large market shares if they were allowed to exist on other platforms on the internet.

But what we see is clear. Since 2018, the reach for linear TV viewing among the population has decreased from 75 percent to 61 percent. Listening to terrestrial linear radio is also decreasing, almost at the same rate as listening increases on digital platforms. We can therefore state that the most important news dissemination takes place online and that the Swedish people actively choose the digital program content of the public service companies.

Mr. Speaker! Globalization, digitalization, and technological development bring new challenges, and it is up to the 2023 public service committee to address these.

More and more international media actors are currently establishing themselves in Sweden. In recent years, this has reshaped the conditions for both the media economy and the content market. Now, it is global corporations that have the largest media operations in Sweden. Examples are Apple, Disney, Amazon, Byte Dance and Netflix. They compete with domestic Swedish actors for both revenue and the Swedish people's time and attention.

SVT, with a budget of 5 billion kronor, is now being compared by media consumers with the content productions of global corporations in terms of both supply and quality. The competition for competence, technology, and digital infrastructure results in budget increases for all audiovisual actors of up to 30 percent, according to international surveys. A corresponding situation prevails in the audio market. Spotify with its 489 million users per month or the podcast platform Acast with its 5.1 billion listens competes with Sveriges Radio for the modern audience that is curious about new services and new content.

Madam Speaker! To want to make SVT, SR and UR narrower in such a world and situation in the media market would be, frankly put, devastating. Nothing indicates at this moment that the market shares of Swedish public services, in the event of a narrower mandate, would promote other Swedish commercial media companies. The 90s debate about the size of public services in the market truly belongs in the 90s. It is a fundamentally different media era now. The result of a narrow Swedish public service means today, in 2023, that global commercial actors strengthen their position in the Swedish media market and among the Swedish audience. Since 2008, advertising revenues for media with journalistic content in Sweden have decreased by over 60 percent, which has gone directly to large international companies - global companies such as Google and Facebook.

For a small language country like Sweden, globalization and digitalization mean that content production in the Swedish language is challenged by content in world languages, such as English, Chinese, and Arabic. When several of the streaming services have also announced that they are completely ceasing Swedish-language original production, a new insight into the value and importance of SVT's, SR's, and UR's significance for the status of the Swedish language was needed. I mean that there must be a total cultural-political understanding that the global corporations' willingness to invest in local production markets and small language countries is actually limited.

Madam Speaker! Guarding the broad mandate of public services must be seen in light of both the new security policy situation and the new media market where the content is broad. It is about popular education, culture, and everything that we all consume when we look at our phones, tablets, computers, and screens. But where the population receives factual, independent, and secure information in the event of a crisis has become a societal concern and an issue for the Swedish total defense. We see figures today that the proportion of the population who actively avoid news has increased from 22 percent to 32 percent in 2022 in just a few years - 2019 to 2022. These are alarming figures. The rate of increase is remarkable and has to do with the fact that more and more people choose to opt out of news in favor of entertainment programs.

For many, public services' broad mandates with culture, sports, and folk education programs are a crucial entry point to society and news programs. Therefore, it is of societal importance that SVT, SR and UR are also consumed by the largest proportion of the population in the future. Now we are also all involved and collectively financing public service. There must be an offering for everyone.

The Sweden Democrats, the Christian Democrats, and the Moderates have for some time shaped opinion and proposed a narrow public service. These are proposals that I believe risk having long-term negative effects for Swedish-language content production and the independent, objective, and reliable news reporting. Given the new security situation and the increased need for independent information, I hope that the new parliamentary committee can take off from a new position where we submit new proposals.

The 2023 parliamentary public service committee, which decides on the future conditions for the companies, will now have as perhaps its most important task for the next ten years to analyze how the media market is accelerating due to globalization, technological development, and digitalization, and where it is headed. It is very difficult to know today what will happen in two years and how we will consume media in three, four, or five years. But the task is ten-year broadcasting licenses. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance that the broad mandate remains and that we work to find successful proposals together.

In the committee report, we Social Democrats have a specific statement under point 1, but I want to support the committee report and refer the film policy debate to my colleague Lars Mejern Larsson in this debate. In all other respects, I support the committee report.

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

Robert Hannah (L)

Madam Speaker! Since last year, an international disinformation campaign has been ongoing against the Swedish social services. Islamists and major news organizations are spreading conspiracy theories claiming that Swedish authorities steal Muslim children from their families so that they can be raised in non-Muslim homes.

Social secretaries in the country's municipalities testify to threats, fear, and insufficient support from above. The site Doku points out that participants in demonstrations outside social service offices, including in my hometown of Göteborg, have filmed social secretaries and then published the videos in groups on social media. The fear of reprisals from outraged relatives causes social service employees to hesitate in making decisive decisions. A culture of silence is spreading among the officials, who do not dare to report threats and crimes. This was shown, among other things, by alarming reports from the library in Hammarkullen in Göteborg this week.

Lack of Swedish language skills and ignorance of Swedish laws are exploited by Islamists who attempt to drive a wedge between Swedish Muslims and the authorities. The risks of the disinformation are several. On the one hand, families may avoid seeking help due to unjustified fear that their children will be separated from them; on the other hand, frightened parents may take the children abroad. The whole thing also risks strengthening the parallel society that has been allowed to emerge in Sweden, fueling polarization and, in the long run, posing a threat to our democracy.

There are also several other reasons to be concerned, including Russia's heinous invasion of Ukraine with a full-scale war in our vicinity, which makes it more important than ever that independent media exists throughout the country, both in the large cities and in the countryside, to monitor, scrutinize, inform, and educate the public.

Madam Speaker! It is important that troll factories and other forces that spread disinformation to frighten people and create false contradictions are met with a counterforce. We liberals believe that counterforce is public service and our free independent scrutinizing media. The Liberals believe that public service should be given an even clearer mandate regarding disinformation and that news in the major minority languages needs to remain as an alternative to disinformation that is, for example, spread in Somali or Arabic on social media. But then, of course, they must also be correct, which has been a problem. I also believe that they should focus more on integration issues and other more fundamental issues for society.

It is the Liberals' opinion that public service should continue to have a broad mandate and strive for both quality and relevance. The Liberals' opinion is also shared by the Swedish people: Trust in media in Sweden remains at high levels. Over time, these are exceptionally stable results. The highest trust is for SVT with 75 percent and SR with 72 percent. Following that comes TV4 with 57 percent and local newspapers with 51 percent. But one should also note that there is a dividing line in the trust of people who consider themselves more right-leaning and who consider it to be more left-leaning in public service. It is a concern that public service must take seriously.

Free and independent media that scrutinize political power are crucial in every democracy. We see how the situation looks in Russia. Liberal media policy means that the state guarantees full freedom for media companies in competition while simultaneously supporting public service and quality productions. Even the Tidö Agreement is clear regarding this: The freedom and diversity of the media shall be promoted. The independence of public service media shall persist and its long-term funding shall be maintained. In a partially new media landscape, public service activities need to be developed as part of the democratic infrastructure. The Liberals look forward to the parliamentary public service inquiry that Göran Hägglund, former party leader of Kristdemokraterna, is currently leading and where the Liberals are represented by Lars Leijonborg.

The public service operations actually need to be developed, and I am distressed when certain politicians and even debaters claim that we would in some way want to scrutinize and punish journalists. That is not true at all, but the operations de facto need to be developed to meet reality, for example to reach out to young generations on the platforms where young people are today. One such example is UR's digital newsroom called Tänk till, which I can recommend to everyone.

Madam Speaker! We Liberals like facts, and we like knowledge. We do not like alternative facts, fake news, or disinformation. They are all enemies of liberalism. Against the background of the fact that a public service investigation is currently underway, we move for the rejection of all motions and for a yes to the committee's proposal.

(Applause)

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

Leonid Yurkovskiy (SD)

Madam Speaker! As has been said several times, a new parliamentary committee has been appointed to investigate and propose how the public service companies should be regulated. The investigation will, of course, handle many different detailed issues, but I want to focus on what is most important for us and what has, by chance, received the most attention in the general debate.

Let us begin with the sharp assignment. We are several parties who for a longer period have looked with longing eyes for such a direction and formulation, and in the investigation directives it now stands that the committee shall "propose how the content mandate for public service shall be designed during the next period of authorization, with a focus on popular education and journalism for the whole country".

Focus on popular education and journalism is exactly what is needed. Kantar Sifos surveys show that the proportion who perceive that SVT provides credible news is decreasing over time. This also applies to the dissemination of knowledge. This is the core mission.

We also have a steaming hot Demoskop survey showing that voters from virtually all parties except Vänsterpartiet and Miljöpartiet are negative towards public service engaging in, for example, niche entertainment programs. But all parties, of course, want to see that the public service fee goes towards news reporting and the like.

Furthermore, as also mentioned in a previous speech, we have a worrying trend regarding a news-avoiding population. It is research from the Reuters Institute that has highlighted this as a serious trend. In Sweden, the proportion is estimated to be around 32 percent.

I hope everyone understands that there is no benevolent, good force that wants a population that does not want to, can, or dares to care about what is happening in society. It is yet another obvious reason to really focus on news journalism.

Beyond all this, there is also an underlying ideological argument, namely that an actor with a forced and guaranteed funding should not engage in all sorts of things that fall outside the core mission or that are, in that respect, fully met by other media actors that one can pay for voluntarily.

The opinion poll I just mentioned also shows that a large proportion of right-wing sympathizers actually do not want to see any public service at all. This should be interpreted as yet another sign of a lack of trust which, unfortunately, once again only hits those who do not vote left.

Let me here remind you of the previous investigations that have been conducted regarding trust in public service in terms of party sympathy. It is the same thing there – lowest trust on the right side.

Of course, some of this can be explained by the fact that certain parties may have an ideological skepticism towards public ownership. But that does not apply to the group of voters who have the lowest confidence in public service, namely Sverigedemokratiska sympathizers.

Public service thus has a high level of trust overall. However, there is a discrepancy between right-wing and left-wing voters, and it is a symptom of a different kind of problem, namely bias.

In view of this, I have a very great hope that the committee will explore the issue of transparency more closely. In addition to the focus on the core mission, which I mentioned, it is our view that transparency is a simple path to increased trust. The need for increased transparency primarily concerns news and public affairs programs. Which topics one highlights, which people one chooses to participate, which expert opinions the segment refers to – all of this has an enormous impact on the recipient's experience but also on opinion formation. Therefore, it is my hope that the new directives, directly or indirectly, will lead to the public service companies' decision-making processes becoming clearer.

Something further concrete that would actually increase confidence in the SD group is to return to a sound and more value-neutral reflection mandate.

Until the licensing period 2014-2019, it was stated that the program range shall reflect conditions in the entire country, which is naturally reasonable considering that news and social information should be relevant to the public regardless of where in Sweden one happens to live.

The government at the time chose, however, to expand the scope of the mirroring mandate by including people's identity markers as some kind of relevant parameter. As examples in the documents, they cite ethnic and cultural background, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, and gender expression. At the same time, with that change, they also introduced a requirement that the program activities in their entirety shall be conducted from an equality and diversity perspective.

Now it states in the investigation directives that the committee shall "analyze whether the mirroring mandate is appropriately designed and, if necessary, propose changes." We think this is good. The Sweden Democrats have worked for this, and we are glad that it is included.

Now we look forward to following the committee's work, where the Sweden Democrats will work for these good values with transparency, increased trust, and more. In the near future, we can look forward to my party colleague accounting for the film policy part of this report.

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

Lawen Redar (S)

Madam Speaker! Thank you, Member Leonid Yurkovskiy, for an interesting speech!

Based on some underlying materials, it is stated that trust in public service has decreased over time, that the population in general does not like niche content programs, and that we have a news-avoidant population. This, it is interpreted, is due to the public service companies' political perceptions and so on.

I believe that one still has to break down these figures and see what they de facto say. What we see now is that the support and trust for public service in the event of a crisis has increased dramatically. There are hardly any public service companies in all of Europe that have the figures that SVT and Sveriges Radio are currently displaying. This applied both during the corona pandemic and now with the latest updated figures from February 24, 2022, to today.

Regarding the question of trust, the SOM Institute looks at whether the population has trust in social institutions, which includes the public service companies. The part of the population that does not experience any strong trust in the public service companies also does not have trust in authorities, unfortunately not in the Swedish Riksdag and not even in the Swedish government to the extent we all would have wished.

The task can be assigned to the public service companies themselves, according to the rhetoric being presented here, but I mean that it is an extremely flawed analysis. One must also look at what all the representatives of society shall do to increase the trust among the groups that were highlighted. The task can therefore not be assigned solely to the companies.

Now we all, the entire Swedish people, pay the public service companies, which have a broad cultural mandate and are to act for socially useful information for us all. My question is whether the Sweden Democrats, in the new media policy situation and media market, will work for a continued broad mandate for the companies.

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

Leonid Yurkovskiy (SD)

Madam Speaker! Thank you, Member, for the great honor of taking the first exchange of remarks in this block!

I want to start by commenting on the first question regarding the trust in public service and public service's mandate. We agree that public service does a good job when it comes to reporting, for example in a crisis. We would like the focus to fall there, and that was what I tried to highlight in my speech. That is what public service does best. That is where the trust is built, and that is where the relationship with the viewers is built – not with various entertainment programs that are done much better elsewhere.

Specifically regarding the last question, we strive for a public service, as I said in the speech, with a narrower and sharper mandate. That is the answer to the question, and the justification is that, in our view, it is the best way to build trust and a good relationship with the public.

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

Lawen Redar (S)

Madam Speaker! The issue of the news-avoiding population, which is increasing powerfully according to the statistics, was also raised in the presentation. I also pointed out in my presentation that these are figures that one really must look at.

The survey referred to is a global survey of what the situation actually looks like regarding news avoidance, at least with an emphasis on Western countries. It is a global trend we see that more and more people prefer to watch entertainment programs rather than news programs. It is a major challenge to try to break that trend and actually get people to follow the news and socially relevant programs. But is the answer to that task a narrowing public service, when we know that people do not watch news and social programs but turn to entertainment programs? Is it not then wise instead to invest in a broad public service that has culture and educational programs where many of the Swedish audience can turn?

The risk we see with a narrower public service is that media consumers in Sweden will instead turn to content programs from American large corporations or Arabic content programs, as was previously mentioned here in the debate. We would like to see Swedish-language content production, because if one has once accessed SVT's or Sveriges Radio's app, one will find the news programs in the event of a crisis and, in the worst case, war.

Therefore, my question is: Does the member not believe it is wiser to invest in a broad mandate in order to reach that news-avoiding group that watches entertainment programs, so that they too can reach the news programs? In what way would a narrower mandate relate to reaching just that group of the population?

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Leonid Yurkovskiy (SD)

Madam Speaker! I understand the logic in the reasoning. But I do not think it holds up fully.

If it is a problem that more people are avoiding news and choosing to watch entertainment, then the primary focus should not be on offering more entertainment. I understand the reasoning that it becomes some kind of proxy to then establish a relationship with public service. There, we argue that it is the news programs, but not just Rapport and Aktuellt but also the more creative formats, that we see actually attracting viewers and building a relationship. That is where success has been achieved, and that is why we want to invest more in it. We do not see the same thing with, for example, Drag Race or the programs about dogs, which we always like to highlight as examples of something that could be handled privately. That is our reasoning.

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Vasiliki Tsouplaki (V)

Madam Speaker! This debate concerns both the conditions for public service, that is to say SVT, Sveriges Radio and Utbildningsradion, and the film policy. There are many points of contact between them. But today I will focus on the film issues, as we will soon be debating a government proposition on the public service area. There is, after all, so much to say about both of these areas.

Companies within Swedish film and TV are situated at the intersection of cultural policy and business policy. Many are dependent on public support from a national and also a regional level at home. At the same time, many are situated on an international arena and a global market.

We look forward to the upcoming consideration of the investigation Creative Sweden! National strategy for promoting sustainable development for companies in cultural and creative industries, which has been tasked to focus specifically on those activities that lie at the intersection, in the borderland between cultural policy and business.

Swedish film has achieved great success in recent years with many international awards. In parallel, there is a clear pattern that the cinema audience is decreasing significantly and that visitors see Swedish film to a lesser extent when they do go to the cinema.

Profitability is low in most areas of the Swedish film industry. During the corona pandemic, many cinema halls were closed or half-empty, and it has been difficult to lure the audience back. Judges argue, however, that it is actually the changed and improved opportunities to watch films in other ways that play into the reduction, as already between 2018 and 2019 the number of cinema visits decreased by nearly 1 million.

For us in Vänsterpartiet, it is important to continue supporting cinemas across the country through the Swedish Film Institute. The digitalization of cinemas and the emergence of the new digital viewing forms for live broadcasts of stage performances such as dance and opera from other countries have provided opportunities for an increased and more flexible cultural offering throughout the country. There are also association-run and municipal cinemas as a prerequisite for activities such as school cinema and film clubs. Experiencing and discussing film with others is a different kind of cultural experience than streaming film at home.

Streaming services make an enormous range of both films and series available. The financing model of the state film policy established as recently as 2017 faces major challenges, as it is based on cinema revenues. Other parts of the business model that we decided upon at that time are also challenged when the so-called viewing windows are not the same as before and the streaming services increasingly produce their own films that do not even premiere in cinemas. Film i Väst, a large regional film fund, has produced reports to analyze both the audience changes and production changes that this has led to. They point out how attractive it can be for those who want to make films in Sweden to only have one financier and a guaranteed viewing platform in, for example, a streaming company such as Netflix or HBO. In the "normal" model, you are forced to seek money from a multitude of different financiers. This development is not only for the better, but new questions have arisen regarding which legislation should be applied if American companies buy up the rights to the Swedish films and TV series. We hope that the upcoming implementation of the copyright directive will strengthen the income of cultural creators and authors in practice moving forward.

Overall, we argue that the changes in production, distribution, and audience patterns in recent years, and the challenges they entail, make the question of a new film policy relevant. We would like to broaden it and call it an audiovisual policy, so that one can grasp a slightly larger area than the previous film policy.

That is why we have submitted a proposal for such an investigation. I am pleased that the Social Democrats and the Green Party are also supporting our proposal today.

At the same time as we see the challenges, Madam Speaker, it is important to point out that the expansion of streaming services has meant that much more money has entered the system, large revenue flows for the production of both series and film. And the forecasts have continued to point upwards for a long time. But with such an expansion in this sector, other, new problems arise, and that is that it becomes difficult to get hold of employees. Increased competence is actually required within these occupational categories in Sweden. It can lead to recordings taking place in other countries if we lack the right competence here, or that one is forced to recruit from elsewhere and incurs increased costs for the recording when one has to fly in employees.

Previously, the paths into the industry have been too informal. It has been difficult to know how one can get a film job. The different professional roles have not been so well-defined. One does not know which education is actually required. But during the recent years, the industry has formed a professional council that is to look into this issue. There are now also a number of educations conducted within the vocational college.

Last spring, the Swedish National Agency for Higher Vocational Education produced an area analysis within film and TV. There, it is stated that the industry has an additional need for educational places, for example within post-production, i.e., what happens after a recording. But the room to expand the number of places will not exist unless the agency receives more funds in the coming years, it was written then. But what happened in the autumn, when we got a new government, was that they cut back on educational places within the higher vocational education, which is very regrettable. They also cut back on the folk high schools, which can have both artistic and general courses.

When the education of the unemployed does not match what is demanded within growth industries such as film and TV, politics needs to help and create conditions for career changes and further education. In the debate of recent weeks, we have unfortunately seen that the government's line seems to be to make the unemployed poorer instead of matching them. They are dusting off old concepts from the Alliance government without considering what reality looks like today. It is not cool to be unemployed. It is also not cool to live on student grants from CSN.

In order for it to be easy to educate oneself in adulthood, qualitative education is needed throughout the country, as well as good economic conditions and access to internship placements. These are the areas the government needs to focus on.

Madam Speaker! Another of the film policy goals is that we should have a film heritage that is preserved, used and developed. Today, almost all film is produced and shown exclusively digitally. Analog film technology is completely on its way out. At the same time, we have large archives, including at the Swedish Film Institute. Archives with analog films also exist at associations, companies, municipalities and regional museums.

Furthermore, the Swedish Film Institute possesses one of the world's oldest film archives with thousands of films. We must digitize these quickly so that future generations can take part in our cinematic cultural heritage. It is films from the late 1800s up to the present day that need to be digitized.

Madam Speaker! We are a bit worried that the films will decay and will not become available to the public. In our view, there is a historical opportunity in making the older films available on a large scale. But as I have spoken about before, it is a matter of competence. Practical things such as spare parts for machines to read the films are things that risk disappearing if we do not speed up. Therefore, we need to ensure that there are good opportunities for this.

We would like the Swedish Film Institute to also be given a responsibility to look at the local film archives, as they have the required competence. Furthermore, investments in new premises are needed so that upcoming climate changes can be managed.

In summary, we want to urge the government to take appropriate measures to accelerate the digitalization of the cinematic cultural heritage. Therefore, I move for approval of our reservation 10, which concerns exactly this.

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Anne-Li Sjölund (C)

Madam Speaker! I do not want to preempt the parliamentarily appointed committee that is to investigate the conditions and the mandate for public service during the years 2026-2033, but I still want to raise a few things.

Centerpartiet highly values public service's important mission to scrutinize power. We know that when authoritarian and illiberal leaders take power, public service is in many cases among the first victims. Therefore, independence must be protected. It is fundamentally important for our democracy.

The basic principle of public service is that everyone should be able to access objective and impartial coverage of what is happening and occurs around in society, both in the immediate context and around the world. For civil preparedness, Sveriges Radio, which is part of public service, is probably completely crucial. If the electricity is down, only the radio works. When Russia attacked Ukraine and the entire security policy situation in Sweden and the rest of the world changed fundamentally, SVT strengthened its news coverage. There, public service really made a difference. From children and young people all over the country, Lilla Aktuellt received tens of thousands of questions.

Furthermore, public service plays a major role in reflecting the entire country. It is needed side by side with the private actors to provide a diversity of perspectives. A continued broad mandate is central for the offering to be relevant for many in Sweden. That public service is available throughout Sweden with present local newsrooms is very important for us in Centerpartiet.

Madam Speaker! Film belongs to the most accessible forms of culture in Sweden. That is how we want it to remain. The VAT on cinema visits was increased in January 2017. It makes it more expensive for visitors to go to the cinema and increases the risk that cinemas in smaller towns will be forced out of business.

The previous government submitted a film proposal during the spring of 2016. When it was processed by the Riksdag, decisions were made on seven announcements, including that the government should promptly investigate an alternative financing of the film policy based on maintaining the current value-added tax rate.

Cinemas in smaller localities mean much more for cultural life than just a place to watch a film. They constitute an important part of a cultural infrastructure that collectively provides access to a broad cultural life throughout the country. It is also important that there are good conditions for making Swedish film. One part of this is a well-functioning stakeholder and industry cooperation within the film sector. How it can be improved needs to be investigated.

I would like to move for approval of reservation 8.

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Lars Mejern Larsson (S)

Madam Speaker! At the 73rd edition of the Berlin Film Festival, which perhaps is the most political of the three major festivals in Europe, Ukraine's President Zelenskyy began his speech with the words: Film cannot change the world, but it can influence and inspire people who can change the world.

When we are now going to discuss the future of film policy, I want to tell you about when I received a request asking if I was willing to remove my beard and get a haircut.

A priest's secret diary forms the basis for the first feature film about the Norwegian Nazi and traitor Vidkun Quisling. "What is depicted is an encounter between a humanist and a fascist. Imagine that you would end up in an elevator with Putin for an hour and a half. Where would one even begin?" says director Erik Poppe in an interview in DN.

My direct answer was "Of course!" to the question of participating as an extra during the filming of Poppe's first feature film about Quisling. Unfortunately, Madam Speaker, it is even more relevant in light of all the terrible things happening right now in Europe.

I am in a scene that was filmed in Trollhättan. The scene takes place in a courtroom where Quisling receives his death sentence. The atmosphere in the courtroom was palpable. Poppe likes to film long sequences. It requires careful preparations and demands on everyone involved. They removed my beard, cut my hair into a period-typical hairstyle, and placed a lit cigarette in the corner of my mouth. Every detail is equally important. Clothes, shoes, interior, lighting, camera angles, and lines are based on very thorough research.

It was awesome to experience on-site the energy that Poppe brings out in everyone to achieve the best results. The premiere is in the autumn of 2024.

When we are to look forward, I must nevertheless look backward and then naturally end up at home in Värmland. As with so much else regarding culture, Sweden's cultural province Värmland contributes a great deal.

The significance of Selma Lagerlöf's stories for what has come to be called the first golden age of Swedish cinema is almost beyond words. The film adaptation of Lagerlöf's Körkarlen in 1921 is counted as one of the greatest works in film history and has influenced Charlie Chaplin, Ingmar Bergman, and Stanley Kubrick.

Madam Speaker! Back to today's cinema screens! Going to the cinema is a special experience. I remember when I took my grandchild Lova by the hand and she sat in front of the white screen for the first time. She was totally captivated as the screen grew larger. Her eyes lit up.

Children in smaller localities also want to go to the cinema. We have an obligation to make this possible, not least since it fulfills an important function in increasing access to culture. It is sad, as I described, if it is the economy that is to limit the breadth of which films we are offered to see.

But the challenges for the film industry do not stop there. As many have confirmed, the time has come for a new film policy investigation that takes into account the changes in production, distribution, and audience patterns of recent years and that reflects which fundamental values should characterize film policy and audiovisual policy. Therefore, I move for approval of reservation 3, Madam Speaker. Of course, I also stand behind our special statements.

It is important that we make the right decisions that further strengthen the Swedish film industry. We must highlight this and stand united with one voice to strengthen the brand Swedish film, especially if we are now heading into a new golden age. This year's five Oscar nominations speak for themselves. Film in Väst has great successes, and Ruben Östlund has strengthened his position as one of Sweden's most successful filmmakers. Swedish film is truly enjoying great international success, and the film industry is truly beginning to become an important industry in many places around the country.

Madam Speaker! We Social Democrats want us to redo, do right, and change the regulation regarding production incentives for film. We believe that Sweden has good conditions to be a country that, in addition to Swedish film companies, also attracts foreign companies to place their productions in our beautiful and diverse country.

The film and television industry is important for the future. It is an important cultural form with many opportunities and enormous growth potential. However, the sector's rapid transformation requires swift political actions to favor the new industry that is on the move and which creates so many jobs and employment opportunities.

Madam Speaker! The American director David Fincher said: I don't want to tell you how to do your job. But someone has to.

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

TREDJE VICE TALMANNEN

Short quotes in English without translation can be accepted. Otherwise, the language in the chamber is Swedish, as you know. One should actually translate, even if one belongs to the Culture Committee.

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

Jonas Andersson (SD)

Madam Speaker! Today we are debating the Culture Committee's report Questions on public service and film. The Sweden Democrats naturally stand behind all reservations from us in this report, but for the sake of time, I will content myself with moving for approval of reservation 4 from the Sweden Democrats.

My party colleague Leonid Yurkovskiy has previously during the debate focused on public service issues, so I thought I would speak a bit more specifically about what the Sweden Democrats want regarding film policy. The Sweden Democrats have a broad film policy, as appears in the report, with proposals on everything from a new and modernized film agreement to the small-town cinemas and changes to the national film policy goals.

At the end of January, I participated in the film policy summit in Gothenburg in connection with the opening of the Gothenburg Film Festival. During the film summit, several of us members of the Culture Committee were present to debate and discuss film policy. The national film policy goals and the question of the principle of arm's length distance received a lot of attention. The question of arm's length distance has indeed received a lot of focus in the debate in general lately.

Madam Speaker! Film policy is perhaps the hardest-hit area in national cultural policy when it comes to left-wing identity politics and restricted artistic freedom. The examples are many.

At the Cannes Film Festival in 2018, the then CEO of the Swedish Film Institute, Anna Serner, threatened to allocate the entire 2020 market support solely to female applicants if the industry did not help achieve the goal of half of the women behind the camera by 2020.

The Swedish Film Institute required training in norm-creativity for a number of years in order to receive support for film projects, something for which they subsequently received massive criticism and had to withdraw, because these requirements were seen by many as politicized and didactic.

People of Film is a kind of service and platform that aims to provide more non-white film workers with employment within the Swedish film industry, which consequently means that it works to ensure that fewer film workers perceived as white are employed within Swedish film. This service was launched a couple of years ago. It received support from the Swedish Film Institute and is thus financed with our tax money.

Madam Speaker! How artistic freedom was restricted in grant applications in the film sector under previous red-green governments is clearly shown in the report *Så fri är konsten*, which came from the Agency for Cultural Analysis a couple of years ago. In the report, several Swedish cultural agencies were examined. The Swedish Arts Council, the Swedish Arts Council (Konstnärsnämnden), and the Swedish Film Institute were reviewed. Specifically, the Swedish Film Institute stood out by having the greatest problems regarding artistic freedom.

In a survey response in the report, a number of alarming facts are presented. 60 percent of those who have applied for grants from the Swedish Film Institute answered that they, in some application, have adapted the content of a planned artistic work or a cultural activity in the hope of increasing the chances of receiving a grant. 43 percent answered that they have at some point refrained from applying for grants from the Film Institute due to assessment criteria they perceived to be in conflict with artistic freedom. These are the highest and worst figures, if one looks at the reviewed cultural authorities mentioned in the report.

In the report *Så fri är konsten* (How free is art), the respondents were also asked the following in a survey: "To what extent did you/did you take into account the Swedish Film Institute's formulation that the film area shall be characterized by equality and diversity and that the support shall go to stories with different perspectives, expressions and a diversity of voices, both in front of and behind the camera?" In response to this, we again receive serious figures. Of those who took part in the writing, 41 percent answered that they took into account the writing to a large or very large extent in the artistic content. Almost half answered that they took the formulation into account to a large or very large extent in the composition of the production team, and 39 percent answered that they took the writing into account to a large or very large extent in the composition of the actors.

Madam Speaker! The consequence of the report from the Agency for Cultural Analysis was that the then Social Democratic government felt forced to delete its own formulations in the guidelines to the Swedish Film Institute regarding the requirement that the activities should be permeated by equality and diversity. It is very clear that the equality and diversity writings in both the guidelines to the Film Institute and the national goals for film policy, when implemented, become left-wing identity politics that restrict and stifle artistic freedom.

Questions on public service and film

In response to this, and in order to reclaim artistic freedom from this identity politics, the Sweden Democrats have therefore included a motion in this report to abolish the film policy goal that equality and diversity shall characterize the film area. We also have a motion in the report to reduce the politicized micro-management in the provision of support in Swedish film policy.

Madam Speaker! Swedish film policy and Swedish tax money should not lead to the removal of people involved in film productions because they have the wrong gender or otherwise the wrong background through quotas or tax-funded lobby groups. Nor should those who apply for grants for their film projects be forced to submit to the left's identity politics. It is not beautiful to see how many parties scream themselves hoarse and incite each other regarding arm's length distance and artistic freedom but suddenly become very quiet when they themselves bear responsibility for the problems, which is the case in film policy.

In this speech, Leonid Yurkovskiy (SD) agreed.

The deliberation was hereby concluded.

(Decisions were made under § 15.)

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