The Kingdom's Board

Victoria Tiblom (SD)

Madam Speaker! I would like to begin by moving for the approval of the proposal in the Committee on the Constitution's report KU1.

There are several important points in this budget bill for expenditure area 1 The Government, and I choose to focus on a couple of these.

The Riksdag's properties are fantastic, and it is a privilege to work and operate in these beautiful buildings. But there is a great maintenance need in the property portfolio, and extensive renovation work is ongoing and is expected to continue in the future. Right now, the property Cephalus is being renovated. To cover the increased costs, the Riksdag's property appropriation is increased by 50 million kronor.

We are also all very aware of the geopolitical situation and the increased uncertainty in the world. It also affects us here in Sweden, and the appropriation for security-enhancing measures for religious communities is increased by 30 million kronor. Especially the antisemitic currents in Sweden have increased significantly recently, and several synagogues need continuous surveillance. The appropriation for memorial trips is also increased by 6 million kronor annually from 2024 to 2026.

In June next year, it is time for the European Parliament elections, and elections are always costly - especially for our 290 municipalities and also our county administrative boards. To cover their increased costs, the appropriation is increased. In this appropriation, 20 million kronor are also allocated for various voter turnout initiatives in order to promote voter turnout in the 2024 European Parliament election.

Madam President! A great deal has happened since the 2022 election, and one of the most important reports that we addressed in KU this autumn is the one concerning the new media support.

The new media support is fully introduced on 1 January 2024, and when it is in full effect, it will result in lower costs than today's cost of over 1 billion. But for five years, it is a transition period when grants from the old press support are paid out at the same time as the new media support. To cover these increased costs, the grant is increased by 50 million kronor.

These are a few of the initiatives that are in the budget. They show that we have come a way in the cooperation and in the work of translating the voters' wishes since the change of government.

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

Ida Karkiainen (S)

Madam Speaker! The Social Democrats are presenting their own budget alternative, which is to be seen as a whole. Therefore, the Social Democrats refrain from taking a position and instead present a specific statement within the expenditure area that we are to debate now, namely that of the state's board.

Compared to other expenditure areas, this is not so extensive in monetary terms, but on the other hand, it is extensive in terms of content. Things that we love about Sweden are established in this expenditure area: our democracy, a well-functioning public administration free from corruption, the fight against racism in all its forms, our civil rights and freedoms, the world's oldest freedom of the press, and our far-reaching freedom of expression. These are things that make our country a rule of law state, a democracy, a country that people move to and flee to and not from, a country where no one is judged without a trial and where freedom of expression is strong - if not unlimited - and a country where everyone has the right to believe and practice their religion or abstain from religion without being subjected to political persecution.

Madam Speaker! We have many serious problems in Sweden. We also have a world around us that appears increasingly threatening. In that case, it can be difficult to have the strength to stand up for the rights that make Sweden the Sweden we love. But we must have the strength.

A professional group that does this are journalists. In a time that appears increasingly polarized and where lies and fake news spread around the world with the speed of information technology and gain a foothold, the importance of impartial and well-founded journalism increases.

Journalists are killed in wars and conflicts. In repressive states, they are imprisoned and silenced. In Sweden, we see a development that indicates that hatred and threats against journalists are becoming increasingly frequent, and there is an increase in self-censorship. Here, we politicians bear a great responsibility. We want to see the government take action to reverse this development.

The area of expenditure also includes the issue of media support. It is an issue that we have debated in this chamber as recently as a few weeks ago. The new media support system has now been approved by the EU Commission, which is pleasing, and has received a regulation that the government has decided on.

The media sector and our newspapers are under heavy pressure from inflation and lost advertising revenue as well as the competition from the global media giants, and many fears remain despite the decided regulation. Does the new system lead to more journalists across the country, which was the intention, or does it lead to the death of newspapers? Here, we Social Democrats have expressed fears, and we continue to follow the issue closely.

Madam Speaker! It is unacceptable that antisemitism is allowed to flourish. Therefore, we Social Democrats have proposed four powerful measures. We want to ensure that Jewish congregations and other Jewish organizations can carry out their activities by strengthening the security for their communities.

We want to increase the appropriations for security-enhancing measures for Jewish and other organizations within civil society. We want to strengthen the school's work to counter antisemitism. We also want to double the funds for memorial trips.

Madam Speaker! The rising interest rates and rents have hollowed out the household budget. Ordinary, hard-working Swedes have had it tougher. Swedish wage earners have seen ten years of real wage increases go up in smoke as a result of the cost crisis. Many agencies are pressing their operations hard, which will affect the service to all of Sweden's citizens.

In that situation, it seems unreasonable that the government's own agency, the Government Offices, although it saves something next year, receives a substantial budget increase over a mandate period - from 8.5 billion in 2022 to just over 10 billion for the year 2026.

Madam Speaker! On the authority side, the county administrative boards play an important role. For a long period, the county administrative boards have become increasingly mission- or project-funded compared to the fixed appropriation. This creates problems with continuity and long-term perspective in the county administrative boards' work. The appropriation must therefore be increased so that they can fulfill their basic mandate and not only various specific missions.

Today, for example, the news was broadcast about deficient animal husbandry at a chicken farm in Sweden. It is reported that the County Administrative Board has not conducted inspections since 2012. Inspection is an important part of the County Administrative Boards' core activities and an important part of safeguarding animal welfare and ensuring that laws and regulations are followed.

Madam Speaker! Safeguarding democracy means that we must constantly work to combat corruption. We are still waiting for the government to replace the discontinued investigation into corruption.

Even though Sweden belongs to the countries with the lowest degree of corruption, we must not be naive about the fact that it occurs and eats its way into our publicly funded operations. We have, for example, been able to read about criminals who run health centers, HVB homes, and sheltered housing. The privatization that has occurred has also opened up many new areas for criminals to get hold of tax money.

Madam Speaker! In this budget debate, there is also the issue of party funding. The issue truly deserves a common view and transparent rules. I believe we all agree on this across party lines.

It would therefore be very unfortunate if the issue were to be politicized - something we see a great risk of when the government's investigation clearly omits important parts and specifically targets the Social Democrats' party financing, and when the government also, through a side track, investigates the Social Democrats' possibility of financing their activities through lotteries. There is a risk that it affects other associations' possibilities to conduct their activities through lottery financing.

Madam Speaker! Sweden finds itself in a historically difficult situation and a historically uncertain time. The gang-related shootings are becoming more frequent and more brutal. The security policy situation in our surrounding world remains serious. Russia's brutal war of invasion in Ukraine continues. The war between Israel and Palestine is ongoing. Conflicts are increasing all around the world, and the democracy development of the last 30 years is as if erased.

Madam President! There is a political alternative that puts ordinary people first. It is possible to provide relief to ordinary wage earners when the cost crisis is at its worst, while at the same time healthcare and schools receive the money needed to be able to retain teachers, nurses, and nursing assistants.

It is possible to prioritize resources for Sweden's security but also to make the rest of the world safer. It is about both securing our borders and cracking down on organized crime while the work to break recruitment is significantly strengthened. It is all about priorities. By having those who are best off and the companies—the banks and the food companies—that earn large sums of money from the crisis contribute a little more, we can build our country stronger.

The Social Democrats' budget proposal shows how politics can tackle the societal problems that will characterize Sweden in the coming years, and there are important party-political differences in how we intend to tackle society's problems. But when it comes to this expenditure area, Madam Speaker, it is pleasing to see that on the whole we agree on many important matters.

Madam President! I would like to conclude by saying that Novus, in a survey in October this year, asked the Swedes how they view the state of democracy in Sweden. The result shows that a significant majority, closer to 65 percent, feel that the democratic basic principles have been threatened during the last twelve months. It is a significant increase from the 40 percent who stated the same last year.

A significant proportion of people also express concern that Sweden may be on its way to becoming a more undemocratic country compared to 2022. Another survey shows that 68 percent cannot imagine becoming a politician and that 34 percent think that politicians weaken democracy.

In other words, there are problems, and we who have been entrusted to be the people's primary representatives bear a great responsibility to solve this. It is about the climate of conversation - about us making well-founded decisions and leading by example - but also about showing on this budget area how we can strengthen democracy and the guardians of democracy. Much good is being done, but more can be done. Let us discuss it together moving forward!

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

Ulrik Nilsson (M)

Madam Speaker! Let me initially agree with parts of the contribution from the Chair of the Committee on the Constitution, Ida Karkiainen, namely the parts where she clearly points out that what we are discussing are the foundations for the functioning of our democracy. This is an expenditure area which, as has been mentioned, is not huge; in total, it concerns just over 19 billion kronor. It is naturally a lot of money, but compared to other expenditure areas, it is not particularly much. However, it is truly the fundamental functions for Sweden that we are discussing here.

In some of the parties' statements, principled issues are raised - among other things, the Center Party makes a slightly different calculation - but when it comes to the bottom line, it will be the amount of money and the appropriations that are the limiting factors. Then there may be different political implications, requests, and ideas behind the money, but I believe it is important both that we discuss the appropriations and that we, which perhaps is the most important of all, actually clearly state that we have confidence in this activity - that we trust that the officials make a reasonable assessment of the costs.

That means that this perhaps is not so much about the question of principle, that is to say that one could count it up in one way or the other, but that the content is what is decisive - like the insight that this is done in good order.

The first thing I want to mention, Madam President, is that there are large parts in this where we are in very much agreement. This concerns the functions that we must have and that we must be able to ensure. There, not least the challenge with the increased security threats is decisive, and I believe we are completely in agreement that we must be able to guarantee the central functions. In the same way, we are also to a large extent in agreement that we need to make adjustments in order to be able to participate fully in Nato. We all hope, of course, that Sweden's membership in Nato will be confirmed relatively soon. In these parts, there is therefore no major difference.

My second point is that very much of this is about the possibilities of implementing the policy that one has received support for in an election. I believe we all think it is a reasonable principle that those who perform best in the election should also be given the opportunity to implement their views and their program. At the same time, we have a fairly long legislative process, which in many ways is good. There are many steps in it, and one can perform many analyses. But it is important for long-term trust that an election result can be translated into policy, and in the work of doing that, the Government Offices and, above all, its investigative resources are a key.

The opposition may very well think differently, that is to say that it is not good if the majority implements its proposals. That is, in a sense, the point of the democratic system. Then one can, of course, say that this is just bureaucracy and that there should be stricter requirements here. Let me put it this way: I have full respect for that opinion, but I know that the exact same argument would have appeared with reversed signs if the election result had been the opposite. I also perhaps do not think that we are either better or worse on that point, but for us it is important to have such large resources in the Government Offices so that the government can implement the policy it ran on election.

My third point is that different parties naturally show their ambitions in the budget proposals. If we say that the government's budget is the starting point, it is the changes compared to that which can be discussed. But let me first note, just as Ida Karkiainen did earlier, that there is, in principle, a fairly large consensus on these issues.

Regarding the different ambitions from the opposition parties, Member Karkiainen has mentioned that they want to prioritize more strictly around the Government Offices. This means that they want to remove approximately half a billion kronor from the function that enables the implementation of the policy that the voters gave their support for. The Center Party is at approximately the same level, while the Green Party increases the appropriation by approximately 100 million.

When it comes to the county administrative boards, the opposition's proposals vary from minus 18 million from C to plus 200 million from MP. It is 3.9 billion that is allocated to the county administrative boards.

When it comes to media support, approximately 1 billion is allocated, and there, the Social Democrats propose plus 10 million and the Left Party plus 500 million. There is a quite large difference between those figures.

For the members of the Riksdag, 1.1 billion is allocated, and Vänsterpartiet wants to reduce the appropriation by 120 million.

For the court, i.e., Slottsstaten and Hovstaten, 162 million is allocated, which Vänstern wants to reduce by 24 million.

The appropriation for the Sami Parliament, which is at 63 million, the Social Democrats want to increase by 5 million, and the Left wants to increase it by 71 million. It is, like, difficult to see any clear common ambitions.

When it comes to minorities and Roma - I am combining both items - approximately 220 million is allocated. The Socialdemokraterna and Miljöpartiet want to increase the appropriation by 10 million, and Vänstern wants to increase it by 50 million.

I can, as I have said, accept this as ambition targets, but when one looks at the budget figures, it is not entirely clear where the most important ambitions lie.

Again: We are in very high degree in agreement. We have in very high degree common ground in the fundamental parts. I also believe that we in very many parts share the general principles: It shall be democracy, it shall be freedom of speech, it shall be openness and it shall be an inclusive conversational climate - and a good conversational climate, not a confrontational one. All of this we are very much in agreement on.

When I see the opposition's motions, both how they diverge and how they actually involve minor changes, I can nevertheless conclude overall that the starting point in the government's proposal is well-motivated. It is a well-balanced proposal for the budget for expenditure area 1.

Madam Speaker! With that, I move for approval of the Committee on the Constitution's proposal in Report KU1 Expenditure Area 1 The State's Administration.

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

Jessica Wetterling (V)

Madam Speaker! I must thank the previous speaker, who accounted so well for the opposition's budget proposals. It is still nice that someone has read which proposals we have.

As we have said, we are to debate the part of the budget called expenditure area 1 The State Administration. I want to start by saying that the Left Party's budget proposal should be seen as a whole. We have therefore refrained from taking positions in the committee report and instead submit a separate statement where we account for the priorities we have in this area.

Madam Speaker! We live in a time when households are pressured by reduced real incomes, high food prices, and mortgage interest rates that have risen sharply in a short period. At the same time, banks and food giants are making record profits at their expense. One might then think that the government's and the Sweden Democrats' responsibility should be to ensure that we as a society get through the crisis together. But instead, one chooses, through their passivity, to contribute to the fact that the households' burdens actually increase.

In the Left Party's budget motion, we present a completely different direction for economic policy. We want to direct it towards full employment and economic equality. We want the burdens of the rapid price increases to be distributed fairly, and we also believe that the excess profits of the banks and food giants need to be curbed. They should not be able to make massive profits at the expense of households.

In our budget alternative, we also prioritize the welfare sector, which for a long time has been underfunded and is now falling apart completely. In order for welfare to be one of the foundations of society, resources are needed. In our overall budget proposal, we prioritize allocating significant resources to welfare initiatives through general government grants.

The state's budget within expenditure area 1, which I now intended to transition to speaking about, is not so large, but it includes some of the most important parts for our democracy. It is also an important foundation for what is our public and is included in our welfare, of course. Here are many of the authorities that build our democracy and in different ways also safeguard our freedoms and rights. It concerns the Parliamentary Ombudsman, the Chancellor of Justice, the National Audit Office, our county administrative boards, the Riksdag, the Government Offices, the Authority for Privacy Protection, the Institute for Human Rights, the Media Authority and the Election Authority - all these authorities which together contribute to upholding the state administration, the state and our democracy.

Madam President! In this year's budget, the government implements a general saving in the state administration of 1 percent in addition to the annual saving that already exists, and it does so completely without a plan and without regard for the agencies' specific needs and conditions. That the state administration is efficient is, of course, a prerequisite for the citizens' trust, but the general efficiency that the government is now attempting will have major consequences for the core activities. It will result in poorer conditions for the state employees to perform their mission. This in turn also means that the service to the citizens will suffer.

This saving is something that we in Vänsterpartiet completely reject. We have chosen to do it collectively in expenditure area 2, but this therefore affects several appropriations even within expenditure area 1.

Just as previous speakers have said, a budget is about priorities. Regarding the Left Party's budget proposal, I can refer most closely to the previous speaker Ulrik Nilsson, as he accounted for several of the priorities that the Left Party has made.

As we have said, we choose to make several changes to the government's proposal. We choose to reduce the fees for the members of Parliament, and we want to reduce the appropriations to the court and palace states.

We also want to reduce the appropriation to the Government Offices, which in a very short time has received an unjustified amount of money. The Government Offices' appropriation is now almost half of the total budget for expenditure area 1, and we believe it needs to be significantly reduced.

There are many other agencies within this appropriation that we want to prioritize instead. Among others, we want to prioritize the Sami Parliament, where our budget proposal, as previous speakers said, differs significantly from the government's. We invest over 70 million more than what the government proposes. We want to do this, among other things, by establishing a Sami theater, providing increased resources to the consultation process, and introducing a scholarship scheme. We have discussed this in the chamber earlier. We all know that the Sami languages are acutely threatened. By introducing a scholarship scheme, one could stimulate more people to study the different Sami languages and in that way also revitalize the languages. We also have measures regarding, among other things, Romani inclusion and the establishment of language centers.

Madam President! Previous speakers also touched upon media support. That is what I intended to conclude my speech with. Just as previous speakers said, we in Vänsterpartiet choose to allocate significantly more money to media support than the government does. We heard previous speakers say that she anticipates a substantial reduction in media support and that it will become cheaper in the future. That is not something that we in Vänsterpartiet stand behind or support.

We discussed the media support more thoroughly a few weeks ago. But from the Left Party's side, we argue that it is important to strengthen local and regional journalism, which is the purpose of the media support. We also want to safeguard and strengthen media diversity. Free opinion formation is enormously important in a democratic society.

If I understood the previous speakers correctly, we also agree that Sweden shall be a democracy. It is nice, isn't it, that we in KU can at least agree on some basic principles for how Sweden shall be moving forward?

A few weeks ago, some people stood in this speaker's chair and said that they hoped that some newspapers would have to be shut down. But Vänsterpartiet would rather see that there were more newspapers in our society with different opinions that can contribute to a vital public debate where opinions can be clashed and debated.

With the new media support, there are great fears and great uncertainty and anxiety among many media actors right now. Just as Ida Karkiainen pointed out, we have now finally received an approval from the EU Commission. It is, of course, something that we from Vänsterpartiet welcome. We want a media support that is good. But there is still much uncertainty, especially among the small actors – those actors whom we sometimes from a political standpoint want to protect extra much and which the media support is also intended to go to.

It is those who have the greatest need who now feel the greatest anxiety about how they will manage until the first payment of media support arrives. If it arrives in April, it means that one has gone a quarter without support. It is the smallest actors who are hit hardest by this. Some risk being driven into bankruptcy before they receive the support. That would be devastating. It is easy to say that one wants to support the media, but one also needs to show it in action.

There are now also more actors who will hopefully be given the opportunity to receive support. Therefore, we have allocated half a billion more than the government to the media support.

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

Gudrun Brunegård (KD)

Madam Speaker! The budget that we are now discussing concerns the governance of the realm. In terms of volume, it is not the most extensive budget area. On the other hand, it is one of the absolutely most important. Within this budget area lies, as the heading "Governance of the realm" indicates, a large part of our country's democratic system.

Here is the head of state, that is to say the King, the Royal House and the Court House. Here is the government, the Riksdag and the support for the political parties and the election organization. Added to that is now a supplement for the EU parliamentary election, which will take place in June. Also, the independent auditing institutions are within this budget area. In addition to the Riksdag, which is part of the auditing, we have JO, JK, the National Audit Office and the Institute for Human Rights. Other parts that are important for the democratic society within this area are the national minorities, media support and the new Media Authority for 2024.

So, it is largely about things that safeguard our democracy and important values such as human rights, the protection of minorities and the remembrance of, for example, the Holocaust. These are important issues that are close to my heart, and they are values that are absolutely crucial for us to have a vital democracy.

Madam Speaker! In more and more places, democracy is being questioned. We have an increasingly restless world through Russia's illegal war against Ukraine, which is still ongoing, and the war in the Middle East. At the same time, our country faces major problems with lack of integration, hatred and threats in public discourse, and gang crime where children and young people are recruited to commit acts of violence.

As a Christian Democrat, I am happy to speak about values and about the values that have built our society strongly. These values are now more important than ever. In light of this, there are many important points in the budget proposal for expenditure area 1.

One such example is the minority policy. The goal of the policy for national minorities is to provide protection for the national minorities and strengthen their opportunities for influence as well as support the historical minority languages so that they are kept alive. It is about, for example, supporting a living Sami culture but also about strengthening influence and participation within the framework of democracy policy. One should be able to live openly according to one's tradition and one's culture.

Madam President! Since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, antisemitism has acutely escalated in Sweden, and our national minority of Jews has become particularly vulnerable. Today in Sweden, in 2023, Jews find it difficult to be open about their Jewish identity. There are numerous reports of graffiti with swastikas and of attacks on Jews in Swedish cities and schools.

We hear about Jewish children who cannot go to school without harassment, who are forced to hide their cultural expressions and who are not allowed to learn and carry their culture in safety. In Malmö, it has gone so far that many Jews no longer dare to live in certain areas. Jews are forced to hide their identity, and Jewish congregations have been forced to cancel holiday celebrations and memorial services when it has not been possible to guarantee safety.

Madam Speaker! Antisemitism is a stain. It must not go unchallenged. Here we must all show leadership in not backing down in the fight against it. Security is the issue that the Jewish minority itself puts forward as the most central in the support that we can provide as a society. In the government, the Kristdemokraterna have therefore been strongly pushing to increase the support for the Jewish organizations' security work. The government is now also increasing the appropriations for security-enhancing measures for religious communities. The state grant is increased by 30 million kronor to 74 million kronor annually. This will be an important complement to the police's work to maintain security, not least at Jewish institutions and synagogues that are particularly vulnerable.

I gained an insight into this myself when, a month ago, I was to visit a Jewish synagogue in a Swedish city while an anti-Israel demonstration was taking place just a few blocks away. There were extensive security measures around the premises, and during the entire service, there was surveillance so that the service attendees would not be exposed to danger or so that they could quickly take cover if danger were to arise.

So it should not have to be like this in Sweden. But since that is how life looks now, it is necessary that society, the state, now increases the support to raise the security for vulnerable minorities.

To counter antisemitism, educational initiatives of various kinds are also needed, not least those targeted at the younger generation. It is necessary for a strong and enduring democracy that every generation is equipped with knowledge and skills that enable them to find, understand, and evaluate information themselves. The Government therefore extends, among other things, the grant of 6 million kronor for memorial trips to the sites of the Holocaust and adds funds to Forum för levande historia to increase knowledge about antisemitic attitudes in Sweden and about the spread of antisemitism online.

At the beginning of the year, the government appointed the interdepartmental working group Samling for Jewish life. It will work throughout the entire parliamentary term on issues concerning safety and security, preventive measures and actions against antisemitism, as well as the conditions for Jewish life in Sweden.

Madam Speaker! Another point in the budget proposal for expenditure area 1 that I particularly want to highlight is the value-based work against lack of equality, homophobia, and honor oppression. Far too many live in silence and are subjected daily to abuses such as threats, assault, forced marriage, and child marriage. In fact, a report from the City of Malmö shows that honor norms occur already among children in preschool at 12 out of 13 preschools. It is very serious. Here, I am pleased that the government has intensified the work.

In an investigation report currently undergoing referral, a criminalization of both innocence checks and innocence violations is advocated. The investigators also propose that it should be possible to impose travel bans on young people in cases where they risk being subjected to these crimes abroad.

These are very welcome proposals, which we Christian Democrats have been pushing for. But it is disappointing that the investigators do not simultaneously propose a criminalization of the issuance of so-called innocence certificates. The investigators also see no need to criminalize so-called conversion therapy, which affects young LGBTQ persons living under honor norms. The government has stepped up the work regarding honor-related violence, and as both a Christian Democrat and a member of the Riksdag's cross-party network against discrimination and oppression in the name of honor, I truly hope that these stones are also lifted to truly address the problems.

Madam Speaker! With this said, I move to approve the committee's proposal in the report.

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

Malin Björk (C)

Madam President! Last week I was in Karlstad at a national conference on psychological defense. The interest in participating in this two-day conference far exceeded the expectations of the organizer, the only a few years old Psychological Defense Agency. 550 participants from across the country and public Sweden streamed to Karlstad. They were employees within municipalities, regions, agencies, and academia. There was a lot of life in the coffee breaks and lively conversations around the lunch tables about how we can counter disinformation and promote fact-based, good, and constructive conversation.

From engaged high school teachers at a school in a prosperous Stockholm suburb, I heard how they work to reach students who argue in a very convincing way based on well-known conspiracy theories. Such students they encounter, and that task—to as a teacher truly reach students who have a worldview that is anything but fact-based—is certainly not easy in times when pure disinformation is hurled out on a broad front and is accessible as soon as you take out your mobile phone.

If the conversations during the breaks were lively, a considerably more restrained atmosphere prevailed in the congress hall after everyone had taken their seats there. Most of the speeches from the main stage had a dark undertone. Much of what was said there showed that liberal democracy here in Sweden, as in many places in the world, is under heavy pressure - and from several sides.

Madam Speaker! With liberal democracy, decisive steps forward have been taken throughout history both for individuals and for societies. A society governed by the principles of liberal democracy delivers the same justice and the same freedoms to all. The individual human being is given the opportunity to shape their own life, and civil rights protect the individual against state oppression and limit the majority's power over the individual.

To safeguard these freedoms and rights, an efficient administration is required where respect for different minorities and for the rule of law is completely central. A number of institutions intended to ensure just this are found within expenditure area 1, which we are debating here today. Here are the appropriations for the Parliamentary Ombudsman, the National Audit Office, the Swedish Authority for Privacy Protection, and the Media Ombudsman, newly established at the turn of the year, to name a few of them. These are agencies that in different ways have to safeguard our liberal democracy and the freedoms and rights that our constitution stipulates.

Madam President! With the conference in Karlstad in fresh memory and the broad world analysis that I took away from there, concerning malicious actors who strategically and persistently work to raise the level of conflict and weaken the cohesion in our country to create division and weaken our democratic institutions, I want to emphasize that in this area we cannot sit still in the boat. In a restless time with war in our near area, we need to strengthen not only our military, civil, and psychological defense but also the protection for our democratic institutions.

During the previous parliamentary term, the Center Party was instrumental in establishing a constitutional committee with the task of reviewing precisely the protection of democracy. This spring, the final report was submitted, SOU2023:12 Strengthened protection for democracy and the independence of the courts. It contains several important proposals that mean the protection of our constitutions is strengthened, among other things by requiring a qualified majority at the second decision to adopt a constitutional amendment. Furthermore, the independence of the courts shall receive strengthened protection, among other things by limiting the government's possibilities to manage the courts' central administration and also the supervision of courts and judges. These are important changes in restless times.

The report has been out for a referral process, and since September, the ball has been with the Government Offices to draft a bill. I look forward to the KU receiving it, and I naturally expect that the government will prioritize this important legislative proposal. I know that the Ministry of Justice has a lot on its plate, but the government has shown evidence of a rapid pace in certain matters. I therefore assume that the work to present proposals for a strengthened protection of democracy will receive all the resources needed.

I assume, of course, that the professional civil servants working on producing this specific bill receive as much salary for their efforts as colleagues working on bills initiated by the current government parties. Regardless of what the wage policy looks like, there must be sufficient resources within the Government Offices to deliver on this point. As several have pointed out here, the Government Offices' budget has grown in recent years and stands for 2024 at just over 9.4 billion kronor, that is, 1 billion more than two years ago.

Madam Speaker! Since the majority in the Riksdag has adopted a budget with a different orientation than what we from Centerpartiet have proposed, we abstain from taking a position regarding how the appropriations shall be distributed within expenditure area 1. We do, however, submit a special statement regarding our policy in the area.

Regarding this expenditure area, we in the Center Party, as several have pointed out, have a large consensus with the government on most expenditure items. But on one point, we differ significantly, and that concerns the expenditure item already mentioned by a colleague in the Committee on the Constitution, namely the one where the Government Offices have received a significantly larger budget since this government took office. We do not consider this reasonable in a situation where the government has simultaneously imposed savings requirements on several agencies. In that case, it is actually offensive to simultaneously allow the Government Offices to expand, and therefore the Center Party wants to reduce the appropriation for the Government Offices by 572 million kronor for next year compared to the government's budget proposal.

Madam President! On 9 June next year, an election to the European Parliament will be held. It is an important election. We enter an election year at the same time as we have war in our vicinity. There are strong forces that want to divide and destabilize both Sweden and the EU, forces that win from a high tone in the political debate with sharpened formulations that promote confrontation instead of dialogue and consensus.

I therefore want to pay a tribute to colleagues in this committee for the fact that we actually maintain the level of debate that we do here. I listened a bit to how it went here this morning and could see that the level of confrontation was different. It is clear that it should heat up sometimes, but I still want to remind that there are strategic forces working precisely from the standpoint that the level of conflict should increase in our country. These forces do not want what is best for Sweden.

We live in a time when we cannot take democratic gains for granted. Defending Sweden in turbulent times is necessary. That involves defending our fundamental rights and our constitutional laws. That defense includes fortifying our constitutional laws and our institutions so that they can, now and in the future, guarantee democracy, the rule of law, human rights, and protection for minorities.

These are big words, words that commit, and it is up to each one of us to live up to them.

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Malin Danielsson (L)

Madam Speaker! The budget for the State Board is the subject of this debate. The budget is what lays the foundation for the administration of both the Riksdag and the Government Offices. A part of the budget sets goals for the work for national minorities, democracy policy, human rights and media policy, and the audits carried out by, among others, the Parliamentary Ombudsmen and the National Audit Office. It is simply the part of the budget that contains the decisive elements in a vital liberal democracy.

I want to mention a few parts of the budget that are extra relevant in the coming year.

Firstly, we recently passed a new, modern system for media support here in the Riksdag. It has now been approved by the EU Commission, and the government has decided on a regulation. A well-functioning media support that creates conditions for local investigative journalism and media diversity is part of building a strong democracy. Exercising one's right to vote is a democratic right and duty, and investigative journalism and local news reporting play an immensely important role for people to be able to form an opinion on societal issues.

A lack of local media scrutiny also risks leading to insufficient or entirely absent accountability, when irregularities do not come to light or decisions of interest to the residents of a municipality are not reported and scrutinized. When local newspapers are forced to close or struggle for their existence, it is extra important to have a media subsidy that focuses on local news reporting. Likewise, it is important to have a diversity of media that can highlight different perspectives. The new media subsidy is adapted to meet these needs in today's media landscape.

The second thing I want to raise, Madam President, concerns the election year 2024. Next year, it is once again time to go to the polls and cast one's vote in the election to the European Parliament. In times of war and crisis, it is more important than ever to have a united Europe that takes on the challenges we face. Europe's countries face major problems that need to be addressed: the economic situation Europe finds itself in, the climate crisis, and not least Russia's war against Ukraine.

Marit Paulsen's words "rather bureaucrats than soldiers" hold true even today. At the negotiating tables, we agree to put pressure on Russia. At the negotiating tables, we find common solutions to the climate crisis and tackle the challenges that the union faces, whether it is about quickly approving new vaccines to manage a pandemic or about jointly sending new aid packages to Ukraine. We and 350 million other Europeans have the opportunity in 2024 to go to the polls and cast our vote for the people and parties that we want to give a great influence over the future of Europe and the EU.

Madam President! The third issue I would like to raise concerns our national minorities. In two years, it will have been 250 years since the first Jew was allowed to settle in Sweden without being forced to convert. In the lead-up to the 250th anniversary of Jewish life in Sweden, Jewish congregations are advising their members not to openly show that they are Jews. Antisemitism has unfortunately flared up significantly in the wake of Hamas's horrific attack against Israel. Hate and threats have increased. This unfortunately means that the budget for security-enhancing measures for religious communities needs to be increased.

In Sweden, people should be able to feel safe regardless of background or religion. Anything else is a threat to the fundamental values that our democracy is built on. Therefore, the hatred and the threats must be taken seriously, and we must show that we who stand up against hatred and threats are a thousand times more numerous than those who hate and threaten. We must stand up against the hatred and the threats, regardless of who stands behind them and regardless of whom they are directed towards.

Our democracy does not become better than what we do collectively and together and the collective responsibility we take. Each one of us must do our part in the defense of our democracy.

Finally, Madam Speaker, I welcome the government's increased investment in memorial trips and urge approval of the committee's proposal in the report.

Normally, I am always last out in the debates, but not today. I nevertheless take the opportunity to wish the Madam Speaker, the Chancellery, and my colleagues in the committee a very Merry Christmas.

(Applause)

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Jan Riise (MP)

Madam Speaker! I would like to welcome the members of the Committee on Defence, who have come to the chamber for the next debate and thus receive a small dose of the Green Party's view on the government of the realm. I would also like to thank Member Ulrik Nilsson, who so elegantly went through the differences and similarities between our various budget options.

The Green Party's budget alternative should be seen as a coherent package where no part or parts can be broken out or treated in isolation. Our collective proposal regarding the state budget for 2024 is in our party motion on the green social construction. Then we have the proposal on appropriations within expenditure area 1, which is in a committee motion with number 2674, for those who wish to keep it in mind.

I will take up some of the points where we differ, which Ulrik Nilsson has accounted for here, not least, and perhaps also provide a bit more substance.

I also want to say that we, of course, stand behind everything that has been said regarding threats against Jewish congregations and citizens, antisemitism, and other things related to this. I am not bringing it up specifically here, but it obviously does not mean in any way that we would be against it.

Let me first say that climate change and the severe loss of biodiversity are shaking our basic conditions for security, freedom, and economic development. Sweden finds itself in a difficult position in a restless world. Russia's brutal war of aggression as well as the situation in the Middle East have cast Europe and Sweden into an uncertainty about the future that affects households, companies, and welfare. Put briefly: We are in a time with very large societal challenges.

It is a time that requires a powerful economic policy and a clear climate policy leadership. Instead of investing in tomorrow's solutions, the government retreats into the future with a policy that is short-sighted and insufficient to meet the challenges we face. We demonstrate in our budget proposal that another path is possible, a path that both secures the welfare and accelerates the green transition.

Leading the green transition and investing in the infrastructure and technology that will form the basis for Sweden's future prosperity will lead to a range of competitive advantages for Swedish employees and companies. If we do not invest, we risk not only the climate goals but also fall behind in the green industrial transition that is beginning to gain momentum in the rest of the world. For Sweden to be able to take advantage of the opportunity that the green transition offers, it must be fair and build a society that holds together - a society that is for everyone, not just a few.

Everything is connected. What I just mentioned may appear somewhat remote from expenditure area 1, but as I said, there are reasons to also devote time to issues concerning the Sami parliaments, county administrative boards, and cultural councils.

Madam Speaker! The Sámi Parliament is close to our hearts. Sámi policy is included in several expenditure areas. In addition to expenditure area 1, proposals are also found under the expenditure areas for, among others, equality, education and culture, and under the expenditure area for rural industries, countryside and food.

We have seen that the Sami Parliament, with the current workload and resource allocation, has great difficulties in fulfilling its statutory role and the mandates that rest upon the authority. It is simply not possible to meet the demands posed both by the Sami people and externally from other authorities. Among other things, we have seen that the work with the consultation procedure has taken considerably more time and resources than estimated. We therefore want to strengthen the Sami Parliament's budget by 23 million.

We also want to give Giron Sámi Teáhter a national mandate and make the initiative on the Nordic language cooperation Sámi Giellagáldu - I apologize for the pronunciation - permanent. This is of great importance for the preservation of the Sámi languages. These initiatives are in expenditure area 17, but I want to mention them.

I want to mention them above all because they are linked to measures for other national minorities: Torneviens, Swedish-Finns, Jews and Roma. From 2025 onwards, we want permanent investments in language centers and to strengthen investments in Roma inclusion. This year, we propose that the appropriation be increased by 10 million compared to the government's proposition.

Madam President! The cultural counselors at Swedish foreign missions play an important role both for diplomacy and democracy-promoting work as well as for Sweden's cultural life and its internationalization. The activities primarily aim to stimulate international cooperation and mutual exchanges between the cultural sector in Sweden and the countries where we have cultural counselors stationed. Through this, Swedish cultural life and creative industries are promoted abroad.

A primary task is to identify partners, facilitate contacts and build networks, but a dispatched cultural council shall also be a producer, initiator and driving force for cultural projects and be able to identify, seek and report financing for the operations. The cultural councils are so-called special attachés and have the Ministry for Culture as their principal.

The cultural council activities have been debated in waves, and in the current government, voices are now being raised that it costs too much. Some agreements have therefore been extended for a shorter period, which affects the long-term work with networking. Miljöpartiet believes that the activities should be protected and given long-term funding.

Madam Speaker! The County Administrative Boards are our regional beacons with a multitude of important tasks, from animal welfare and domestic violence to urban planning, coastal issues, and power plants. In my home region of Halland, the County Administrative Board has specific assignments, which surely all other County Administrative Boards also have. In Halland, this involves, among other things, a coordination of the work with offshore wind power so that all County Administrative Boards can benefit from the experiences gained in developing a uniform way to handle these applications. This and much other work means that the funding for the County Administrative Boards comes through many expenditure areas, perhaps a dozen, and there are also assignments without funding.

Miljöpartiet wants to increase the support to agriculture and the municipalities for preventive climate adaptation measures. We want to raise the level of investment support for preventive measures, such as the construction of wetlands, tile drainage, and irrigation ponds. We want to allocate 30 million within the framework of appropriation 1:12 for increased levels in the investment support and 100 million within the same appropriation for advice on climate adaptation issues. We are concerned about the cuts in the county governor's offices' work with support to the municipalities in issues regarding climate adaptation and energy transition at local, municipal, and regional levels and propose in our budget that these funds are not withdrawn from the county governor's offices.

Madam Speaker! Miljöpartiet also wants to implement several of the proposals from the committee Democracy 100 Years, including establishing a national democracy function and giving the county administrative boards a democracy-promoting mandate.

Heat and hate are a major obstacle for journalists, associations, and individual opinion leaders. They may even avoid making their voices heard due to the risk of being subjected to this. A unified strategic effort is needed here that combines a strengthened justice system and support for civil society with investments in media and information literacy, measures against disinformation, and demands on the global platform companies.

Madam Speaker! Finally, I shall say something about the media support, which we debated a short while ago. Local journalism plays an important role in ensuring access to information, news, comments, and analyses for everyone living in Sweden. It is a central part of a functioning and vibrant democracy.

We in Miljöpartiet are concerned that media diversity at the national level may lose ground as smaller media companies risk facing a tough economic situation. It is therefore important to ensure good support for these. We are facing a situation where a large number of newspapers must understand, prepare for, and apply for the new media support. It will take a couple of years before this has taken effect, and we have therefore proposed that the transitional support included in the budget be reinforced with an additional 50 million kronor. This would make the transition to a new system slightly more generous and give more newspapers and other actors, who today constitute a significant part of the diversity, a better chance to adapt their operations and avoid laying off too many people or closing down.

We have no position, but I refer to our special statement.

The Board of the Realm

The deliberation was hereby concluded.

(Decisions were made under § 14.)

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