The State's Board

Michael Rubbestad (SD)

Mr. Speaker! Good morning! I still have my breath caught in my throat, because I had to run from the train, which was not exactly my best friend this morning. I will try to exhale, come back and land a little bit.

In any case, I want to begin by moving to approve the committee's proposal for a decision.

Expenditure area 1 may not be the largest area in terms of kronor, but it is undoubtedly one of the most fundamental. It contains the very framework of the Swedish system of government. It is the Riksdag, the government, the county administrative boards, the head of state, democracy policy, and our central institutions.

That part of the device doesn't work, and actually, nothing else works either. That is why it is pleasing to be able to stand here today and speak for a budget that is not only stable and anchored in a majority but also clearly prioritizes what Sweden needs in this situation: security, robustness, and order in the state's core activities.

We can begin with the head of state. The monarchy is one of Sweden's oldest institutions, and it functions as a unifying symbol in a time marked by uncertainty and global conflicts.

The King and the royal family carry out a very extensive program every year, and their work is widely appreciated throughout society. But the security situation now places higher demands even on the Court and Palace Administration. It is therefore reasonable that we now provide the conditions so that necessary security measures can be implemented and to continue managing a cultural heritage that belongs to the entire Swedish people. The budget strengthens these possibilities and does so in a responsible manner.

We also need to strengthen security here in the Swedish Riksdag. The threat landscape against the country's democratic institutions has changed dramatically. The terror threat level is raised, and we have seen incidents that previously would have been considered unthinkable.

The open parliament is a self-evident part of our democracy, but openness presupposes security. Therefore, it is right and necessary that the Riksdag Administration is now provided with the resources needed to strengthen security, IT protection, and crisis preparedness. This is nothing that is about luxury, but it is about ensuring that the people's rule can continue to function even under pressured conditions.

The fact that Sweden is now also a member of Nato implies more parliamentary processes and higher requirements for support to the same. We also encounter that in this budget.

A functioning democracy requires that the members of the Riksdag can devote themselves to their mandate, not to unnecessary administrative tasks. Therefore, it is wise that we now strengthen the support for political secretaries and party groups and continue to modernize the digital tools and systems that the members use in their work. It is an investment in the practical functioning of democracy itself.

The next election is already approaching. An election needs to be secure, robust, and trust-inspiring. In a Europe where disinformation campaigns and cyberattacks have become a reality, we can no longer take anything for granted. It is therefore crucial that the Election Authority is given the conditions to strengthen the work regarding security, resilience, and staffing. The Election Act has been tightened, and this budget ensures that these changes actually also become a reality.

A living democracy also requires commitment from the next generation. It is therefore very positive that the travel grants for schools are increased, so that more students from across the country can visit the Riksdag. They are quite modest means in this context, but they still have a great significance for the meeting between young people and democracy. I look forward to meeting the future's power holders here in the corridors.

I also want to highlight the Parliamentary Ombudsmen, JO. It is one of the institutions that ultimately guarantees legal certainty towards citizens and ensures that authorities follow laws and regulations.

JO has seen a sharp increase in caseload in recent years, not least linked to the correctional services. At the same time, requirements within the so-called Opcat activities are increasing, where more inspections are necessary. The authority is working intensively to streamline its work but is itself clear that it is not enough to meet the increase. Therefore, this budget strengthens JO's conditions, among other things by creating the possibility to employ more legal experts, department heads, and staff for the increased supervision requirements.

At first glance, it may appear that JO is making large savings later in the planning, but it is simply because its regular premises are being renovated right now, which temporarily drives up the costs. In reality, this is an activity that continues to grow in importance and where reinforcements are justified in order to safeguard the rule of law.

When we strengthen the state's institutions, it is simultaneously crucial that we do so with respect for the taxpayers. Every tax krona that is wasted is a lost opportunity when it comes to welfare, security, or defense. This applies to JO. It applies to the Riksdag Administration. It applies to the county administrative boards.

The state must grow where needs grow, but it must also become more efficient where possible. Citizens have the right to expect that authorities work smarter, more clearly, and more results-oriented. It is a line that the Sverigedemokraterna will continue to push and that the Tidö parties are now realizing together – step by step.

The County Administrative Boards are the government's extended arm and play a central role in Swedish crisis preparedness. At the same time, they have suffered from problems for a long time. These are unclear mandates, deficiencies in supervision, and sometimes serious deviations. At the same time, the demands are increasing sharply regarding civil defense, climate adaptation, housing planning, and environmental work.

This budget strengthens the county administrative boards' possibilities to fulfill their mandate. But the reinforcement is coupled with an expectation: that the authorities must function better, work more efficiently, and restore the citizens' trust.

Mr. Speaker! In its entirety, this budget strengthens the policy for free, secure, and resilient democratic processes. It is simply about safeguarding the democratic conversation against threats and hate. It is about ensuring that our elections maintain high quality and that there is great security, and it is about protecting human rights and resisting extremist attacks on the open society.

We are strengthening the Swedish Authority for Privacy Protection's work, which is absolutely necessary in a time when tech giants, advanced AI, and extensive data collection affect every individual's freedom.

This budget is not spectacular, and that is exactly the point. The state's management should not be an area for large fluctuations, experiments, or symbolic politics. It should be characterized by stability, responsibility, and long-term perspective.

The Sweden Democrats and the government parties deliver, through the Tidö cooperation, a budget that strengthens security in the Riksdag, safeguards the monarchy and cultural heritage, develops democracy, protects the rule of law, and creates robust agencies and a functioning public administration. It is quite simply a budget that stands up for Swedish democracy, not as a word but as a system and a responsibility.

I would like to once again move for approval of the committee's proposal for a decision.

In this speech, Mats Green (M) agreed.

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

Jennie Nilsson (S)

Mr. Speaker! Every budget bill and every budget motion must be seen as a whole, and the frameworks are decided in a single stroke. Therefore, we Social Democrats will not participate in the decision, but we will instead submit a separate statement on the parts concerning this expenditure area.

I will, however, begin with the overall picture. The Tidö government has now presented its fourth and final budget for this mandate period. Four times, there has been the opportunity to present an economic policy to solve challenges and strengthen Sweden for the future, and four times, it has failed.

The result after three years and three budgets with Kristersson and Åkesson is 100,000 more unemployed, families who struggle every month to make ends meet, and a growth in EU's bottom line. The gang violence continues, the explosions increase, and the crime creeps further down in age. The waiting times in healthcare are unacceptably long, and the classrooms in schools are overcrowded while tax money disappears to venture capital companies instead of going to students and patients.

The farewell budget – the fourth one – continues on the same theme. Despite being record-breaking, it contains no structural reforms to jump-start growth and reduce unemployment. It turns a blind eye to the needs in welfare and lacks sufficient measures to break the new recruitment to the criminal gangs. The result is a weakened and divided country.

We Social Democrats want something else. We want to reverse Sweden's negative development. In our budget proposal, we therefore prioritize long-term investments to strengthen ordinary people's finances, get more people into jobs, and increase growth. We are making major investments in healthcare and schools, and we meet an aging population with strengthened elderly care.

We propose powerful measures to stop the violence and break the new recruitment to the criminal gangs. We propose a fair tax cut and say no to tax bonuses for those who earn the most. We support the families and pensioners who have it the toughest. In other words, we say no to more expensive medicines, reduced housing allowance and an eroded child allowance, and we say no to a welfare system that is pushed to the breaking point.

In summary, it can be stated that politics is about prioritizing, and that the Sweden Democrats and the government have, throughout the entire mandate period, prioritized lowered taxes and giving the most to those who already have much. The Social Democrats have just as consistently prioritized people's everyday economy, jobs, growth, welfare, and security.

Mr. Speaker! Expenditure area 1 The State's Administration, which we are debating here today, is part of the whole. It is not a large part, it should be said, but it is nonetheless important. In this expenditure area, the very foundation of our democracy and our system of government is addressed.

We Social Democrats have, since our party was formed, stood up for democratic values and everyone's right to participate in democracy. The development towards more democracy both in Sweden and globally seemed for a long time to be self-evident, but in recent years we have seen how a regression has occurred around the world. More and more people live under authoritarian regimes, and the rules-based world order is threatened.

Nor even Europe, our immediate neighborhood, is spared. We see that the rule of law principle is being weakened, that critical voices are being silenced and that the independence of the media is being restricted. Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and the MAGA movement's rampage in the USA are clear and terrifying examples.

Also here in Sweden, there are worrying trends, such as a declining voter turnout and the fact that threats and hate in social media, intended to intimidate and silence opponents and the media, have become commonplace. To take some current examples, we now see an emergence of so-called activist clubs with the aim of building up violence capital. Nazis marched in Stockholm last weekend, and a new march is being planned in the Stockholm suburb of Salem this Saturday.

Overall, it is a worrying development that causes more people to choose not to participate in the public debate or engage politically. It weakens our democracy. It is therefore necessary to counter and combat this development in every relevant policy area. Violence-seeking extremism does not belong in a democracy, regardless of whether it is religious, right-wing, or left-wing.

Mr. Speaker! In our special statement, we address our proposals for appropriation changes in relation to the SD government's budget on this expenditure area. Briefly, it means that we want to increase the appropriation for general elections and democracy by 40 million, of which 30 million goes to security-enhancing measures for organizations within civil society and 10 million goes to memorial trips.

We propose that the Institute for Human Rights be allocated an additional 20 million kronor and that the appropriation for measures for national minorities – an appropriation that has long been sidelined – be increased by 41 million kronor. Of these, 31 million are allocated to maintain the operations in the language centers for minority and indigenous languages that the government has cut back on, and the remaining 10 million go to increased basic appropriations for minority policy.

We further propose that the appropriations for the media support be increased by 50 million compared to the government's proposal, as we oppose the reduction found in the Sweden Democrats' and the government's budget. In a time of disinformation and fake news, we believe that the media support is more important than ever.

In conclusion, we propose a reduction of the appropriation to the Government Offices by 600 million kronor, as the cost increase during the mandate period – 2.3 billion, which corresponds to a staggering 30 percent – has not been able to be justified in a credible manner by the government.

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

Mats Green (M)

Mr. Speaker! Today we are considering the Committee on the Constitution's report on the budget for expenditure area 1 The State's Administration. It concerns a total of 21.6 billion for the state's core activities to function.

As my colleague Michael Rubbestad noted, it may not be the most extensive budget area in terms of the volume of money, but it is undoubtedly the most fundamental budget area. It is largely about safeguarding our democracy, our long-standing, stable constitutional system, our ancient monarchy and royal family, all fundamental functions in our state apparatus and the democratic governance of Sweden.

When it comes to the financing of, among other things, the Government Offices, the Riksdag, the Swedish Parliament Administration and the National Audit Office, there is no room to sit on the fence and just watch, Mr. Speaker. Instead, it requires decisiveness, which this government has shown for three years – and hopefully can show for another four years once the voters have spoken, Mr. Speaker.

One can, of course, throw out slogans and clichés such as that one is investing in bureaucracy instead of in people. But what it is about, Mr. Speaker, is that we must scale up and sharpen ourselves in these extremely uncertain and turbulent times. This applies in particular in our part of the world, because Sweden does not lie in a safe, secure, and conflict-free corner of the world.

The Baltic Sea has for a thousand years been one of the world's most sensitive and strategic areas. When one hears the Swedish public debate, one can sometimes believe that the most sensitive areas in the world are primarily located in the Middle East, the South China Sea, and on the Korean Peninsula. Let us just remind ourselves that the Baltic Sea is also such an area and has been for a thousand years. We are therefore, unfortunately, not in the realm of a thousand-year peace.

The government leadership must, regardless of the government, be prepared to face completely different and greater challenges than at any time since the end of the Second World War for our security and our safety. This in a time when the war in Ukraine continues and the security policy situation for Sweden and our surrounding area is the most serious in generations, when cyber threats are increasing and when organized crime threatens our internal security. What does the opposition choose to focus on in this vulnerable situation? Yes, cuts to the Government Offices' ability to handle just this. It is wrong policy, Mr. Speaker. Skåne is closer to the war in Ukraine than to the own Swedish ski resorts.

When this government took power just over three years ago, the situation was serious. Gang crime had grown to a level that threatened the functionality of society, and the fatal shootings had reached alarming levels. For many years, Sweden had moved towards increased vulnerability and diminished prosperity. We simply became poorer and society more dangerous.

The government's response has been powerful. They ensure that the police receive the right resources, increase penalties, and streamline the justice system. But the fight against crime requires more than repression. We must dry up the gangs' financing and prevent the next generation from being lured into crime.

The government has allocated funds to contract for prison places abroad so that criminals are actually put behind bars and people who behave correctly can live their lives without having to encounter their perpetrators on the street. At the same time, the government is driving the transition to fossil-free energy, strengthening defense capabilities, and maintaining support for Ukraine, which is the government's most important foreign policy task.

The effect of the Moderate-led government's time in power is clear in the form of increased safety on our streets and more money left in the pockets of ordinary people. Through a policy characterized by consistency and long-term thinking, reform after reform and budget after budget, we are realizing this vision step by step.

Mr. Speaker! Under expenditure area 1, minority policy also lies. Since the attack on October 7, a minority in Sweden has been hit particularly hard. No other group has seen such an acute deterioration of their opportunities to live an open and free life in such a short time as the Jews. Racism and intolerance are, of course, reprehensible regardless of whom they are directed against, but antisemitism has a special status. No other group faces hatred and threats from so many sides simultaneously – from neo-Nazism, right-wing extremism, autonomous violence-oriented left, but also from Islamism.

The situation in Malmö is particularly serious. Jewish families are being forced to move. Synagogues require extensive security protection, and children cannot wear their David's stars openly. It is, of course, completely unacceptable, Mr. Speaker. We continue the work with the national strategy to strengthen Jewish life. Antisemitism shall have no place whatsoever and shall not be tolerated in Sweden.

The 2026 election is approaching. With it, the threat to our democratic institutions intensifies. The appropriation for general elections and democracy increases by 674 million kronor in 2026 to ensure that the elections can be conducted safely and effectively. It is a necessary reinforcement when democracy is subjected to influence campaigns and attempts to undermine our electoral system.

The Riksdag Administration must be able to fulfill its assignments, including by strengthening the security for members. It is unfortunately a necessity when threats and hate against elected officials increase even in Sweden's highest decision-making assembly.

Mr. Speaker! This budget is about ensuring that Sweden can be governed, that our democratic institutions function, and that we can meet the challenges that our time presents to us. The Moderates and our Tidö colleagues take responsibility. We present a well-balanced budget that will pass and which takes great account of the security policy situation, strengthens the institutions for a continued strong democracy, and involves an efficient use of tax funds.

Mr. Speaker! Let me conclude by stating that we Moderates stand for order and tidiness, a strong rule of law, a strong democracy and a strong constitutional monarchy.

Our monarchy is one of the world's oldest, one of the best things about Sweden and something that makes us greater in the world than we are and greater than our 10 million inhabitants would otherwise have entitled us to.

I vote in favor of the committee's proposal for a decision.

In this speech, Lars Engsund, Ulrik Nilsson and Oskar Svärd (all M) concurred.

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

Jessica Wetterling (V)

Mr. Speaker! Today we are debating expenditure area 1, which concerns the foundation of our democracy, the governance of the realm, how the media can operate freely, and the rights of minorities and indigenous peoples. These are the parts that are included in this expenditure area. But just as previous speakers, including the committee chairman, have pointed out, one must view each party's budget proposal as a whole.

The Left Party's budget proposal is very clear in its entirety that when times are tough, the government must take responsibility. In recent years, the Swedish economy has developed weakly with low growth and rising unemployment. This has resulted in a weak development, primarily for household consumption and investments in the business sector.

Sweden is one of the countries where economic inequalities have increased the most since the 1980s. The government has nevertheless chosen to lower taxes by a total of 110 billion during this mandate period, which means that the room to invest in households and welfare is constantly decreasing. Even this year, they choose to make tax cuts, now with over 50 billion. In my party's budget, there is a completely different direction where, instead of lowering taxes, we want to tax the banks' excess profits and raise capital taxes. We want to convert today's rotavdrag into a green rotavdrag to facilitate the green transition. We also strengthen welfare, with a particular focus on healthcare.

Vänsterpartiet also makes priorities. We propose, for example, reduced appropriations to the court and lower compensation for ourselves as members of parliament. Instead, we prioritize allocating funds to strengthen the Sametinget and establish a national stage for Sápmi. We also want to ensure that the strategy for Jewish life is fulfilled and strengthened in its entirety. There, I can note that Vänsterpartiet allocates more money than the government does. I think it is a bit sad that one does not fully fund the investigation that one itself champions.

Vänsterpartiet also chooses within this expenditure area to retain the special grant that the government abolished last year for the national minority Roma. If we as a country are to fulfill what we have said about achieving Roma inclusion by 2032, the government needs to allocate more money to it. That has actually been done now compared to previous years, but it is not enough, because the development unfortunately looks worse and worse.

I think the Speaker has shown in an extraordinary way how one can represent the Swedish Parliament and Sweden as a state. I therefore do not consider that the monarchy has the important role that previous speakers have touched upon.

Mr. Speaker! From the Left Party's side, we want to strongly strengthen the policy for Sweden's national minorities. The committee's chairman and vice-chairman held a very good seminar last week which highlighted that we have had a minority policy for our recognized national minorities for 25 years. The problem is only that the development is not moving forward as quickly and as much as at least we from the Left Party had wished. The National Audit Office provides reports that confirm the picture that the various minorities' representatives are shouting about. This applies particularly to the difficult situation that the languages have. We receive international criticism, and we have received it consistently for many years.

Today, the state is failing in its responsibility. The languages are acutely threatened and risk disappearing. The cultures of the minorities are being pushed back, and in many municipalities, resources are lacking so that the law can be upheld. We therefore propose significant reinforcements. In total, we are allocating approximately 300 million more than the government in investments for the national minority policy.

The Sami Parliament also falls under this expenditure area. The Sami are part of our national minorities and are also an indigenous people. The Sami Parliament has long been held back due to insufficient resources. They have just received a new government, as they needed to hold a re-election after their last election.

A small piece of evidence of how low the priority of national minorities and the indigenous Sami people are in our country is that the Sami Parliament had to fund the re-election with its own resources. The Sami Parliament's already tight budget had to cover this additional cost, which among others I and some other members of the Committee on the Constitution were responsible for because we also have a role as members of the Election Review Board. It was we who – on good grounds, I would say – proposed that a re-election should be carried out. But I had not imagined that it would be funded by the minority itself.

Mr. Speaker! The question of our minorities and the indigenous people, the Sámi, is also a matter of respect and historical redress. Sweden has long been obligated to do more.

Something else that I particularly want to highlight from the Left Party's budget proposal is the media. In a time when disinformation, fake news, and other forces try to influence the democratic conversation, we need to safeguard our free and independent media. A living democracy requires a diversity of voices, not fewer, and the last thing I particularly want to bring up is the media support. The Left Party allocates more than half a billion more than the government.

What is sad, and what we from the opposition also warned about, is that one can now see that the guidelines the government has given the Media Authority also cause the diversity among media outlets to disappear. Above all, we have a problem today where not even the money that the government allocates is distributed to independent and free media. This constitutes a problem regardless of what level one considers the media support should be at, and this is something that at least we parties in the committee should be able to agree on. I hope that the government could take that to heart. It is about that what is allocated must also go to the free media and not just go back into the Government Offices' black hole.

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

Gudrun Brunegård (KD)

Madam Speaker! When one enters as the fifth speaker in the debate, much has already been said that now risks being repeated.

The budget for the state's administration is, as said, very extensive, even if this specific expenditure area is not the largest. The debate, however, has very many different perspectives. On the 96 A4 pages plus four pages of appendix, many different parts are contained that one can dive deep into and comment on. The expenditure area includes the head of state, the Riksdag and the government, but also the Parliamentary Ombudsmen, that is JO, the National Audit Office, the national minorities, the Government Offices including the foreign representation, the County Administrative Boards, democracy policy and human rights.

The goals for some of the expenditure area's various sub-areas have a value in themselves to highlight in this debate.

The overall goal of the Sami policy is to work for a living Sami culture built on an ecologically sustainable reindeer husbandry and other Sami livelihoods.

The goals for democracy policy are a living democracy that is resilient and characterized by participation and where the opportunities for influence are equal.

The goal of the human rights policy is to ensure full respect for Sweden's international commitments on human rights.

The goal of the policy for national minorities is to provide protection for the national minorities and strengthen their opportunities for influence and support the historical minority languages so that they are kept alive.

The goal of the media area is to support freedom of expression, diversity, the independence and accessibility of mass media, and to counter harmful media influence.

Madam Speaker! It is pleasing that a clear majority, 78 percent of the population in the ages 16–85, are quite or very satisfied with how democracy functions in Sweden. There is no difference between men's and women's perceptions in this regard. Those who are least satisfied are persons with low education and those who live in larger localities and cities. There, measures naturally need to be taken.

The government has, from this year onwards, increased the appropriations for memorial trips to the sites of the Holocaust from 6 to 8 million kronor per year. Of these, 1 million is earmarked for memorial trips and educational initiatives for schools in areas with socioeconomic challenges. The genocide against the Roma during the Holocaust has also been highlighted. Efforts have also been made to counter antisemitism, antiziganism, and other forms of racism. The Swedish National Agency for Education has, together with Forum för levande historia, continued to develop the tool Demokratistegen to reach more preschools and schools.

The importance of the work against discrimination and for the strengthening of human rights is highlighted in a report on the occurrence of discrimination that we have just received from the Equality Ombudsman. In a 2022 survey, 19 percent of students within the university and college sector stated that they had at some point during their studies experienced being discriminated against. This could involve unwanted sexual attention, gender, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, or religion.

An in-depth analysis has been conducted on discrimination in schools related to religion or other belief. It shows that students with different religious affiliations are subjected to discrimination. Jewish and Muslim students are particularly vulnerable. This can involve violations that may constitute hate crimes according to the Penal Code or discrimination according to the Discrimination Act.

Schools are failing when it comes to investigating harassment and implementing measures to prevent harassment. It also occurs that schools do not take into account religiously required meal adjustments or grant leave in connection with religious holidays that fall on school days. Guardians with Arabic or Muslim-sounding names receive poorer treatment in written contacts with officials within preschool and school. Muslim girls who wear a veil are subjected to harassment, sometimes by teachers and sometimes by other students. The Swedish Crime Prevention Council describes that Muslim students are subjected to Islamophobic hate crimes in school.

Many Christian students have also experienced being offended in school. One tenth have additionally been offended by a teacher. Christian students can be questioned by both other students and teachers, and there are examples of teachers who belittle Christian students or treat them as less knowledgeable. Naturally, none of this is acceptable.

The report also highlights discrimination related to disability during recruitment and shows that persons with disabilities are being screened out. Most of the reports concern persons with neuropsychiatric disabilities, but it also concerns persons with movement, hearing, and visual impairments, diabetes, bipolar disorder, and intellectual disabilities. The reason they are screened out is judged to be largely due to the employer not being prepared to make necessary adjustments to work tasks and the work environment.

Another, brand-new report from Skolverket concerns antisemitism in schools. It underlines the importance of the initiative the government is making to strengthen the work against antisemitism and racism and to strengthen Jewish life in society.

Madam Speaker! The goal of the policy for human rights is to ensure full respect for Sweden's international commitments on human rights, something that shall permeate all policy. From part 1 of the budget bill, which we are discussing today, a number of measures emerge that the government is undertaking against discrimination and to strengthen the work with human rights. The action plan for human rights has continued, with information and competence-enhancing initiatives that have involved both business organizations, companies, the public sector, and civil society. This continues, naturally, with this budget.

The Institute for Human Rights contributes to the systematic work by monitoring, investigating, and reporting on how human rights are respected and realized.

With these comments, I, Madam Speaker, wish to move for the approval of the committee's proposal regarding expenditure area 1 The State's Administration.

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

Muharrem Demirok (C)

Madam Speaker! Liberal democracy is the foundation of our society. With it come freedoms and rights, protection for minorities, and a guarantee that the individual human being can shape their own life, protected from state arbitrariness and the power of the majority. But it also brings many other fine things, such as being able to stand here today and have a debate where we are in many ways in agreement. That is the finest thing in Sweden: a substantive debate without harsh words, but where we can highlight our different opinions.

We live in a time of seriousness, with war in our vicinity, a growing mistrust towards democratic institutions, and malicious actors who strategically work to divide us. In that situation, we must strengthen not only the military and psychological defense but also the constitutional defense, the very heart of our administration.

To safeguard all these freedoms and rights, an efficient, impartial, and robust administration is required. This administration, together with the institutions that are to ensure the rule of law and the independence of the courts, is found precisely in expenditure area 1 The State's Governance, which we are debating today.

Madam Speaker! I would like to highlight two historically important steps that are beginning to approach their conclusion, where we are starting to reach the finish line. The first was the Center Party's effort to push forward during the last parliamentary term, namely the constitutional committee. We have relatively recently taken the first of two decisions on strengthened protection for democracy and the independence of the courts. The requirement for a qualified majority for constitutional amendments builds in necessary reflection and secures the rules of the game for democracy against temporary majorities. This, friends, strengthens our resilience.

The second point concerns strengthened constitutional preparedness and is currently on our tables. We see how important it is to ensure that our decision-making rests on a secure and legal basis even in difficult peacetime crises. But our position from Centerpartiet is clear. The increased preparedness must never be achieved at the expense of democratic oversight and control. Any powers must be time-limited and subject to strict control by the Riksdag, just as in the proposal that is now before us.

Madam Speaker! A worrying development in Sweden right now is the increased vulnerability of public employees. Case officers, social workers, managers and court staff are subjected to harassment, pressure and outright hate campaigns. It affects decision-making and our democratic future.

Centerpartiet raised the issue of the growing threats, hatred, and harassment against public employees already several years ago. Now we unfortunately see that the problem not only persists, but it is growing. This is a core democratic problem, and we must take it most seriously. The legislation needs to be tightened. Employers need better tools, but also we as politicians must take our responsibility. The words we choose and how we respond to one another matters. The tone we contribute to matters.

Another very worrying development is how antisemitism is growing, not least in our schools. We saw it in the latest report from Skolverket – the situation is deeply worrying. It is about Jewish students who fall silent, students who avoid wearing their symbols, and an everyday life where hatred is normalized. This is a boundary that must never be moved. The school shall be a safe place for every child. Therefore, we must take this with the utmost seriousness, mark it clearly, and stand up for those who are targeted – every time, everywhere.

Forum för levande historia has a central role there and must receive the resources needed to continue its work, not least with memory trips for young people. In times when the Holocaust is distorted and relativized, their mission is more important than it has been in a long time.

Madam Speaker! Since the majority has adopted a budget with a different direction than the Center Party's, we refrain from taking a position on how the appropriations shall be distributed. But we do not refrain from expressing our opinion on the policy within the area. Our budget criticism is, as before, clear.

Firstly: The Government Offices' disproportionate expansion is actually offensive. In three years, the Government Offices' costs have grown by over 2 billion. At the same time, many agencies, those that are to practically implement the government's policy, have received significantly lower appropriations and even faced savings requirements. This simply does not add up. We need a strong Government Office, yes. But we also need a reasonable Government Office. Furthermore, it is wrongly prioritized in a country where regional development and service need to be strengthened.

Centerpartiet stands firm that the appropriation to the Government Offices shall be reduced by 600 million kronor next year. That money will do much greater good out in the country.

Secondly: We must solve the societal problems that affect citizens and businesses. Sweden has a train chaos – we heard it from this rostrum even earlier this morning – and roads that are deteriorating. Therefore, we propose that 50 million kronor of the appropriation be used to establish a crisis commission specifically for infrastructure. We must get a plan in place now to stop the acute deterioration.

Thirdly: In order to manage the green transition and maintain state services throughout the country, we must strengthen our regional authorities. We therefore propose further investments in our county administrative boards, not least to shorten processing times for permits. It is precisely through faster decisions on permit processes – not through increased bureaucracy in the Government Offices – that we secure the competitiveness of Swedish companies.

Madam Speaker! In conclusion: We cannot take democratic gains for granted. It is up to each one of us, especially in this chamber, to ensure that the institutions upon which our democracy rests – the courts, the administration, and our constitutional laws – are equipped to meet the future.

Defending Sweden in turbulent times is necessary. This involves defending our fundamental rights and safeguarding the non-political, legally secure, and professional civil servant who every day is democracy's ultimate guarantor.

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

Jan Riise (MP)

Madam Speaker! I shall try to get through the formal part first. The Green Party's budget proposal does not quite fit into the budget framework that the Riksdag has decided on. We therefore do not participate in this decision, but I refer, of course, to our specific statements.

It is particularly nice to talk about the governance of the realm. I will speak about approximately the same issues as in 2024, as in the year before that, and perhaps also as in 2022. They are simply issues that concern Miljöpartiet. Perhaps it also expresses a certain frustration that the same issues recur year after year.

I intended to speak a bit about democratic issues and, in connection with that, also talk about the county administrative boards, these four pillars of state presence in small and large regions, with pressing issues and mandates. I will say something about how we view media and media support and how we think about the Institute for Human Rights. But I want to start with the support for the indigenous people, the Sámi, and for our five minorities, which, in addition to the Sámi, include Jews, Roma, Swedish-speaking Finns, and the minority of Torneviens, Kvens, and Lantalaiset.

Madam Speaker! I have spent a good deal of time over the past year trying to understand how we could find better places and ways to meet – the minorities, the Sámi, and the rest of us. We need it. I was given an opportunity to visit the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and gained an insight into some of the issues that are common for indigenous peoples, wherever they are in the world.

Here at home, I have met representatives from samebys, companies, authorities and organizations and, of course, spoken with Sámi people also outside the samebys, on-site in Sápmi, in Stockholm, in Almedalen and digitally.

Miljöpartiet naturally stands for Sami rights and for a living Sami society. Since our time in the government and now as an opposition party, we have pushed for higher ambitions in politics for the Sami people, and we continue to do so.

There are two concepts that have become increasingly clear to me, the meaning of which hinders our ability to contribute to a good development. The first is "asymmetrical power distribution." Several samebys and researchers have pointed out the unreasonable demands placed on a virtually lone representative for a sameby who, in meetings, may perhaps be pitted against an international mining company that has entire departments of lawyers and contract experts. As recently as this week, I heard that Gabna sameby is prepared to terminate a cooperation with LKAB that has lasted for more than a decade. The plans for the new Per Geijer mine in Kiruna threaten to split the village in two and complicate or make it impossible for the reindeer husbandry to move in the area.

This also illustrates the second concept that I have heard many times lately: "cumulative effects." For the Sami villages, it is about one establishment of a certain kind being added to another establishment, and the combined impact becomes very large. A road, a railway, a mine, a wind power facility, or a power line might be manageable, but together it just becomes too much.

Madam Speaker! We also need long-term commitment in the investments for our minorities – Jews, Roma, Swedish-Finns, Tornevians, Kvens and Lantalaiset. For the Tornevians, there are many challenges that also apply to the Sámi. Two years ago, the report from the truth commission for this minority, called Som om vi aldrig funnits, was released with a number of proposals, most of which have not been implemented.

I know that, for example, there was a very fine collection in a church in Tornedalen relatively recently. But the risk is that the report's title As if we never existed still applies.

We mean that strong and long-term funding is required to secure the empowerment and survival of minority languages and minority cultures. We therefore want to make the funding for the national minorities permanent, corresponding to that which existed in 2022–2024. Children and young people shall have the opportunity to learn their minority language. Jews, Roma, Swedish-Finns, Tornedalians and Sámi who want to reclaim language and culture shall be able to do so. The national minorities' organizations need increased support, and the national minorities' culture and history need to be made visible to more people.

In this context, I also want to mention Sámi Giellagáldu, the center for, among other things, the standardization of the Sámi languages, which is jointly funded by the Sámi Parliaments in Sweden, Norway, and Finland.

In the budget, we have highlighted the need for additional focus and work to strengthen the conditions for the Sami Parliament. It is an important part of promoting the Sami people's self-determination and participation. There are additional commitments in the consultation order that imply an increased burden on the Sami Parliament. To strengthen its operations, we in Miljöpartiet propose that the framework grant be increased by 50 million kronor annually.

The work on a Sami parliament building needs to be accelerated. There is a strong democratic value in Sweden's second elected parliament receiving its own building. It has been discussed for more than 30 years, and we want to urge the government to task Statens fastighetsverk to continue with the preliminary study on the design. We propose that the preliminary design study can be financed within our proposed initiative.

In January 2024, the report A strong Jewish life for future generations was submitted, with a proposal for a national strategy for strengthening Jewish life in Sweden. The strategy is proposed to be implemented during the years 2025–2034, based on Sweden's international commitments for national minorities and minority languages. The investigation has identified a number of objectives for the strategy to gain traction and lead to lasting changes.

As several here before me have pointed out, the conditions have changed significantly over the last two years. We are increasingly forced to speak about security investments and a growing antisemitism that in some way overshadows everything else. That does not make the other things less important, but we must, of course, manage all parts of this.

Madam Speaker! The long-term strategy for Roma inclusion was also adopted in 2012 with the overarching goal that the Roma who turn 20 in 2032 shall have opportunities in life that are equivalent to those that a non-Roma has. Two specifically identified areas of activity are education and social care. This means that the educational gaps created by exclusion shall be eliminated and that the Roma group shall be given access to preschool and elderly care in their mother tongue.

The strategy for Roma inclusion must be given long-term and sufficient funding. The government's efforts to realize the strategy are unfortunately conspicuous by their absence. This was particularly clear in last year's budget, where the appropriations for national minorities and Roma inclusion were simply merged.

Madam Speaker! In order for the county administrative boards to contribute to increasing society's ability to meet climate change, they need to be provided with resources. Tasks where the county administrative boards, based on their mandate and their knowledge of local conditions, can contribute are the development, implementation, and updating of regional action plans for climate adaptation, as well as support when it comes to establishing a climate adaptation perspective in both regional and national work.

To secure the County Administrative Board's work in limiting society's vulnerability as a result of climate change, Miljöpartiet invests 95 million kronor under this appropriation in its budget. We invest in the County Administrative Boards' regional work with energy planning and climate transition. We reject all of the government's initiatives that are earmarked for new nuclear power, including funds for permit processes. It will therefore be a small negative item there.

The work to safeguard and strengthen our free and open society must constantly continue. We must never take our democracy for granted.

To protect our democratic foundations, we want to make it more difficult to carry out constitutional amendments. We want to protect independent media throughout the country and strengthen the independence of the courts. We want to lower the voting age from 18 to 16 in general elections as a first step on a trial basis in Swedish municipalities. We also want to implement several of the proposals suggested by the committee Democracy 100 Years, including establishing a national democracy function.

The County Administrative Boards play, as we see it, a very important role in our regions, and the state presence in the regions is highly significant. As regional contact points and interfaces to local and regional activities, the County Administrative Boards are unparalleled. Therefore, it is reasonable to give the County Administrative Boards the democracy-promoting mandate.

We say no to AI for real-time facial recognition and thus to the government's investment of 3 million in 2027 and 2028. This reduces the funds to the Swedish Authority for Privacy Protection.

A fundamental part of democracy is the protection and respect for human rights. The Institute for Human Rights is a central actor in continuing to strengthen and protect these principles. We propose that the Institute for Human Rights be allocated the funds that have been requested in recent years in the magnitude of 25 million.

Madam Speaker! Strong media support is a democratic investment. It is about providing space for diverse news reporting, small newsrooms, local media, and alternative voices that otherwise risk being pushed out by market forces. We want to further strengthen the conditions for independent and investigative journalism and strengthen areas with weak coverage. We therefore want to increase the media support by 50 million kronor.

Finally, we want to improve the coordination of media and information literacy issues between the different sectors of society. A national strategy for strengthened resilience against disinformation and propaganda should be developed so that media and information literacy can be strengthened. Such work must take place in close cooperation with the actors who are most affected. For that purpose, we propose that 10 million kronor be allocated to work at the Media Authority.

I apologize for the exceeded time, but they were important issues. I felt that I had to continue.

The deliberation was hereby concluded.

(Decisions were made under § 16.)

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