The Prime Minister's Question Time

Lena Hallengren (S)

Mr. Speaker! Prime Minister! Half of the mandate period has now passed. Many people speak of it in slightly different ways. We in the opposition note how the government and the Sweden Democrats have driven forward a healthcare crisis. There has indeed been inflation, but during that time, the government has not provided the necessary resources.

Many have described the summer in healthcare as perhaps the worst so far. Across the country, staff were already being warned of layoffs this spring. During the first half of the year, twice as many were warned in municipalities and regions as during the entirety of 2023. Let us hope that not all these warnings result in layoffs, but despite that, it is worth reminding that operations have been canceled and that employees have not been able to take their vacation. Doctors have even warned that cuts have caused deaths.

It is a healthcare crisis that has spread across the country, regardless of the regions' efforts to try to mitigate this. For the staff, this means fewer colleagues, longer shifts, more shifts, and a tough working environment. For the patients, it means more waiting, more uncertainty, and a sense of insecurity when one does not know if the care is there when it is needed.

I would like to ask a question to the Prime Minister, after we have been able to take part of the government's statements so far regarding healthcare. If there is nothing more on that front that we are unaware of, it is a fact that the government chooses to prioritize large tax cuts for high-income earners while the healthcare system is on its knees. The supplements are significantly smaller than in previous years.

Mr. Speaker! My question to the Prime Minister is: How are large tax cuts for high-income earners justified when the healthcare system would need the resources much more?

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Statsministern Ulf Kristersson (M)

Mr. Speaker! We note that the Social Democrats can make their points. Every time the government lowers taxes for ordinary people who work, who have had ten years of real wage increases eaten up by inflation, the Social Democrats are against it. You are reliable on that point, I must say. Higher taxes are always better than lower taxes. Individuals always have too much money in their wallets. Several years of inflation during your government's time should not be compensated, not even now when we can use the strength of the Swedish public finances. One must still say that it is a clear message.

In the spring, I was probably the first in this chamber to say that we were concerned about the regions' finances due to the high inflation. As everyone knows, inflation drove up pension costs in the regions, which is not something one can completely intuitively understand. We saw this problem. The regions saw this problem. And we helped each other to bridge the difficult situation.

I said then, and I have constantly said, that our primary task in economic policy is to fight inflation, because as long as inflation is high, one cannot conduct proper economic policy without risking fueling the inflation. Now we have defeated inflation. It is down far below what it ever was during your period. Now it is down to manageable levels. We continue to have a recession. We use the strength of the Swedish public finances to help both the Swedish welfare and the Swedish households so that their purchasing power can be restored.

All of this you are against. It does not surprise me. You are usually against what we do. But I am convinced that what the state does together with the regions will ensure that we manage this difficult transition.

The regions are now having a better time meeting. It looks better this year, but there are still many problems left to solve.

(Applause)

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Lena Hallengren (S)

Mr. Speaker! I note that even the Prime Minister knows his talking points: Lower taxes are always the answer to most social problems, whether large or small.

If I remember correctly, the Prime Minister admitted last spring that there was more or less a crisis in healthcare, something that has been pointed out by both the opposition and healthcare staff for a couple of years. Even though inflation is lower today, it does not mean that the purchasing power for municipalities and regions has been restored.

The fact is that when the government now cuts the sector grants to healthcare by 7 billion, it obviously has major consequences. One speaks of an investment of 2 billion when one de facto cuts by 7 billion compared to the current year. How are we to get better care, Ulf Kristersson, with 7 billion less? I do not believe that any region appreciates that type of budget investment.

(Applause)

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Statsministern Ulf Kristersson (M)

Mr. Speaker! It is simply a matter of reading it out loud. We are adding an additional 3 billion kronor from the state side. That is a fact. That is how it is. To this is added the not entirely insignificant matter that the regions' finances are primarily the responsibility of the regions. We in the state do our part. In the same way that the municipalities are responsible for their finances, the regions are responsible for their finances. But we think it is also a national responsibility to help out.

But let us not forget inflation, for that is what has been the thief. You do not want to talk about inflation. You do not see the strong connection that inflation eats up real wage increases. Those who live on benefits are compensated with increased benefits. Wage earners are not compensated. Now we are lowering the tax for wage earners so that they get back some of the purchasing power they lost during the period of high inflation.

(Applause)

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Jimmie Åkesson (SD)

Mr. Speaker! Prime Minister! The migration issue was an important issue in the election, not least for those who chose to vote for our common government alternative. Now, four parties have jointly promised a paradigm shift regarding migration policy, and it is now also happening gradually through the reforms that are underway and being rolled out. The course is being redirected in a more reasonable direction.

This is naturally very good, I think and the Sweden Democrats think. But many voters also think, with some right, that it happens a bit too little and that it goes too slowly. One example of that, which I often hear when I talk to voters, is that a very large number of Swedish citizens are still being distributed. Last year, the Swedish Migration Agency granted around 67,000 citizenships to foreigners in Sweden. The main countries of origin were Syria, Eritrea, Afghanistan and Somalia, and we know that at a group level it is people from there who belong to those who perhaps have the hardest time integrating in Sweden.

They are now citizens in our country without requirements for language skills or self-sufficiency, this despite the fact that there is very clear political support, not least here in the Riksdag, to tighten the requirements for being granted citizenship here in Sweden.

My question, Mr. Speaker, to the Prime Minister is how he views this. Is the government prepared to take any measures to slow the whole thing down until new, stricter rules are in place?

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Statsministern Ulf Kristersson (M)

Mr. Speaker! We begin with the formal. We have poor rules for citizenship today. More and more people are beginning to agree on this. Citizenship cannot be distributed in the somewhat easy-going way we have done in Sweden for a long time. Other countries have much better rules. I think it is obvious that one should be able to speak the language that applies in Sweden, that one should be able to support oneself and that one should live honestly. We have had a number of absurd examples where one could become a citizen automatically at a certain age without any screening having taken place at all. That all of this should be changed, we are in complete agreement on.

As I said in the government statement the day before yesterday, we are now moving towards completely different legislation for citizenship in Sweden. That is good. I believe that the alarm that currently exists regarding those issues will subside once that law is passed, because then it will be obvious to have high requirements and expectations for the person who becomes a citizen. That is one thing.

The second thing I want to say is that we have the laws we have until we change them. So that is in a rule of law state like Sweden. That is, we now have legislation that we agree is not good enough. Therefore, it is urgent to change the law. But laws must be treated in the right way.

It does not mean that we cannot do things. I want to point out specifically a few things.

We have an increased security situation in Sweden and several other parts of Europe. We know historically that people have wanted to acquire Swedish citizenship in order to subsequently not be subject to, for example, deportation. This means serious problems. There are people in Sweden today who should not be here at all.

What we have done now is to task the Swedish Migration Agency with investigating how to tighten controls during the time we still have the old legislation in place, so that people who should not become citizens even under today's legislation do not find loopholes to get through. They are looking into that matter right now. They are to report in just two weeks, on September 30. Then we may perhaps get a number of new tools to be used to reduce the risk of abuse of today's legislation.

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Jimmie Åkesson (SD)

Mr. Speaker! I thank the Prime Minister for the answer. I know that we agree on the problem picture. It is also important that we do what we can to live up to the popular will that we have to abide by.

Another thing in this area that has worried some people in recent days, which I have noticed in voter contacts, is the fact that we have now replaced the responsible minister - the former Minister for Migration has become the Minister for Foreign Affairs. There is a fear among some that this could lead to the pace of reform slowing down. Can the Prime Minister assure us that this will not be the case, and that these are issues that continue to be important and are prioritized by the government and in the government's work?

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Statsministern Ulf Kristersson (M)

Mr. Speaker! I can say unequivocally and with one hundred percent certainty that there is no risk whatsoever that any pace will be slowed. I am fortunate to have such good cabinet members that when I sought a new Minister for Foreign Affairs, I took one of the best we have, namely the then Minister for Migration. As the new Minister for Migration, we received a person who has achieved good results in other areas. Furthermore, all the plans we have are fixed, and a large part of the staff is the same. Without in any way underestimating the importance of the cabinet itself, I can say that everything we are working on continues at an unchanged pace. We will rather do more than less – time is running out, and there is danger in delay. Nothing will change on this point.

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Ida Gabrielsson (V)

Mr. Speaker! Is Sweden's Prime Minister actually a wizard? One might think so when reading the government's memorandum, where the government proposes a 75 percent financing of its promised nuclear power program. This implies a tax hit or a welfare slaughter of approximately 87 billion for the citizens - or that one abandons the economic frameworks entirely. That is what all experts say, and the Fiscal Policy Council has just raised it.

I am now part of the investigation that is to establish a new goal for public savings. If one enters with over 50 percent in financing, it will, according to the assessments I am to be made aware of and according to Eurostat's guidelines, affect the public finances in the manner I have reported.

Why does the Prime Minister not clarify this for the citizens – either that the nuclear power program will cost them approximately 87 billion or that you intend to abolish the economic frameworks?

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Statsministern Ulf Kristersson (M)

Mr. Speaker! First, I must admit that I am enthusiastic and happy about the Left Party's sudden interest in public finances. It is good. It has not always sounded that way.

Now we have appointed an inquiry to look at what a risk-sharing model should look like when Sweden is to undertake a new nuclear power program. Last time, it was a whole state activity to do this, in the same way that it was a state-led activity to expand hydropower. No serious country abdicates from the collective energy policy, in any case not with good results. Sweden cannot do that either.

For 44 years, everything that could be done has been done to combat nuclear power in Sweden. Now we are turning things around. Now we want to encourage nuclear power in Sweden.

This is a public investigation that is being referred for consultation. It is a seriously conducted investigation that is judged by qualified people to be perhaps the best thing that has happened to provide the starting signal for new Swedish nuclear power. That is where we stand right now. We in the government will get back to you when we have made a decision.

(Applause)

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Ida Gabrielsson (V)

Mr. Speaker! There is obviously a dog buried here. "Simsalabim" might work in fairy tales, but not if one is to govern Sweden.

Yesterday, the Prime Minister said that almost everyone looking at this investigation is positive. I understand that the nuclear power industry and perhaps Ebba Busch are positive. But the Fiscal Policy Council and the economic experts are saying something else. Why has the Prime Minister not ensured that the investigation already clarifies that the financing model affects public finances, while we are working to reach an agreement on a new goal for public savings?

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Statsministern Ulf Kristersson (M)

Mr. Speaker! I must be a bit formal in these matters. This is an investigation that has carried out work at the government's request. The investigation is being referred for consultation – we are taking in proposals for additions, comments on deficiencies, and praise. That is how one always handles investigations. After that, the government will take a position.

That a risk-sharing is needed if we are to start a new nuclear power program, after the enormous political risks that not least Ida Gabrielsson's party has been involved in creating for 45 years, is obvious. Now we will address that question, so that we get new nuclear power in Sweden.

(Applause)

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Muharrem Demirok (C)

Mr. Speaker! I would like to speak about an issue that politics has forgotten for far too long, or perhaps rather hidden away, namely Sweden's unjust grading system.

When the Prime Minister and I individually opened our final grades, perhaps we had a little less lump in our stomachs than today's students experience. True - a failing grade could even in our time make certain educations difficult to get into, but there was still a possibility to come back. There is probably one or another in here who had a 1 or an IG in the final grade but despite that could continue in upper secondary school and thus get the chance that we today deny a fifth of Sweden's students every year.

Over the last ten years, 160,000 students have been excluded from attending upper secondary school because they did not pass the harsh passing grade. I think we should take in that figure for a moment. 160,000 children have been funneled into unemployment or exclusion instead of being given a real chance. The fact is that Sweden is the country in the EU that fails the most students every year. We fail ten times more than Denmark and Finland, even though we have comparable results in Pisa. The reason is the grading system. It is about children and young people who are condemned as less knowledgeable or incompetent simply because the school assesses students based on theoretical knowledge and not practical talent.

I am personally ready to take a first step and review the hard passing requirement regarding admission to vocational programs in upper secondary school, that is, the requirement that exists today that one must be passed in a certain number of subjects in order to be able to apply to upper secondary school at all. The Prime Minister is more than welcome to give me, all of Sweden's young people and their parents, a clear answer to the question that many of them are asking themselves today: When will this be corrected, one of the Swedish school system's biggest mistakes?

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Statsministern Ulf Kristersson (M)

Mr. Speaker! It is an interesting question. I think I spontaneously agree with half of the problem description. We have a grading system that is perceived by far too many as having unclear, difficult-to-understand criteria. Sometimes I think we parents find it even more difficult to understand than the youth we have in school do.

There we undoubtedly have a problem. It is one of the many problems in our school system that we are now going to rectify. We cannot have a grading system that is not perceived as transparent and predictable. That is one thing. The Ministry of Education is working hard on that, as you surely know.

The second question, I am not at all as sure about. That we have very many today who cannot read and write properly and that we have very many who finish ninth grade with incomplete grades, and incomplete knowledge, and not just grades, is not primarily the fault of the grading system. Do not brush that question aside.

We have a huge number of young people who cannot speak Swedish properly. No grading system in the world can fix that. There, the knowledge must increase, however we may measure it. Do not neglect these issues.

We have a gigantic problem with very many children who cannot speak Swedish properly and do not learn Swedish at home. Due to a lack of Swedish, they also do not learn other subjects in school. It is a really big problem that is much larger than the grading system itself. Furthermore, it does not get better with a grading system that has unclear, imprecise expectations of what one is supposed to learn.

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Muharrem Demirok (C)

Mr. Speaker! I intend to quote the Minister for Education Lotta Edholm. She has expressed it like this: We have grading criteria and curricula that are far too complex with too little focus on facts and too much on analysis and discussion.

The result we see from the grading system is that a fifth of each year group graduates with incomplete grades. I share the view that one must be able to read and absorb facts. But our children today do not manage what children in Denmark or Finland do, that is, to have the opportunity to proceed to upper secondary school, despite equivalent PISA results.

There is more behind this than just ensuring that children progress in theoretical knowledge. Children must be given a chance to move forward based on their own circumstances, and not be pushed into the same mold as everyone else. Centerpartiet does not want to remove the grade F. But we want to give all children the opportunity for their own life journey and their future.

When will the government settle the matter of today's grading system and ensure that every child in the country gets the chance to make their own life journey?

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Statsministern Ulf Kristersson (M)

Mr. Speaker! I thought the quote from Lotta Edholm was strikingly similar to what I myself said. We have, by definition, the same standpoint, she and I in the same government. That is exactly how it is. I completely share that description. Therefore, the question is important.

But do not gloss over the knowledge gaps. That so many young people today leave primary school without the knowledge required to pass high school, without the knowledge required to be approved, without even being able to read and calculate properly, is a gigantic problem that is much, much larger than the grading system itself.

Do not gloss over the fundamental question revolving around the fact that young people are not learning things in school, that there is sloppiness in school, that it is rowdy in school and that there are cultural problems in many schools. That is where the school system's truly difficult problems lie. There is too little focus on knowledge and too much focus on other things.

(Applause)

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Annika Hirvonen (MP)

Mr. Speaker! In Sweden, more children are now being evicted than in a very long time. In one year, the number of children evicted from their homes has increased by 13 percent. It is hundreds of children who lose not only their housing but their security and the place to do their homework, and who are forced to change schools and quit their football team.

The other day, the government's response arrived. The government and SD are now scaling back in order to then completely remove the supplement to the housing allowance. At first, one could almost mistake the government's news for an initiative that provides more money to those who need it to cover the rent. But it is, in fact, a cut and a hard blow against many families with children who live on the economic edge. These are families whose rents will not go down with the interest rates and where every hundred kronor counts and can be decisive for managing basic things like food, rent, or the children's activities.

What is the Prime Minister's answer to the hundreds of children who have lost their homes and their security, been forced to change schools and quit their football teams, and are now instead being moved around in temporary accommodations?

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Statsministern Ulf Kristersson (M)

Mr. Speaker! I know that the vast majority of municipalities work very hard to avoid, at almost any cost, children in families being evicted from their homes. They do very much to avoid it. I do not believe that one can find a single municipality that takes this lightly.

The contribution mentioned here was a continuation of a temporary contribution that existed during the period with very high inflation. It was never intended to be a permanent contribution. It will be phased out for natural reasons in the same way that other temporary contributions are phased out.

In the long run, naturally, rents must be paid. In the long run, one must work preventatively. One works with debt restructuring and helping people to move. In the long run, the solution cannot be that unpaid rents lead to people still staying in their homes. If one has said that, one must at the same time do everything possible so that, in the very long run, especially families with children can be shielded from such an event.

I understand that it is a complex problem. It is a municipal matter. I do not believe that any municipality takes this lightly. In the long run, the economy must naturally function, including rent payments, and in the long run, no one can stay in a residence if the rent is not paid.

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Annika Hirvonen (MP)

Mr. Speaker! Over 100,000 families with children are estimated to be able to participate in the supplementary grant today. It is 100,000 families that the government is now playing a high-stakes game with. Their rents will not go down. When inflation falls, rents do not fall, but they remain. It is just that they do not continue to increase. This increase in the housing allowance would need to remain.

If one wants to protect families with children from being evicted, the housing allowance is the best solution. Thanks to the housing allowance, working parents, and low-income single mothers who struggle every day so that their children can have a secure upbringing, can continue to afford not only the rent but also football practice.

(Applause)

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Statsministern Ulf Kristersson (M)

Mr. Speaker! I completely share that view, but we have completely different views on how best to do this. During extremely high inflation, we introduced temporary subsidies to compensate households that were particularly hard hit. We could not compensate everyone, because then we would have fueled the inflation fire. Now we are turning things around. Now inflation is down and is not rising further. Instead, we are lowering the tax for hard-working people, who will have more money left in their pockets and have greater freedom of movement in their own economy.

I know that we often land on different conclusions. You want higher taxes and higher benefits. I generally want lower benefits and lower taxes and give people the chance to pay for themselves and decide for themselves. There we have different ideological viewpoints. But it is different ways to help families who find themselves in a rather tough economic situation.

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Edward Riedl (M)

Mr. Speaker and Prime Minister! In Dagens Nyheter today, we could read about Kombilotteriet and how elderly and even demented people are being tricked into buying lottery subscriptions. The article also states how young and very remorseful people who have participated in this, with great regret, describe how they have carried out the sales from a call center down in Spain.

The report describes how an elderly woman with dementia from Lidingö was called by Kombispel. She purchases a subscription. A relative gets in touch and tries to cancel the purchase, and once that is done, Kombispel sells a lottery ticket to the woman.

This is an activity that in many ways is unscrupulous, but it is not organized crime that stands behind it. It is the Social Democrats who own and earn many millions on the activity.

The Social Democrats have established a system of calling and deceiving elderly people. What does the Prime Minister think about that?

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Statsministern Ulf Kristersson (M)

Mr. Speaker! These are such incredibly serious allegations that I want to be careful with my words. If what is revealed in Dagens Nyheter is correct, this is a culture of fraud, which we otherwise mostly associate with organized crime that sits on the Solkusten and scams Swedish pensioners.

It is absolutely outrageous if this is true. When all of Sweden mobilizes to stop that kind of crime against the elderly, the Social Democrats become part of the problem itself - if this is true.

I think the first thing that must happen now is that the cards are laid on the table. What do the Social Democrats know? What have they done about this? It is not the first time irregularities have been revealed, but I believe it is the third time I myself have read about this in the newspaper.

The government has investigated the issue. Can we allow this to continue here? Now there is a completed investigation with two different alternatives: strict regulation or a total ban. We will consider both alternatives in the government.

(Applause)

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Camilla Brodin (KD)

Mr. Speaker! Sweden has previously undergone major construction periods, and now it is time to take Sweden into a new one. To manage this, politics must lead the way and strengthen Sweden with the right competencies and heavy investments for both infrastructure, water and waste issues, and energy supply.

The government has already presented the major investments; those are the ones that will appear in next week's budget release. But to arm Sweden strongly, political decisiveness is also required. For my party, Kristdemokraterna, it has been a starting point in the budget negotiations to ease the financial brake in order to be able to begin the work of paying off the maintenance debt that exists. That is how we shall build Sweden strong again.

My question to the Prime Minister is: Could the government in the future land on a long-term financing model to be able to pay off the enormous maintenance debt that exists in, among other things, infrastructure, housing, and the electricity grid?

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Statsministern Ulf Kristersson (M)

Mr. Speaker! I think that is roughly what we are doing now. We can step back a bit and go back historically. One must be careful here, because nothing is easier in politics than to say that one is going to make large investments and then include everything in the investments. There is no cost that is not suddenly described as an investment. But then one is careless. There are those who are, but that obviously does not apply to the questioner.

With this said: There are genuine investments, and we have managed to make such investments before. Just think of the expansion of the railway network in Sweden! When it comes to Stockholm, we have the subway network, which is a magnificent investment. The nuclear power program in the 60s and 70s is also a magnificent investment.

When it comes to genuine investments that provide long-term returns, one should not be afraid. Therefore, we are now taking large steps in infrastructure and with research investments to begin equipping Sweden strongly. We can do this because we have won over inflation. We can use the strength of the Swedish public finances without fueling the inflation fire.

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Louise Eklund (L)

Mr. Speaker! During the government statement at the opening of the parliamentary session, the Prime Minister highlighted the measures the government now intends to take to improve the marine environment in the Baltic Sea. This involves, for example, moving the trawling limit and banning bottom trawling in protected marine areas.

These are very welcome proposals. In my home region of Skåne, the Baltic Sea and the recreation, but also the industry that the coastal location entails, are of great importance. When the marine environment deteriorates or when autumn storms blow away large parts of the coast, it has serious consequences. Municipalities such as Ystad, Vellinge and Trelleborg are some of those that have experienced this recently.

Sweden is not alone in having a coast on the Baltic Sea. It is a privilege we share with other countries. If we are to succeed, cooperation is required.

Mr. Speaker! My question to the Prime Minister is therefore what opportunities for cooperation regarding environmental and fishing issues in the Baltic Sea the government sees ahead.

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Statsministern Ulf Kristersson (M)

Mr. Speaker! I completely share the view on the problem statement in the question. I think it is incredibly important, because I think this has been mismanaged in Sweden for quite a long time. The question resembles the forest issue in that way. These are issues that are complex and that require cooperation with other countries, but where we in Sweden must make our voices heard if anyone is to care about the Swedish interests.

I think the description is correct. Move the trawling limit out significantly, ban bottom trawling in sensitive areas and protect the coastal fishing! This should be something all of Sweden can agree on. If we are to achieve full success, we must also create alliances in the EU cooperation, just as in the forest issue. We are doing that intensively right now, but it must begin with us doing our own homework here in Sweden. Otherwise, we are no example for others.

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Mathias Tegnér (S)

Mr. Speaker and Prime Minister! I have noted that the government appointed an inquiry this summer. It was an inquiry that was presented without a press release and was appointed in all silence. The inquiry aims to lower the tax for a number of the private equity firms' executives after a review from Skatteverket.

Mats Tjernberg, who is a professor of tax law, called the investigation "an order from the venture capital industry." Now it has also been shown, Mr. Speaker, that one of the executives who benefits from the investigation is the Moderates' largest private donor.

I therefore wonder if the Prime Minister sees any problem in this. Does the Prime Minister see a mess? Does the Prime Minister see a conflict of interest in that one of the largest private donors to Moderata samlingspartiet is also so clearly benefited by the investigation that has now been commissioned?

(Applause)

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Statsministern Ulf Kristersson (M)

Mr. Speaker! No, not in the slightest. Everything is happening completely transparently. This is almost a technical investigation, which is based on the fact that there have been court cases that can probably be described as very difficult to assess for an entire industry in Sweden.

It is easy to generally blame the venture capital industry as if it were something harmful. But fundamentally, a functioning financial market in Sweden is of vital interest for the tech industry and for small companies that need fast investors in order to be able to grow. All of this is truly important. Then we need a predictability in the Swedish tax legislation that makes it known what the consequences of different investments will be.

I view this more as a technical investigation. We cannot have uncertainty that causes financial companies to choose to move from Sweden because the legislation is perceived as unpredictable. This does not say what will happen with the legislation; it only says that we have noted a problem and that legislation may be required to avoid having this uncertainty in the future. Therefore, we commissioned the investigation ourselves.

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Bo Broman (SD)

Mr. Speaker! High inflation and a tough economic situation for both the elderly, families with children, and young people have burdened the everyday lives of Swedish households. Now we finally see light at the end of the tunnel, and as inflation eases, opportunities are being created for people to prioritize differently.

ISK savings is a good form of savings that helps people set aside funds. It is almost 4 million inhabitants who use ISK savings today. Thriftiness and economic security are important. People must be given good opportunities to save wisely and to manage their own finances. Young people's opportunities to move out of home and the opportunity for people to save for a house, family, and pension in a secure and economically smart way is crucial.

The Tidö parties are now lowering the tax on ISK savings as a measure to encourage and promote financial savings.

My question is: Does the Prime Minister see more tax changes ahead that could result in the wage earner getting even more money in their pocket?

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Statsministern Ulf Kristersson (M)

Mr. Speaker! To begin with the ISK issue itself, I think it is an interesting symbol for something larger – it is big as it is, but something even larger. It is a symbol for the will to save, for diligence, for long-term thinking, and for investing in something that can become better later. It can be investing in Swedish entrepreneurship. It can also be investing in a new home in ten years or saving to have a better old age. All of this, I think, is a kind of diligent behavior that we should encourage, in contrast to "hand-to-mouth" or spending everything here and now and hoping for the best. I think it is a good behavior.

Furthermore, ISK savings have the side effect of contributing to a well-functioning Swedish capital market, something for which Sweden is praised. It is easier with capital supply in Sweden than in many other countries, and we must guard against that.

The Social Democrats always tried to hunt down this form of savings. They raised taxes on it and cast suspicion on it. We want to protect it.

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Hanna Gunnarsson (V)

Mr. Speaker! Today, the government presented a major economic investment in civil defense. It is very good and important. We agree on these investments in the Defence Preparation Board and look forward very much to the government's total defense bill.

But for civil defense to be able to be activated in times of war or threat of war, and for resources to be able to be used in major crises, a very good foundation is needed. We need a functioning healthcare system. We need a transport sector and an infrastructure that works. We need an energy supply that works and a rescue service that can do its job, even in normal mode and in peacetime.

We do not see that today. We have a healthcare system that is affected by cuts. We have trains that derail. We have wind power expansion that is being stopped.

I want to ask the Prime Minister how he views the basis for us to be able to have a civil defense that works.

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Statsministern Ulf Kristersson (M)

Mr. Speaker! Quite a few raised their eyebrows when, two years ago, I appointed the first Minister for Civil Defence in many decades. Last time we had one, I believe the task was shared with many other tasks. It was not everyone who fully realized the extent of the importance I attached to this.

That is why I say without the slightest irony that today I perceive a broad consensus in Sweden: Civil defense is important. It is unfortunately probably one of quite many experiences we have all drawn after the terrible war against Ukraine. Military defense is necessary; civil defense is often underestimated. I am glad that we agree on this.

It naturally does not mean that one can do everything at once or that everything suddenly is civil defense. We are now making a radical upgrade of our ambitions. We are making a radical resource reinforcement and investing in what we consider to be most important first of all. But I am the first to say that we have downgraded civil defense for decades. Now we begin a long journey in the upgrading.

(Applause)

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Rebecka Le Moine (MP)

Mr. Speaker! Half of the parliamentary term has passed, and it is clear that the government's environmental policy aims to accelerate the species and climate crisis. The fossil is subsidized, the wolf is to be shot, the forest is to be cleared, the cows are to be penned up and the shore protection is to be liberalized, that is to say, the right of public access is to be sold to the highest bidder. It is clear that this government has changed the principle that the polluter shall pay to that the polluter shall be paid.

Fortunately, however, Sweden is still part of the EU, and in the EU, the restoration law now applies in all countries. The law aims to reverse the trend for nature. All EU countries shall restore at least 30 percent of damaged nature by 2030 at the latest. How does the Prime Minister ensure that we reach this goal and follow the law?

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Statsministern Ulf Kristersson (M)

Mr. Speaker! Let us first simply respectfully acknowledge the obvious: We think completely differently. We think completely differently about how we best safeguard Swedish environmental and climate interests in the European context. That is the case.

We think the European framework is very good. We achieve the most climate benefit together with others. When 450 million Europeans transition, that is for real.

When we wholeheartedly support that climate policy, we must simultaneously safeguard what is uniquely Swedish in the overall environmental and climate policy. The forest is admittedly a carbon sink but can also replace fossil products and is furthermore a gigantic export revenue for Sweden. We know how to manage forests. Do not let others decide over the Swedish forest! If the wolf causes problems in Sweden that it does not in all other countries, let us then have jurisdiction over that issue ourselves!

I think it is obvious that we must guard Swedish interests while simultaneously cooperating with other countries.

(Applause)

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Adam Reuterskiöld (M)

Mr. Speaker! I would like to ask a question regarding security and safety in our country.

Insecurity and deficiencies in security have become an ever-increasing part of our society and fundamentally constitute a threat to democracy. Shootings and explosions occur almost daily. Also, terrorism and violent extremism together with hostile states' actions against Sweden have become a major problem. Also, violence against women and honor-related violence are problems that we must address.

The government has already, from the beginning of the mandate period, implemented a number of different measures. Yesterday, new initiatives were also presented to address the insecurity in Sweden. What effects do the Prime Minister and the government believe can be expected from these measures?

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Statsministern Ulf Kristersson (M)

Mr. Speaker! There were some who were a bit mocking when, before the 2022 election, I said that I believed it would take the entire 20s to turn the ship that we see in the form of serious organized crime and major integration problems. Had this been easy, someone would have solved the problem a long time ago. These are difficult things. Let us be honest about this. It requires perseverance. It requires that one does not give up despite setbacks that will occur.

I do, however, think that we have increased the speed. The police solve more crimes today. The police prevent more crimes today. All of this is good, but much remains.

What perhaps worries me the most right now, if I have to prioritize, is the interface between terrorism and gross violence, that is to say foreign forces with very dangerous intentions who utilize the violence capital and risk-readiness of gang criminals in Sweden by letting these individuals run their errands. It is a dangerous cocktail.

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Hans Eklind (KD)

Mr. Speaker! Our Minister for Health Acko Ankarberg Johansson presented last year the directives for the committee that is to investigate full or partial state ownership of health and medical care. It is a first step, and in the Tidö Agreement, this is one of the most extensive points. The Prime Minister himself mentioned in his government statement that the state's responsibility must increase, and that is something we Christian Democrats have pushed for a long time.

We took over a healthcare system that is unequal and that still struggles with too long care queues, a poor working environment, and an insufficient number of patient beds. Norway and Denmark have gone before us and introduced a more centralized healthcare system. In less than a year, the committee will report on its assignment, and then that investigation must not become a shelf-warmer. The state's responsibility must increase.

My question to the Prime Minister is: How is the government preparing for this to be able to take place during the current mandate period?

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Statsministern Ulf Kristersson (M)

Mr. Speaker! Let me first say what is perhaps obvious to everyone: We are truly looking at other countries. We are looking at other countries' successes and other countries' failures, not least countries that are quite close to us both physically and geographically as well as culturally and economically. There are important experiences there.

Then there is sometimes a slight misunderstanding about investigations. There is a misconception, which perhaps once had its reasons, that one "buries" things in investigations. This government does not bury things in investigations. This government appoints investigations to obtain a basis for decisions for sharp reforms.

It can sometimes be a bit time-consuming. It can sometimes be a bit frustrating that one has to wait for thorough investigations when one wants to get down to business. An investigation does not do the job, but without an investigation, there is no job to do.

We take this very seriously. This is a very important investigation, and it will form the basis for greater state accountability and greater equality regarding Swedish healthcare.

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Arber Gashi (S)

Mr. Speaker! I am in my first week as a member of Parliament. Until this summer, I had the fantastic but tough assignment of being the politician with ultimate responsibility for preschool and school in Halmstad Municipality.

Something that our municipal politicians across Sweden are grappling with is the great market failure in Swedish schools. Today, many schools are running at a deficit, largely because the government has prioritized various types of tax cuts over investments in schools. Even though the municipalities distribute all available funds, they often are not enough. Every extra krona that is spent is compensated for by private schools, even though they do not run at any deficit.

One of the more recent cases that has been highlighted in the media is a high school in Sundsvall where the board members of the free school rubbed their hands together and divided 14 million kronor among themselves and put them straight into their pockets. These funds were received from the municipality precisely because Sundsvall's municipal schools had run a deficit.

So it should not reasonably be in Sweden. I would therefore like to ask the Prime Minister: When can the municipalities expect you to do something about the unreasonable fact that profit-driven schools are pushing out investments in schools?

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Statsministern Ulf Kristersson (M)

Mr. Speaker! I would first like to welcome the member to the Riksdag. I hope that you will enjoy it here.

I want to say two things. We probably think differently about some things. The government and the government cooperation stand guard over basic freedom of choice. That must be said. Those who always see problems with independent schools are, in fact, always those who have always been against freedom of choice. Therefore, I want to emphasize that we are for parents' right to choose school for their own children. For us, it is fundamental.

If one is to stand up for that right, one must simultaneously protect it from those who abuse the freedom of choice. It is equally important to say. Therefore, we are now reviewing the school system. We are reviewing the school funding norm, so that it shall become more equitable across the country. We are also reviewing who has the right to start a school in the first place and what should happen to the municipal or independent schools that do not fulfill the mission of running a school.

We do all this in order to safeguard parents' right to choose school for their children.

(Applause)

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Leonid Yurkovskiy (SD)

Mr. Speaker! Prime Minister! It is still with shock and dismay that I receive news of crime in Sweden. This is because previous governments have imported a situation that makes Sweden now a country where children are paid to murder.

But it is also with considerable relief that I receive news about the government's work in this area. This applies in particular to the latest press conference on preventive work for children and young people with major investments in the municipalities, youth care, and families.

The red-green opposition often shouts about the preventive work. Here it is! It is clearer than ever, clearer than they could ever achieve. I dare go so far as to say that this is the first government cooperation that takes the issue sufficiently seriously. But the problems are also more serious than ever. And unfortunately, it can get worse before it gets better.

My question to the Prime Minister is: How far is it seen that the current measures will suffice? And are more measures planned to strengthen integration and stop gang recruitment?

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Statsministern Ulf Kristersson (M)

Mr. Speaker! When I worked with social policy in the city hall here in Stockholm quite a few years ago, it was a bit astonishing to me that those who spoke the most about prevention wanted to do the least prevention. It was a somewhat unexpected insight for me.

Prevention was always something diffuse. We could never grasp it. It was always unclear what one was referring to. It boiled down to a bit more money in grants to some association somewhere. It could be that those funds were very much needed. But as seriously intended prevention work, it did not measure up.

Now we are doing a number of really large preventive measures. One such thing concerns confidentiality. For a couple of decades, I have met social secretaries who have said that the confidentiality legislation stands in the way when one is trying to save children and young people who are heading towards crime.

Another matter concerns parental responsibility. In Sweden, we trust parents. But that does not give parents the right to raise their children directly into criminality. In that case, society must intervene and take care of the children.

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Oliver Rosengren (M)

Mr. Speaker! When the Prime Minister received the voters' confidence to lead Sweden, inflation was at 10 percent. This means a pressured purchasing power for households, falling real wages and a very tough situation not only for households but also for welfare and for the companies.

One of the tasks for the Prime Minister's government was to get inflation under control. This task has, like other tasks for the government, been taken seriously and addressed with the help of clear measures. Today came the news that inflation has come down to 1.2 percent. The fight against inflation has been successful.

My question to the Prime Minister is: What new opportunities for economic policy does the Prime Minister and the government see given this new economic environment where inflation has actually been fought?

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Statsministern Ulf Kristersson (M)

Mr. Speaker! I first want to agree with what was not said exactly but the underlying meaning that I perceived. Fighting inflation is boring but necessary. One almost has to say that. High inflation places so many restrictions on things that one would actually like to do, because everything risks being just eaten up by further inflation.

This is what we could do in Sweden in the 90s. Then we got used to double-digit inflation and double-digit interest rates for far too long. For a while, it was even worse than that. Then a generation was impregnated. Then it fell into oblivion a bit. And then we got the high inflation back again.

Only the insight that high inflation is the workers' worst enemy was important. That is why we said no to those who wanted to fuel the fire and increase spending. Now the task is to hold steady, be cautious and not call all expenditures investments. But we must also dare to invest and use the strength of Swedish public finances to make investments in infrastructure and research - long-term investments, quite simply.

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Jamal El-Haj (-)

Mr. Speaker! Prime Minister! Many people with an ethnic background other than Swedish do not feel included in Swedish society. Many have left the country, and many are considering leaving it. This concerns, among other things, healthcare workers, bus drivers, doctors, entrepreneurs, and other pillars of society whom we risk losing.

We know that many of the acute social problems that we so often talk about here in the Riksdag are linked to people's exclusion. It is not just about being human. It is also about being humane.

How will the Prime Minister act so that all people feel included, so that there is no longer a "we" and a "they" but only a "we"?

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Statsministern Ulf Kristersson (M)

Mr. Speaker! It is an important question. I believe that we all, each of us, have reason to consider whether we are doing our utmost to succeed with it.

As a society, we must decide to be a society that wants to be a "we," that is inviting and that welcomes people who do their utmost to succeed. I am speaking of a society that in every way shows that it is the tolerant society that we are always described as.

As an individual, one must also do their part to enter the tolerant society. All of us who have lived abroad know that it is not entirely simple. In no country is it easy to be a newcomer. I have tried myself. Then one must make an effort and do everything one can to become a part of the community. Learning the Swedish language is a matter of course. One also needs to enter the labor market and do what one can to show that one cares about and respects the country that one wants to make their own.

It is a difficult and complex process, which often succeeds very well. But today we see all too often that it does not succeed at all.

(Applause)

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Peter Hedberg (S)

Mr. Speaker! As a final note in today's question period, I intended to dwell on the County Administrative Board of Stockholm and more specifically its County Governor. Recently, the County Governor has been noted for questionable recruitment procedures and also for dismissals of senior officials.

The National Audit Office has announced that it will audit the governor's actions regarding both the dismissal of the then county director and the decided severance pay. But the Parliamentary Ombudsman is also currently auditing the governor.

My question to the Prime Minister is this: Given that the County Administrative Board of Stockholm has a central role in many ways and is responsible for both the exercise of public authority and important representation, does the Prime Minister have confidence in how the County Administrative Board is led? More specifically, does the Prime Minister have confidence in the County Governor?

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Statsministern Ulf Kristersson (M)

Mr. Speaker! Let me first give two formal but important answers.

The first thing is that I have confidence in all our heads of agencies unless the opposite is stated.

The second, equally obvious point is that this is a completely transparent process. A number of audits are underway. It would be completely foreign to the government to interfere in those audits. We trust our authorities. We also trust those who audit our authorities. They do so independently. I should not interfere.

The third thing I want to say is that it is my firm view that the authority Länsstyrelsen Stockholm itself functions well and fulfills its tasks in a correct manner.

The Prime Minister's question time is hereby concluded.

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