Response to interpellation 2023/24:720 on the boundaries of cooperation areas in the Tidö Agreement
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
1 M argues that the government's priorities are evident from the government declarations and budget bills 1. M emphasizes that the cooperation with SD is governed by the Tidö Agreement, where issues in the agreement are coordinated between all four parties, while other issues are coordinated between the three parties in the government 1. M asserts that they are working to safeguard artistic freedom and arm's-length distance, which includes the inquiry on film policy 1 2. M argues that citizens are more interested in substance than in forms of cooperation 3. M considers it necessary to clean up after previous governments' lack of interest in artistic freedom 2. 4 M prioritizes doing what is best for Sweden and solving societal problems that previous governments have not been able to tackle 4. M cooperates with others to gather the support needed to implement necessary and long-awaited reforms 4. M considers artistic freedom to be a cooperation issue of particular importance within the cultural policy area 4. M argues that artists and cultural creators must be free to raise new perspectives, even those that are uncomfortable for those in power 4. M sees it as their task to safeguard artistic freedom 4.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Kulturministern Parisa Liljestrand (M)
Mr. Speaker! Lars Mejern Larsson has asked the Prime Minister what other considerations, beyond the limitations and regulations of the cooperation between the government and the Sweden Democrats found in the Tidö Agreement, which form the basis for the Prime Minister's and the government's work and priorities. The work within the government is distributed such that it is I who shall answer the interpellation.
The answer to the member's question can actually be formulated very simply: The government's priorities are evident from the government statement that the Prime Minister delivers in the Riksdag at the beginning of each parliamentary session, as well as from the budget bills that the government places on the Riksdag's table. The government cooperates with Sverigedemokraterna. The cooperation is governed by the Tidö Agreement, which also describes the scope and processes of the cooperation.
The Chairman of the Committee writes in his interpellation that I have implied that the government's coalition partner Sverigedemokraterna participates in the preparation of all issues handled in the State Council Committee's political coordination. That interpretation can be said to be very free. I have, in fact, neither said nor implied that.
What is stated in the Tidö Agreement is coordinated between all four parties in the Tidö cooperation. The Sweden Democrats' coordination office participates fully in the processing and has full and equal influence in these matters in the same way as the parties in the government. What is not stated in the Tidö Agreement is coordinated between the three parties in the government.
The Tidö Agreement covers cooperation projects within six areas: health and medical care, climate and energy, crime, migration and integration, school, and growth and household economy. In the agreement, a number of issues outside these projects are also listed (page 61) that are covered by the cooperation and shall therefore be coordinated between the four cooperation parties. This includes, for example, safeguarding the independence of cultural life.
In the Tidö Agreement, there is also an agreement on budget cooperation based on the fact that the budget framework remains fixed and that the budget is decided in its entirety. The budget is negotiated between the cooperating parties in the Government Offices before the parliamentary process begins.
Even areas that the four coalition parties have agreed upon during the time since the government took office, for example infrastructure, are included in the cooperation.
The directives for the public service investigation were coordinated politically between the four coalition parties. Regarding these directives, it is worth noting that during their development, discussions were also held with the opposition parties, who were allowed to read the final directives before they were communicated.
A cooperation issue of particular importance in the field of cultural policy, and which I, as Minister for Culture, hold in particularly high regard, is that of artistic freedom. In the Tidö Agreement, it is expressed in the following way: "Cultural policy shall safeguard the independence and intrinsic value of cultural life against utilitarian purposes. The principle of arm's length distance shall be maintained." This means that proposals and decisions judged to be able to have consequences, positive or negative, for the principle of arm's length distance shall be coordinated between all four parties.
In this area, unfortunately, after previous governments' lack of interest in artistic freedom, there is much cleanup work to be done. This applies in particular to film policy, which the member also mentions in his interpellation.
The Agency for Cultural Analysis published the 2021 report *How free is art* regarding the impact of cultural policy governance on artistic freedom. In the report, a number of deficiencies and risks were identified in how cultural policy is currently designed in relation to the principle of artistic freedom and the principle of arm's length distance, including within the film sector.
For this reason, the state support and how it should be protected against political steering is one of the things that the new film inquiry, whose directives have been coordinated between the four coalition parties, shall review. It is high time that this is done, and I am sure that the member, as am I, looks forward to taking part in the inquiry's proposals in this and also other parts.
Lars Mejern Larsson (S)
Mr. Speaker! Where is the Prime Minister? That was asked by a reporter from TV4 last week in connection with the discussion about the Sweden Democrats' troll accounts. I unfortunately have to ask the same question today. I have, in fact, a very relevant question for the Prime Minister, a question that deserves a clear and honest answer.
On October 18, 2022, Sweden received a new government with Ulf Kristersson as Prime Minister. The government became possible through the Tidö Agreement, which meant that M, KD and L joined the government while SD gained influence through officials at the Government Offices. What many SD critics warned about during the election campaign became reality. SD went from being a party that no one wanted to cooperate with, due to their harsh migration policy, to gaining significant power and influence over government policy.
To appease the critics, delimitations were introduced in the Tidö Agreement. In the Tidö Agreement, it explicitly states in all sections on areas of cooperation: "The delimitation of the areas addressed in the project are the issues raised under section 3. No additional issues will be addressed in the project."
Despite the fact that the agreement states that no further issues shall be addressed, it has now been confirmed that all issues handled in the Government Offices' political coordination are treated in this way. This would mean that the Tidö Agreement's limitations on the cooperation between the government and the Sweden Democrats no longer apply.
Mr. Speaker! If the Prime Minister does not want to or feels that he cannot give a clear answer as to why the agreement is not being followed, the confidence in the government is undermined. The voters have the right to know whether that agreement and the promises given before the appointment of a new government are actually being kept. Otherwise, it can easily be perceived as empty words.
The Prime Minister's reluctance to answer my question is not only striking; it is also a matter of responsibility and leadership. It is of the utmost importance that we get clarity on why the rules and provisions of the Tidö Agreement are not being followed and what it means for the future. It is about maintaining trust in our democracy and, above all, the Prime Minister's office.
This question is not trivial. It is fundamental to ensuring that the government acts openly and transparently. The voters deserve clear and direct answers from the Prime Minister, not a delegation of uncomfortable questions.
Unfortunately, I do not seem to receive any answer from the Prime Minister, who instead has chosen to delegate the responsibility for answering my question to the Minister for Culture. That handling raises a number of follow-up questions. Why does the Prime Minister avoid answering such a central question? What does this mean for the government's transparency and accountability? Is this a sign of internal conflicts within the government? What does this say about the Prime Minister's leadership? What makes this question so sensitive that the Prime Minister cannot answer it?
Mr. Speaker! I am, however, glad that the Minister for Culture has chosen to take on my question, or possibly has been urged to take over the responsibility of accounting for it. Now it remains to be seen whether we get the answer we deserve.
Kulturministern Parisa Liljestrand (M)
Mr. Speaker! I am pleased that the member is concerned that the Tidö Agreement should be upheld according to the written word, but I do not know if I agree that it would be a democratic risk. We are, after all, in an elected parliament. The government has, in a democratic election, received a mandate to pursue its policy. I think that what the member claims goes a bit too far.
The Tidö Agreement is free and open for everyone to read, but I am, of course, also happy to tell you what is written in it. But I cannot help but note that when I am out and meeting citizens - including ahead of the upcoming EU election - most seem to be more interested in substance than in form. In short: People care less about the forms of cooperation and more about what the cooperation actually enables.
In the 2022 general election, we sought and received the citizens' mandate to solve a number of large and serious societal problems. That is where this government has its focus, and it is yielding results. In my area, we are strengthening the protection for journalists. We are also strengthening artistic freedom. We are investing in cultural heritage and in children's and young people's reading, and we are taking care of the opera house that previous governments have let fall into decay. We act based on the premise that the cultural and creative industries are a Swedish base industry, and we are strengthening the preparedness within the cultural area.
But other things are also being done. The tax on work and pensions has been lowered. The fight against inflation has been consistent and is beginning to show results. We continue to support households, welfare, and security through a tough economic period. Crime fighting has been restructured with harsher penalties, better tools for the police, and a focus on crime victims instead of the perpetrators. Migration policy has been tightened. A new Social Services Act is on the way. The school is shifting its work from screens to folders, and the independent school system is being reviewed. These are just a few examples. There are significantly more, but we know that the speaking time is limited.
I would really like to thank the members for the opportunity to speak both about the forms of the Tidö cooperation and, above all, about the pressing reforms that the cooperation enables and which this government received a mandate to implement in the 2022 election.
Lars Mejern Larsson (S)
Mr. Speaker! It may be unnecessary to argue about this, but the Minister for Culture says in her response that she has neither implied nor said that SD participates in all preparations. The written question I asked was whether SD had participated in the preparation of the investigation on film policy.
To this, the Minister for Culture responds that the directives have been prepared within the Government Offices and that political coordination has taken place in the Government Offices' Coordination Committee, where all coalition parties have had the opportunity to provide comments. I do not think it is a particularly free interpretation that all coalition parties have had the opportunity to provide comments on matters that are prepared within the political coordination.
Now, in his response to the interpellation, the Minister for Culture clarifies that matters not affected by the Tidö Agreement are prepared solely by the three parties included in the government. I thank him for that answer. But then the answer is touched upon again. As I read the Tidö Agreement, film policy is not included among the reforms listed under the section on other areas of cooperation. It includes, for example, public service, the electoral act, and the competitiveness of the highest leagues in elite sports, but not the film investigation.
The Minister for Culture then refers to the point stating that cultural policy shall safeguard culture's independence and intrinsic value against utilitarian purposes and that the principle of arm's length distance shall be protected.
Mr. Speaker! This is an extremely broad interpretation of the meaning that it should apply to the directives for an investigation into the entire film policy. With that interpretation, in principle, everything addressed within cultural policy could be included in the Tidö Agreement's areas of cooperation.
I would like to take the opportunity to say that many breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that large parts of cultural policy would be left outside the scope of the Tidö Agreement.
Let me mention one of them. After the election, the Liberals' strong man in Stockholm, Jan Jönsson, expressed himself as follows: "If one has worried that democracy will cease, that public service will be abolished or that culture will be micro-managed, one can perhaps breathe a sigh of relief, nothing such exists." Are Jönsson and the others wrong? Are all the matters being prepared at the Ministry of Culture in fact part of the Tidö Agreement's cooperation project regarding the reform to safeguard the independence of cultural life?
Mr. Speaker! In such cases, what function do the Tidö Agreement's boundaries serve at all?
Kulturministern Parisa Liljestrand (M)
Mr. Speaker! It is absolutely correct as the member says: I have answered the written question, also here in the speaker's chair. The question concerns the directives for an individual investigation that has been prepared between all four coalition parties, and it has been done because it was judged to belong to the Tidö Agreement, precisely in accordance with the paragraph on artistic freedom which I myself have also linked it to and which the member also mentions.
Nowhere do I say that everything should be coordinated between four parties, but it is what is written in the Tidö Agreement that applies. I have clearly explained to the member why the film policy has been prepared between four cooperating parties and why it is then considered that this is linked to the point on artistic freedom.
It is no secret, Mr. Speaker, that previous governments have not directly protected artistic freedom. Among other things, they have influenced just the film policy and artistic freedom within film by imposing various mandates and letting different political directives govern the content of art. We have this in black and white. There are authorities that have looked into this in particular, and they can confirm that it is so.
This government has taken it upon itself to actually safeguard artistic freedom, to clean up among the directives that are given and remove burdens that can steer the content of art or limit the freedom of the cultural creators. It is clear that I understand that it stings for the Social Democrats that it is precisely this government that is taking that fight, but that is how it is.
It is clear in the Tidö Agreement that artistic freedom shall be protected and that the principle of arm's length distance shall be upheld. That means, Mr. Speaker, that we need to do the work. We need to roll up our sleeves and ensure that we actually uphold the principle that shall enable cultural creators to keep art free from political steering by meddlesome politicians who think that culture should be steered in a certain direction. It is precisely for that reason that the inquiry into film policy has also been prepared between the four coalition parties.
Lars Mejern Larsson (S)
Mr. Speaker! I thank the Minister for Culture for the clarification.
After having read the Minister's response and after what has emerged today, it is crystal clear for everyone in this chamber and everyone sitting in the gallery that the Tidö Agreement is only used as a smokescreen to hide the one hundred percent influence that SD has over the conducted policy.
Mr. Speaker! The so-called Tidö Agreement is merely a Potemkin village to hide the deplorable reality.
Kulturministern Parisa Liljestrand (M)
Mr. Speaker! We can go back to the member's original question, which concerns what considerations underlie the Prime Minister's and the government's work and priorities. It is a very broad question. It is clear that I could stand here and read out the entire government statement, but I intend to keep it brief.
This government's priority is to do what is best for Sweden, to solve the societal problems that previous governments actually have not had the strength or ability to tackle. Therefore, we cooperate with others to gather the support needed to implement necessary and long-awaited reforms. The citizens have the right to expect that accountability and we as a government have the obligation to deliver.
As I have also mentioned, artistic freedom is a matter of cooperation of particular importance within the cultural policy area. Artists and cultural creators must be free to raise new perspectives and new thoughts, including those that may be uncomfortable for those of us who sit in power. A free and vibrant cultural life is a prerequisite for a sustainable democracy and vice versa. Therefore, this government's task will continue to be to ensure that we do what we were mandated to do in the 2022 election and to ensure that artistic freedom is protected.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.