Published: Less than 20 min ago
The Social Democrats’ Mikael Damberg is strongly critical of the government’s and SD’s budget proposal:
– They break most of their major election promises, he says.
The Green Party believes that “the government is pushing the envelope against a climate disaster”, while the Left Party calls the budget “shocking”.
Former finance minister Mikael Damberg (S) aimed above all at fuel prices:
– It was said that they would reduce up to ten kroner at the pump. It was 14 öre. The explanation, according to SD’s Oscar Sjöstedt, was that “reality was haunting”. Yes, but the reality was like that even before the election, said Damberg.
Another breach of promise concerned the legal system, according to Damberg:
– SD’s most important promise was 20 billion annually to the judiciary. It gets a total of 1.4 billion in the budget, not an impressive figure. Åkesson also demanded a major short-term expansion of the Probation Service – it was SEK 3.5 million, he said.
Damberg was also strongly critical of the changes to the travel deduction:
– This means that 260,000 wage earners will be without travel deductions. The deterioration of the travel deduction means that climate policy is taking a step backwards, Damberg said, adding:
– The climate crisis continues. In that situation, the government chooses to roll back a long series of climate reforms. It is worrying that SD’s environmental policy has been allowed to dominate the right-wing conservative budget, he said.
About the defense, Damberg said:
– If we are to reach two percent of GDP in defense costs in 2026, the increase must be eight billion per year, not 4.3 billion as it will be next year.
As far as welfare is concerned, Damberg was “not reassured” by the government pushing to six billion kroner in general grants to municipalities and regions.
– I also note that the elderly care lift is to be removed after 2023. I don’t understand how we will manage staff supply then, said Damberg.
The Green Party’s spokesperson Per Bolund described the budget as “carbon black”:
– The budget is presented at the same time as the UN chief states at the climate meeting in Egypt that the world is on a highway heading towards the climate crisis. Then this government pushes the plate in the carpet towards a climate disaster, said Bolund.
He called the government’s and SD’s budget proposals “a devastating climate and environmental slaughter”:
– It does not seem that there is any climate reform that is too small for this government to strike it down. It is a pitch black budget we are now seeing, said Bolund and continued:
– It is not just the Ministry of the Environment that is closed down, but the entire environmental policy. It is a shame for a country like Sweden, which has been seen as an example of climate policy, said Bolund.
The Left Party’s economic and political spokesperson Ali Esbati directed harsh criticism at the budget:
– It is a budget characterized by shocking passivity in relation to the crisis, he said.
Esbati stated that welfare needs 20 billion next year according to SKR, Sweden’s municipalities and regions, but that the government is only pushing half as much – six billion in general state grants and four billion in targeted grants. A lack of staff density primarily affects the elderly population, Esbati stated.
He also believed that the government and SD do not protect people from the “inflation shock”:
– Those with the smallest margins have it extra tough, said Esbati.
His strongest criticism came against the budget’s climate proposal:
– The government’s budget is quite extreme and embarrassing when it comes to climate ambitions. The government is abdicating on climate policy, with proposals that favor those who have large expensive cars and live in moderately dense suburbs of the big cities, Esbati said.