Updated 16:27 | Published at 4:21 p.m
A tougher take on both immigration policy and criminal policy.
This was promised by Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (M) in his government statement.
– Integration problems now characterize most policy areas, he says.
It was a serious prime minister who read out the 18-page long government declaration in front of a packed chamber in connection with the opening of the Riksdag.
He began by stating that we live in a time of difficult trials, and that “no Swedish government in modern times has had to work with so many, so big and so difficult challenges at the same time”.
– Some crises are international, created by forces outside our country. Others are largely Sweden’s own. Both the energy crisis and the poor integration are the result of a long-term inability to deal with problems in time, Kristersson said.
He went on to emphasize that problems that have developed over a long period of time require long-term work.
– To change course requires both endurance and impatience.
He touched on a number of policy areas where, according to him, the government is now implementing a paradigm shift, such as economic policy, school policy, healthcare policy, defense and security policy, criminal policy and migration and integration policy.
“Characterizes most policy areas”
He chose to weave together the two latter areas by stating that violence is now creeping lower and lower in the ages.
– Ten-year-olds are lured with hamburgers, while 15-year-olds kill for money and prestige. No other country in Europe is even close to the Swedish development of violence. Here, too, we see the consequences of a large immigration in combination with failed integration and the state’s inability to intervene in time, says Ulf Kristersson.
He claims that integration problems now characterize most policy areas, and says “that after decades of too much immigration and too poor integration, a paradigm shift is now also taking place in Swedish immigration policy”.
– The reforms aim for Sweden to go from being one of the countries that has received the most asylum seekers, to the asylum legislation being adapted to the EU’s minimum level. Anyone who has received a deportation order must leave Sweden.
– We are now seeing how migration pressure is decreasing towards Sweden, even though it is increasing in Europe. But the big change has only just begun.
“Should not apply here”
Kristersson further says that it should be easier to revoke residence permits and deport more people due to crime.
– The government believes in a Sweden where people with different backgrounds can live side by side. But then a putty is required that unites and holds us together.
He subsequently mentions the Swedish language, the rights and obligations of citizenship and respect for fundamental Swedish values.
In conclusion, Kristersson notes that the expectations and requirements to become part of Swedish society must become clearer.
– If you don’t want to become part of this community, you shouldn’t apply here.