Five things we learned from Sweden's party leader debate
Swedish public broadcaster SVT held its first party leader debate of the year on May 4th. What were the key takeaways?
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Both blocs united among themselves on economic issues
Sweden's opposition – the Social Democrats, Left Party, Centre Party and Greens – were united on most issues, SVT's domestic policy commentator Elisabeth Marmorstein said after the debate.
'It's not that strange that they're heading in the same direction but at different speeds, where the Centre Party sticks out the most with proposals for lower employer fees and things like that,' she said.
She also said that the so-called Tidö parties, made up of the government parties and the far-right Sweden Democrats, were also united, except when it comes to child benefit. More on that below.
A majority of Swedish parties are in favour of raising child benefit
Five of Sweden's eight parties were also in favour of raising child benefits, although the governing bloc – the Moderates, Liberals and Christian Democrats supported by the Sweden Democrats – was divided.
Among those in favour were the Social Democrats, the Left Party, the Green Party and two government parties – the Liberals and Christian Democrats.
The Moderates abstained, while the Centre Party and the Sweden Democrats voted no.
'Really, I don't have any problem with raising child benefits,' Sweden Democrat leader Jimmie Åkesson said, 'but it needs to be reformed first.'
He was, for example, critical of the fact that everyone with children receives the benefit, including people like himself with high salaries.
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PM ruled out financial support to Norrland's green energy projects
The Swedish government has so far rejected calls to support green energy projects in Norrland, for example by bailing out bankrupt battery company Northvolt, and that doesn't look like it's going to change any time soon. Despite this, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson was not opposed to other forms of support.
'If you mean making sure there is competence and energy. But if you mean that the state should go in with large sums of money and invest itself, like the left bloc is hinting? Absolutely not.'
This statement received criticism from Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson, who said that it was 'annoying to listen to'.
'What he's trying to accuse other parties of is just ridiculous,' she said.
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Majority of party leaders believe USA is heading for authoritarianism
All eight party leaders were also asked whether they believe the US is heading for authoritarianism. Leaders for five of the eight parties – the Social Democrats, Left Party, Green Party, Liberals and Christian Democrats – all answered yes, while the Centre Party and the Moderates abstained. The Sweden Democrats were the only party to answer no.
Moderate party leader, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, explained his answer by saying that he always puts Swedish interests first, while Centre Party leader Anna-Karin Hatt said that 'the USA is bigger than the White House'.
'There's no doubt that Trump is acting in a completely unacceptable manner and they aren't just authoritarian tendencies,' she said. 'But I still believe that there are robust democratic institutions.'
Sweden Democrat leader Jimmie Åkesson said that he did see authoritarian tendencies, but that he thought saying the US is heading for authoritarianism was a step too far.
'They have an administration chosen by the people, they are acting within the framework of the constitution. As long as they're doing that, I think saying they are going in an authoritarian direction is a step too far. That's essentially saying that they're heading for a dictatorship.'
'I do, however, think that Donald Trump appears to be an extremely unlikeable figure, who is also doing a huge amount of bad things for those of us here in Sweden and Europe.'
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Which side will the Centre Party choose in the next election?
The new leader of the Centre Party, Anna-Karin Hatt, made a strong first impression in the debate, which also happened to be her first day on the job – she was formally voted in as the new Centre Party leader at an EGM the day before.
Hatt made it clear once more that her party is not interested in collaborating with the Sweden Democrats, after promising that 'any government the Centre Party is part of will be a government which prioritises effective work on the climate. And any government that consciously chooses to lower Sweden's climate goals can also count on the Centre Party to bring it down.'
The Sweden Democrats are the party in parliament least interested in tackling climate change, with their leader Jimmie Åkesson answering a firm no when asked if it's important that Sweden meets its climate goals by 2030.
Moderate leader Ulf Kristersson extended a clear invite to Hatt to collaborate, saying that on food production in particular his party was 'ready to take that discussion every day', while Christian Democrat leader Ebba Busch also said she was open to collaborating.
'It's up to Anna-Karin Hatt,' she said.
Hatt wouldn't give any clear statement on collaboration with other parties, other than ruling out working with the Sweden Democrats, saying that it was up to the party to decide.
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