Swedish Moderates make coalition agreement, anti-immigration party to support new government
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The right-wing bloc received 176 seats in the election against 173 for the centre-left
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Three-party government must be supported by the Sweden Democrats
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Policies include new nuclear power plants, tougher immigration policies
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Prime Minister candidate Kristersson is to be confirmed on Monday
STOCKHOLM, Oct 14 (Reuters) – Moderates leader Ulf Kristersson said on Friday he aims to form a three-party minority government with support from the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats after the right-wing bloc won a majority last time. choice of the month.
The new government plans to cut taxes, start the process of building new nuclear power plants, maximize benefits, tighten immigration rules and give police more powers as part of a policy deal with the Sweden Democrats.
“Change is not only necessary, change is also possible, and we four parties together can offer that change,” Kristersson, 58, told reporters.
Now Sweden’s largest right-wing party, the Sweden Democrats’ ability to shape politics marks a major shift in politics and would have been unthinkable less than a decade ago.
Then no party would have anything to do with the Sweden Democrats, which have their historical roots in the white supremacist fringes.
But leader Jimmie Åkesson’s message that most of Sweden’s ills are the result of decades of overgenerous immigration policies and a failure to integrate “New Swedes” has struck a chord with voters, making it nearly impossible for the right-wing bloc to govern. without his party’s support.
“For us in the Sweden Democrats… a shift in power must also mean a paradigm shift in terms of immigration and integration policy,” Åkesson said at the press conference.
The new government will make it harder for new immigrants to get benefits while the foreign aid target of 1% of gross national income will be replaced by a fixed amount.
The police will be able to take tougher measures against criminal gangs and the penalties for gang offenses will be longer.
PROBLEMS AHEAD?
Kristersson faces a confirmation vote on Monday that he is almost certain to pass.
But his party’s junior status could make it extremely difficult to govern for the next four years.
He will have to rely on both the Sweden Democrats and the Liberals, who strongly disagree on many policy areas. Both could pull the plug on Kristersson’s government.
Measures to address climate change must be implemented and holes in the welfare system exposed by the pandemic must be closed. A planned increase in defense spending must be financed.
Sweden is in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis and could be headed for recession next year, while Russia’s war in Ukraine has destabilized the Baltic Sea region – Sweden’s backyard. Turkey can still block Sweden’s application to join NATO.
In the September 11 election, the right-wing bloc secured a narrow majority, winning 176 seats in the 349-member parliament.
The Sweden Democrats received 20.5% of the vote in September, compared to 19.1% for the Moderates. (Reporting by Anna Ringström and Simon Johnson, editing by Terje Solsvik and Gareth Jones)