When the Tidö Agreement was presented a month after the Riksdag election last fall, the Sweden Democrats were declared the big political winner. Today, six months, an autumn and a spring budget have passed. How does the party’s leader Jimmie Åkesson see the cooperation with the government now?
– I think it’s going well. So far it’s going pretty much as expected. It is not easy to take over government power and then for our part not sit in the government but be a support party, but I think we have got the processes in place that we have said we should have got by now, he says in Ekot’s Saturday interview.
One of the biggest difficulties that was pointed out in advance was the Sweden Democrats’ cooperation with the Liberals. Among other things, Jimmie Åkesson (SD) has called the party for “genuinely unreliable” and the parties differ on many issues, not least regarding the climate. But so far the cooperation between the parties is working well, according to the Sweden Democrats’ party leader.
– So far, things are going well. Then, at the same time, we are four parties with four different inputs many times on different issues, so it is clear that there will be a mandate period of negotiations.
Johan Pehrson, Liberal party leader, said in a recent interview that the Tidö Agreement has been partially misinterpreted, that it is not a list of things to be implemented during the term of office, but rather a kind of work plan or direction. But it is a description that Jimmie Åkesson (SD) does not agree with.
– The Tidö agreement is fundamental for the government to be able to take office and is sitting where it is, so of course it must be implemented.
However, the cracks in government cooperation seem to be more than the one between the Liberals’ and the Sweden Democrats’ view of the Tidö Agreement. The last few weeks have senior Sweden Democrats threatened to leave the collaboration if you don’t get what you want in various matters, which would mean a government crisis. But how serious are the threats?
– I don’t think you should see it as warnings, but this is a statement of fact. If the Tidö Agreement is not implemented, we will not have any cooperation either, says Jimmie Åkesson (SD).
But for leading representatives to publicly talk about the possibility of opting out of the Tidö Agreement, is that a good method in political cooperation?
– Using the term “government crisis” is perhaps not so constructive, but you also have to put it in the context in which it was expressed, and I think it is quite obvious that there is no imminent government crisis.
Election promises
One of the Sweden Democrats’ big election promises before the election last year was to lower the fuel price sharply by, among other things, completely abolishing the reduction obligation, that is, the proportion of biofuel that is mixed into petrol and diesel. The price at the pump would be SEK 10 cheaper for diesel and SEK 6.50 cheaper for petrol. But the promise to the voters has so far not been fulfilled.
– We are negotiating the reduction obligation right now and our starting point is still the EU’s mini level, says Jimmie Åkesson (SD).
Another demand that the Sweden Democrats made before the election was that a government that the party could consider supporting must invest at least 20 billion annually on the judiciary.
– It’s something a government we’re going to support has to be involved in, said Jimmie Åkesson (SD) to Aftonbladet in August last year.
But the “ultimate requirement” has not been met either. Instead, the government increased the allocation to the judiciary by almost SEK 5 billion in the budget bill for 2023.
In addition to those examples, a number of Sweden Democratic proposals in the Tidö Agreement have been criticized for going against various laws, conventions, regulations and against EU law. What should the party do if their policy proposals are largely stopped from materializing?
– It is clear that you have to deal with that, but law is not an exact science, law is precisely law. It is clear that if you want something politically, there is usually an opportunity to change laws so that what you want becomes possible, says Jimmie Åkesson (SD).
The wind power
In the Tidö Agreement it is stated that “wind power has an important place in the energy mix” and Energy and Industry Minister Ebba Busch (KD) has said that Sweden needs “more wind power everywhere”. What do the Sweden Democrats think about that matter?
– I have nothing against wind power, says Åkesson (SD) and continues, but I have also been clear that my assessment is that Sweden right now needs more weather-dependent power production.
According to a new report from the Energy Agency, it is estimated that electricity demand can double by 2035, Svenska kraftnät does a similar analysis and believes that electricity use is expected to increase sharply until 2027. Also Swedish business applies and calculates in its report that electricity use will be 60 percent higher in 2045 compared to today’s needs. To meet this need, according to Jimmie Åkesson (SD), planable energy is required.
– Today we have a surplus of weather-dependent power. The problem is when there is no wind.
How then are you going to speed up nuclear power construction?
– I nag the government about it every time, and not least the energy minister, but I can’t judge when you can see the first sod. It takes time to build nuclear power.
In addition, this week the state wind power investigation “Strengthened incentives for expanded wind power” was presented, which was added by the previous government but which the current government has also supported. It concludes that financial support for municipalities, local communities and those who live closest to wind turbines is required in order to say yes to new wind power installations. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson also agreed and said an interview with Svt that “you have to make sure that the municipalities get sensible incentives”. But the party leader of the Sweden Democrats does not agree.
– All of us who are involved in municipal politics know that this already occurs in various ways with bribes and village money and everything they call it and it hasn’t helped so far, says Jimmie Åkesson (SD).
Arm’s length
At the Dramaten in Stockholm, during the spring, two drag artists will give guided tours of the theater for children between the ages of five and seven. Something that the Sweden Democrats have criticized. “Why does the Drama let grown men in dresses guide children?” among other things, the party signed on Instagram account. What does Jimmie Åkesson think of that statement?
– There has been a debate over the past six months about drag artists and their different needs to interact with children in different ways with different sexual allusions, and it is clear that there are many who find it strange and inappropriate, says Åkesson (SD).
In the Tidö Agreement, it is stated that “the principle of arm’s length distance must be maintained” in cultural policy, which is usually interpreted as politicians setting frameworks with money and organization but not focusing on the content and artistic assessments. How well does the party’s repeated criticism of drag artists who hold various cultural events for children rhyme with the principle of arm’s length distance?
– I don’t think it necessarily conflicts with the fact that as a politician you also have a responsibility for how tax money is used.
But do you agree with that definition?
– Both yes and no. I mean that the definition is possibly more complex than that, says the party leader of the Sweden Democrats.
The power
Despite his great influence on policy in the Tidö Agreement and the widespread cooperation with the government, the leader of the Sweden Democrats is not satisfied. “After the next election we are either a government party or an opposition party,” he says to DN. And now Jimmie Åkesson (SD) also says that he wants the collaboration to be expanded already before next election.
The Tidö agreement states that the party leaders can decide on new collaborative projects at the end of this year. Do you want new areas of cooperation with the government?
– It is clear that we have an interest in expanding cooperation with the government. It is a negotiation that will take place in late autumn.
Guest: Jimmie Åkessonparty leader Sweden Democrats
Program manager Johar Bendjelloul
Comment: Pontus Mattssonpolitical reporter Ekot
Technician: Heinz Wennin and Fredrik Brofalk
Producer: Felicia Hassan
The interview was recorded on the morning of April 28 in the radio house in Stockholm and Kristianstad.
Source: ICELAND NEWS