2024-02-072023/24:NU4 · p.6NUBusiness & energy
Other matters regarding state ownership and management
The state's role as company owner – societal benefit versus profitability requirements
What's at stake: The decision concerns how state-owned companies — which are jointly owned by the population — are governed and which goals carry the most weight in their operations; it affects, among other things, access to services and employment in different parts of the country, not least in rural areas.
Case texts and AI reasoning are AI-translated from the Swedish originals; the Swedish text is authoritative.
What the vote decides
The question is whether the state, as a company owner, should more clearly prioritise societal benefit, regional balance and an inquiry into companies' demographic responsibility ahead of the profitability requirement, or whether the current ownership governance of state-owned companies should remain unchanged.
Yes Yes — the committee proposal
The committee rejects the motions on the state's ownership and management of companies and does not take a different view on questions of societal benefit, ownership directives or companies' demographic responsibility than the one that currently applies.
No No — the reservations
Reservation 10 (V)
The reservation holds that the profitability requirement for state-owned companies should not take precedence over societal benefit, and that the companies should instead be actively used to make Sweden safer, more equal and ecologically sustainable, and to even out differences between urban and rural areas. It wants the government to commission an inquiry into the companies' demographic responsibility and effects, to develop ownership directives with societal benefit as the focus, and to use ownership directives to ensure the companies support technological development, environmental and climate work, employment, and increased value-added processing in industries such as forestry, mining and steel.
Summarised from the committee report. Party labels in the summary come from the report, not from the vote.
What do the votes mean here?
Yes The committee proposal: rejecting the motions (keeping things as they are).
No Backing the counter-proposal: reservation 10 by V.
Abstain The party marks a position of its own that is not one of the two final alternatives.
The decision would have held
Explicit commitments that contradicted the vote: MPMiljöpartiet
Ja 198–18Ja 187–29
Counterfactual: the parties above are moved to the position their own documents explicitly point at, carrying their whole contingent present. Every other party keeps its real figures, including dissenters and absentees.
How the AI parties would have voted
For each party: what its own plan – election manifesto and party programme – argues for in this case, next to how the party actually voted. The AI can only answer Yes or No; a party can also abstain.
| AI | Vote | Confidence | Evidence | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| V | No | No 0/18/0/6 | match | confidence: high | explicit |
| S | No | Yes 89/0/0/18 | differs | confidence: medium | not addressed |
| MP | No | Yes 11/0/0/7 | differsagainst own programme | confidence: high | explicit |
| C | Yes | Yes 20/0/0/4 | match | confidence: medium | not addressed |
| L | Yes | Yes 11/0/0/5 | match | confidence: medium | derived |
| KD | Yes | Yes 12/0/0/7 | match | confidence: medium | not addressed |
| M | Yes | Yes 55/0/0/13 | match | confidence: medium | not addressed |
| SD | No | Abstain 0/0/62/10 | differs | confidence: low | not addressed |
Committee proposal
The Riksdag rejects the motions 2023/24:68 by Nooshi Dadgostar et al. (V) amendments 1, 2 and 4-7, 2023/24:444 by Tobias Andersson et al. (SD) amendment 3 and 2023/24:989 by Lorena Delgado Varas et al. (V) amendment 3.
Original (Swedish)
Riksdagen avslår motionerna 2023/24:68 av Nooshi Dadgostar m.fl. (V) yrkandena 1, 2 och 4-7, 2023/24:444 av Tobias Andersson m.fl. (SD) yrkande 3 och 2023/24:989 av Lorena Delgado Varas m.fl. (V) yrkande 3.
Riksdag decision: The Riksdag has reviewed the government's statement on the 2023 report on companies with state ownership. The Riksdag emphasizes the importance of this annually recurring statement and stresses the importance of the government continuing to develop its content so that the Riksdag obtains a good picture of developments in companies with state ownership. The Riksdag said no to approximately 60 proposals in motions concerning, among other things, state ownership and management of companies, which were submitted during the general motion period 2023. The Riksdag thereupon laid the statement to the records, that is, concluded the matter.
Counter-proposals
- The counter-proposal wants state-owned enterprises to not be members of or finance organizations that conduct political advocacy. (V) — Reservation 10
Plan vs actual vote
Every party, in chamber order: what its own plan pointed to, how it voted, and the reasoning behind both. Highlighted rows are where the two differ — but a vote that follows the plan is a result too, so the reasoning is there for every party.
The plan establishes that social benefit and not short-term profit maximization shall drive jointly owned companies, that excessive profit demands shall not counter the company's task and that state-owned companies shall be tools for purposes other than high returns.
Plan documents: party programme
Reasoning and quotes
The plan establishes that social benefit and not short-term profit maximization shall drive jointly owned companies, that excessive profit demands shall not counter the company's task and that state-owned companies shall be tools for purposes other than high returns. The counter-proposal's demand for updated ownership directives with social benefit in focus, demographic responsibility and support for technology, environment and employment follows directly from this. The plan also requires that regional policy reduces the gaps between city and countryside.
Original (Swedish)
Planen slår fast att samhällsnyttan och inte kortsiktig vinstmaximering ska styra de gemensamt ägda företagen, att överdrivna avkastningskrav inte får motverka bolagens uppgift och att statliga bolag ska vara verktyg för andra mål än hög avkastning. Motförslagets krav på uppdaterade ägardirektiv med samhällsnytta i fokus, demografiskt ansvar och stöd till teknik, miljö och sysselsättning följer direkt av detta. Planen kräver också att regionalpolitiken minskar klyftorna mellan stad och landsbygd.
- social benefit before returnsdecisive»avkastningskrav får inte motverka företagets uppgift. Särskilt viktigt« (party programme ↗)“profit demands shall not counter the company's task. Particularly important”
- state-owned companies as social tools»ägda bolag ska utgöra viktiga verktyg för att uppnå andra mål än så« (party programme ↗)“owned companies shall be important tools for achieving other purposes than”
- social benefit drives production»Därmed blir det möjligt att låta samhällsnyttan styra verksamheten i stället för kortsiktigt vinstmaximerande.« (party programme ↗)“Thus it becomes possible to let social benefit drive operations instead of short-term profit maximization.”
- reduce regional gaps»Regionalpolitiken ska därför drivas för att minska klyftorna.« (party programme ↗)“Regional policy shall therefore be driven to reduce the gaps.”
The plan's principle is that democracy has precedence before the market and that society shall push forward positions to take back control of development.
Plan documents: party programme · 2022 manifesto
Reasoning and quotes
The plan's principle is that democracy has precedence before the market and that society shall push forward positions to take back control of development. Using state companies for public benefit, security, equality, sustainability and to level out differences between city and countryside follows from this and from the plan's demand for state presence throughout the country. The counter-proposal's demands therefore align with the plan, even though individual ownership directives are not mentioned.
Original (Swedish)
Planens princip är att demokratin har företräde före marknaden och att samhället ska flytta fram positionerna för att ta tillbaka kontrollen över utvecklingen. Att statliga bolag används för samhällsnytta, trygghet, jämlikhet, hållbarhet och för att jämna ut skillnader mellan stad och landsbygd följer av detta och av planens krav på statlig närvaro i hela landet. Motförslagets krav ligger därför i linje med planen, även om enskilda ägardirektiv inte nämns.
- democracy's precedence before the marketdecisive»Demokratin har därför företräde före marknaden.« (party programme ↗)“Democracy therefore has precedence before the market.”
- the whole country shall live»Alla har ett gemensamt intresse av att hela landet kan leva och utvecklas.« (party programme ↗)“Everyone has a common interest in the whole country being able to live and develop.”
- society takes back control»Samhället ska flytta fram positionerna för att ta tillbaka kontrollen över utvecklingen.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Society shall push forward positions to take back control of development.”
- state presence throughout the country»Staten ska finnas närvarande i hela landet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The state shall be present throughout the country.”
The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.
The party programme establishes that where the public is wholly or partly owner, the ownership shall be active and influence shall be used to promote sustainability and gender equality, and that long-termism shall be prioritized before short-term profit interests.
Plan documents: party programme
Reasoning and quotes
The party programme establishes that where the public is wholly or partly owner, the ownership shall be active and influence shall be used to promote sustainability and gender equality, and that long-termism shall be prioritized before short-term profit interests. The plan also requires welfare and highly qualified jobs across the country and ethics and environmental requirements on state investments. That public utility comes before profitability and that ownership directives are used for security, equality and ecological sustainability is thus the plan's own line.
Original (Swedish)
Partiprogrammet slår fast att där det allmänna är hel- eller delägare ska ägarskapet vara aktivt och inflytandet användas för att främja hållbarhet och jämställdhet, och att långsiktighet ska prioriteras före kortsiktiga vinstintressen. Planen kräver också välfärd och högkvalificerade jobb i hela landet samt etik- och miljökrav på statliga placeringar. Att samhällsnyttan går före lönsamhetskravet och att ägardirektiven används för trygghet, jämlikhet och ekologisk hållbarhet är därför planens egen linje.
- active state ownershipdecisive»ska ägarskapet vara aktivt och inflytandet« (party programme ↗)“the ownership shall be active and influence shall be”
- long-termism before profit»ska prioriteras före kortsiktiga vinstintressen.« (party programme ↗)“shall be prioritized before short-term profit interests.”
- jobs and development across the country»Ett fungerande samhälle bygger på välfärd, utveckling och högkvalificerade jobb i hela landet.« (party programme ↗)“A functioning society is built on welfare, development and highly qualified jobs across the country.”
- ethics and environmental requirements on ownership»etik- och miljökrav på de företag de investerar i.« (party programme ↗)“ethics and environmental requirements on the companies they invest in.”
The stance rests on the quoted commitment in the party's own documents; the actual vote deviated. Click the quote to verify it in the document.
The party programme requires a market economy free from planned-economy directives, predictable rules and that public activity rather be subject to competition than used as a political instrument.
Plan documents: party programme · 2022 manifesto
Reasoning and quotes
The party programme requires a market economy free from planned-economy directives, predictable rules and that public activity rather be subject to competition than used as a political instrument. Putting social utility before profitability requirements and directing state-owned enterprises toward broad political goals is precisely such planned-economy control. However, the plan's requirement that more of the value of natural resources stays locally supports part of the purpose, but does not support the counter-proposal's main requirement.
Original (Swedish)
Partiprogrammet kräver en marknadsekonomi fri från planekonomiska pekpinnar, förutsägbara spelregler och att offentlig verksamhet snarare konkurrensutsätts än används som politiskt instrument. Att sätta samhällsnytta före lönsamhetskrav och styra statliga bolag mot breda politiska mål är just en sådan planekonomisk styrning. Planens krav att mer av naturresursernas värde stannar lokalt stöder däremot en del av syftet, men bär inte motförslagets huvudkrav.
- predictable rulesdecisive»Ekonomin ska ha givna och förutsägbara spelregler« (party programme ↗)“The economy should have given and predictable rules”
- subject public activity to competition»Offentlig verksamhet kan med fördel konkurrensutsättas« (party programme ↗)“Public activity can advantageously be subject to competition”
- natural resource values stay locally»Mer av värdet som skapas från naturresurser« (2022 manifesto ↗)“More of the value created from natural resources”
flags: citat_blockerat
The plan establishes that the public shall only conduct business activities when there is a strong public interest, not crowd out functioning private alternatives, and that the state shall not own companies in normal sectors.
Plan documents: party programme
Reasoning and quotes
The plan establishes that the public shall only conduct business activities when there is a strong public interest, not crowd out functioning private alternatives, and that the state shall not own companies in normal sectors. The counter-proposal wants instead to use the state companies as tools for broader societal goals ahead of profitability. That conflicts with the plan's view of state enterprises, so the plan rejects the demand.
Original (Swedish)
Planen slår fast att det offentliga bara ska driva affärsverksamhet vid ett starkt samhällsintresse, inte tränga ut fungerande privata alternativ, och att staten inte ska äga bolag i normala branscher. Motförslaget vill tvärtom använda de statliga bolagen som verktyg för bredare samhällsmål framför lönsamhet. Det strider mot planens syn på statligt företagande, varför planen avvisar kravet.
- restrictive state enterprisedecisive»Det offentliga ska endast driva affärsverksamhet om det finns ett starkt samhällsintresse.« (party programme ↗)“The public shall only conduct business activities if there is a strong public interest.”
- the state shall not own companies»Staten ska inte äga flygbolag, banker och telebolag.« (party programme ↗)“The state shall not own airlines, banks and telephone companies.”
- do not crowd out private alternatives»offentliga ska inte driva verksamheter som tränger ut fungerande privata alternativ eller försvårar« (party programme ↗)“the public shall not conduct activities that crowd out functioning private alternatives or make difficult”
The plan limits the state's role in business policy to overseeing that legislation and good ethics are upheld, requires general measures and rejects direct company subsidies and wants personal ownership to be encouraged at the expense of institutional ownership.
Plan documents: party programme
Reasoning and quotes
The plan limits the state's role in business policy to overseeing that legislation and good ethics are upheld, requires general measures and rejects direct company subsidies and wants personal ownership to be encouraged at the expense of institutional ownership. The counter-proposal wants instead to use state companies as a political tool with new owner directives and targeted support to industries, which goes against these commitments.
Original (Swedish)
Planen begränsar statens roll i näringspolitiken till att övervaka att lagstiftning och god etik upprätthålls, kräver generella medel och avvisar direkta företagssubventioner samt vill att personligt ägande uppmuntras på bekostnad av institutionellt. Motförslaget vill i stället använda de statliga bolagen som politiskt verktyg med nya ägardirektiv och riktat stöd till branscher, vilket går emot dessa åtaganden.
- limited state business roledecisive»Statens roll i näringspolitiken är att övervaka att« (party programme ↗)“The state's role in business policy is to oversee that”
- personal before institutional ownership»Det är också angeläget att det personliga ägandet uppmuntras på bekostnad av det institutionella ägandet.« (party programme ↗)“It is also important that personal ownership is encouraged at the expense of institutional ownership.”
- general business policy measures»Näringspolitiken ska bedrivas med generella medel,« (party programme ↗)“Business policy shall be conducted with general measures,”
- no direct subsidies»Direkta företagssubventioner avvisas.« (party programme ↗)“Direct company subsidies are rejected.”
The plan is based on a market economy where the state's role is to protect the economy's institutions, not to run companies for political goals, and it instead wants to sell off state ownership such as Sveaskog's holdings.
Plan documents: party programme · 2022 manifesto
Reasoning and quotes
The plan is based on a market economy where the state's role is to protect the economy's institutions, not to run companies for political goals, and it instead wants to sell off state ownership such as Sveaskog's holdings. The counter-proposal's demand that public benefit shall take precedence over profitability and that the companies be actively used as tools in regional and environmental policy contradicts this. The plan moreover means that the public should not do what others can do equally well.
Original (Swedish)
Planen bygger på en marknadsekonomi där statens roll är att värna ekonomins institutioner, inte att driva bolag för politiska mål, och den vill tvärtom sälja av statligt ägande som Sveaskogs innehav. Motförslagets krav att samhällsnytta ska gå före lönsamhet och att bolagen aktivt används som redskap i regional- och miljöpolitiken strider mot detta. Planen menar dessutom att det offentliga inte ska utföra det andra kan göra lika bra.
- market economy and private ownershipdecisive»Grunden för Sveriges välstånd är en marknadsekonomi baserad« (party programme ↗)“The foundation for Sweden's prosperity is a market economy based”
- limited economic role of the state»Statens roll i ekonomin är att värna dess grundläggande« (party programme ↗)“The state's role in the economy is to protect its fundamental”
- reduced state ownership»Sälja av en större andel av statliga Sveaskogs innehav till personer med regional anknytning« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sell off a larger share of state-owned Sveaskog holdings to people with regional connection”
- limited public undertaking»Om något kan göras lika bra eller bättre av« (party programme ↗)“If something can be done equally well or better by”
The plan defends market economy but simultaneously requires that the prosperity created is shared by more people, and explicitly criticizes that revenues from resource extraction and industry rarely reach local communities.
Plan documents: 2022 manifesto
Reasoning and quotes
The plan defends market economy but simultaneously requires that the prosperity created is shared by more people, and explicitly criticizes that revenues from resource extraction and industry rarely reach local communities. The whole country shall share in the prosperity and forest raw materials shall be refined into new products. This supports the counter-proposal's demand that profitability must not unilaterally take precedence over social benefit and regional balance, even though the plan otherwise warns against symbolic politics that hampers industry.
Original (Swedish)
Planen försvarar marknadsekonomin men kräver samtidigt att det välstånd som skapas kommer fler till del, och kritiserar uttryckligen att intäkter från råvaruutvinning och industri sällan når lokalbygden. Hela landet ska få del av välståndet och skogsråvaran förädlas till nya produkter. Det stöder motförslagets krav att lönsamhet inte ensidigt får gå före samhällsnytta och regional balans, även om planen i övrigt varnar för symbolpolitik som hämmar näringen.
- prosperity shall reach more peopledecisive»Sverigedemokraterna ser att marknadsekonomi, valfrihet inom välfärden och internationell handel gynnar samhället och är viktigt att försvara, men kan samtidigt se att stora välstånd som skapas måste komma fler till del.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden Democrats see that market economy, freedom of choice in welfare and international trade benefit society and are important to defend, but can at the same time see that great prosperity that is created must be shared by more people.”
- resource revenues to local communities»Många är istället berättelserna om bostadsområden som snabbt förvandlats till det oigenkännbara, om hur intäkter från råvaruutvinning och industri sällan kommer lokalbygden till del och om hur de som har svårt att få sin egen vardag att gå ihop alltid är de som ska ta det största ansvaret för globala världsproblem.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Many are instead the stories of residential areas that have quickly become unrecognizable, about how revenues from resource extraction and industry rarely reach local communities and about how those who have difficulty making ends meet are always those who are supposed to take the greatest responsibility for global world problems.”
- prosperity throughout the country»Låta hela landet få del av välstånd« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Let the whole country share in prosperity”
- higher refining of forest raw materials»Utveckla nya hållbara produkter ur råvara från skogen« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Develop new sustainable products from forest raw materials”
The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.
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Sources and documents
- The committee report on riksdagen.se (2023/24:NU4)
- Committee report full text (HB01NU4)
- Per-MP voting data (API)
- Case status (API)
Documents under consideration
- Motion 2023/24:1123 — Opinionsbildande myndigheter och statliga bolag av Helena Storckenfeldt och Lars Püss (båda M)
- Motion 2023/24:1409 — Översyn av möjligheten att sälja fler statliga bolag av Carl Nordblom (M)
- Motion 2023/24:150 — Avyttring av statens ägande i AB Svensk Bilprovning av Magnus Jacobsson (KD)
- Motion 2023/24:1861 — De statliga bolagens medlemskap i Svenskt Näringsliv av Joakim Sandell m.fl. (S)
- Motion 2023/24:1877 — Statliga bolag för en hållbar utveckling av Elin Söderberg m.fl. (MP)
- Motion 2023/24:1878 — För en framtidssäkrad hållbar svensk järnväg av Daniel Helldén m.fl. (MP)
- Motion 2023/24:2005 — Utveckling av naturvårdsområdet Malingsbo-Kloten av Sofie Eriksson m.fl. (S)
- Motion 2023/24:2068 — Skogspolitik med helhetssyn av Mattias Eriksson Falk m.fl. (SD)
- Motion 2023/24:2107 — Statens företag av Jesper Skalberg Karlsson och Louise Meijer (båda M)
- Motion 2023/24:2346 — En järnväg för framtiden av Nooshi Dadgostar m.fl. (V)
- Motion 2023/24:2492 — En näringspolitik för tillväxt av Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist m.fl. (C)
- Motion 2023/24:2537 — Försäljning av statliga bolag av Markus Wiechel och Alexander Christiansson (båda SD)
- Motion 2023/24:2539 — Åtgärder för ett robust elsystem av Lars Engsund (M)
- Motion 2023/24:2683 — Statliga bolag av Fredrik Olovsson m.fl. (S)
- Motion 2023/24:294 — Försäljning eller avveckling av statliga bolag av Joar Forssell (L)
- Motion 2023/24:310 — Försäljning av SAS av Cecilia Rönn (L)
- Motion 2023/24:372 — Bevarande och utveckling av torvbruket av Martin Kinnunen m.fl. (SD)
- Motion 2023/24:400 — En konkurrenskraftig svensk järnväg av Patrik Jönsson m.fl. (SD)
- Motion 2023/24:415 — Post och it i hela landet av Jimmy Ståhl m.fl. (SD)
- Motion 2023/24:444 — Statligt ägande av Tobias Andersson m.fl. (SD)
Source: The Swedish Parliament