Inquiry into the opposition's standing

The party programme wants to strengthen and deepen political democracy, states that the government shall be accountable to the Riksdag and that the constitutions shall protect democracy and people's freedoms and rights. The programme also warns against authoritarian forces that lead the political field away from democratic processes. Letting a parliamentary committee formalize practice and enshrine the protection of the opposition's position is in line with these commitments.

• Riksdag's control of governmentdecisive»Regeringen ska vara ansvarig inför riksdagen.« (party programme ↗)“The government shall be accountable to the Riksdag.”
• constitutional protection of democracy»Grundlagarna ska värna demokratin och människors fri- och« (party programme ↗)“The constitutions shall protect democracy and people's freedoms and”
• deepened political democracy»Vi vill bygga vidare på Sveriges demokratisering. Vi vill förstärka och« (party programme ↗)“We want to build further on Sweden's democratization. We want to strengthen and”
• protect democratic processes»leder det politiska fältet bort från demokratiska processer och sakliga« (party programme ↗)“lead the political field away from democratic processes and factual”

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 wants to maintain and develop democratic public administration, holds representative democracy as the most effective decision-making system and emphasizes that democracy gives the right to pursue one's views but also the duty to listen to others. A parliamentary review that formalizes practice and protects the opposition's position aligns with this and with the requirement for transparency and openness. However, the plan does not address the Riksdag's working methods.

• develop democratic administrationdecisive»Socialdemokratin vill upprätthålla och utveckla den demokratiska samhällsförvaltningen.« (party programme ↗)“The Social Democrats want to maintain and develop democratic public administration.”
• representative democracy»Den representativa demokratin är det mest effektiva demokratiska beslutssystemet.« (party programme ↗)“Representative democracy is the most effective democratic decision-making system.”
• respect for those who think differently»Demokrati ger rätten att driva sina åsikter och sina intressen, men innebär också« (party programme ↗)“Democracy gives the right to pursue one's views and interests, but also involves”
• transparency and openness»Den demokratiska processen och samhällsförvaltningen måste bygga på offentlighet och« (party programme ↗)“The democratic process and public administration must be built on transparency and”

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 counter-proposal wishes a parliamentary committee to formalise practice and strengthen the opposition's position in law. The plan wishes to protect the Constitution against rapid changes and states that democracy must be defended with democratic means and that common matters shall be handled with openness and free debate. To strengthen protection against a governing party abusing unwritten practice lies in that direction, but the plan does not address the Riksdag's working procedures directly.

• protect the constitutiondecisive»skydda Sveriges grundlag mot snabba förändringar.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“protect Sweden's Constitution against rapid changes.”
• democracy's self-defence»Demokratin måste försvaras med demokratiska medel.« (party programme ↗)“Democracy must be defended with democratic means.”
• open decision-making»Våra gemensamma angelägenheter ska hanteras med öppenhet, respekt, fri debatt och demokratiska beslut.« (party programme ↗)“Our common matters shall be handled with openness, respect, free debate and democratic decisions.”
• scrutiny of power»Medborgarna ska alltid kunna granska makten.« (party programme ↗)“Citizens must always be able to scrutinise power.”

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 election manifesto explicitly commits to protecting the opposition's position in the Riksdag and making constitutional amendments more difficult, and states that democratic institutions shall remain strong regardless of political control. The counter-proposal's requirement for a parliamentary committee that formalizes practice and strengthens protection for the opposition in law is precisely that commitment put into action.

• protect the opposition's positiondecisive»Våra demokratiska institutioner behöver skydd. Vi vill göra det svårare att ändra grundlagen, skydda oppositionens ställning i riksdagen och stärka domstolarnas oberoende.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Our democratic institutions need protection. We want to make constitutional amendments more difficult, protect the opposition's position in the Riksdag and strengthen the independence of the courts.”
• institutions strong regardless of control»Våra demokratiska institutioner och principer — oberoende domstolar, äganderätten, den fria pressen, likheten inför lagen och många fler — ska stå starka oavsett politiskt styre.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Our democratic institutions and principles — independent courts, property rights, the free press, equality before the law and many more — shall remain strong regardless of political control.”
• formalized rights in law»Vi vill se en rättighetslagstiftning, ett tydligt samhällskontrakt med utkrävbara rättigheter.« (party programme ↗)“We want to see rights-based legislation, a clear social contract with enforceable rights.”
• nurture liberal democracy»Den liberala demokratin får aldrig tas för given. Den ska vårdas, värnas och vidareutvecklas — idag och för kommande generationer.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Liberal democracy must never be taken for granted. It shall be nurtured, protected and further developed — today and for future generations.”

The election manifesto wants to see strengthened constitutional protection for the democratic form of government, increased court independence and a constitutional court, and the party programme that constitutional protection for democracy and individual rights shall be strong. To formalize the Riksdag's practice in law and strengthen protection for the position of opposition aligns with this desire to codify the rules of democracy in binding form. The plan does not specifically address the position of opposition, so the support is derived.

• strengthened constitutional protectiondecisive»Vi vill se ett förstärkt grundlagsskydd för vårt demokratiska statsskick, öka domstolarnas oberoende och verka för en författningsdomstol som ska kunna häva lagar eller bestämmelser som strider mot grundlagsskyddade fri- och rättigheter.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We want to see strengthened constitutional protection for our democratic form of government, increase the independence of the courts and work for a constitutional court that can strike down laws or provisions that violate constitutionally protected freedoms and rights.”
• strong constitutional protection»Grundlagsskyddet för demokratin och de individuella fri- och rättigheterna ska vara starkt.« (party programme ↗)“Constitutional protection for democracy and individual freedoms and rights shall be strong.”
• constitutional court»ska en författningsdomstol inrättas i Sverige.« (party programme ↗)“a constitutional court shall be established in Sweden.”
• transparency in the decision-making process»möjligheter att följa den politiska processen och påverka beslutsfattandet.« (party programme ↗)“opportunities to follow the political process and influence decision-making.”

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 plan is built on the principle of limited power: excessive power must not be placed in the hands of a single group or single party, and there must be effective means against abuse of power and concentration of power. The boundaries between centres of power must moreover be clarified in the constitution. Formalizing practice and enshrining protection of the opposition's position follows from these commitments.

• no concentration of powerdecisive»makt inte får läggas i en enskild människas, grupps eller partis händer.« (party programme ↗)“power must not be placed in the hands of a single person, group or party.”
• means against abuse of power»Det måste finnas effektiva medel mot maktmiss« (party programme ↗)“There must be effective means against abuse of power”
• separation of powers in constitution»mellan dessa maktcentra ska tydliggöras i grundlagen.« (party programme ↗)“between these centres of power must be clarified in the constitution.”
• no party owns the whole truth»inget politiskt parti ensamt står för den kompletta sanningen.« (party programme ↗)“no single political party holds the complete truth.”

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 plan establishes that the majority can never do what it wants against the minority and sees large needs to strengthen the separation of powers and clarify accountability for public decisions; the party programme states that protection for genuine separation of powers needs to be strengthened. The counter-proposal's demand for a parliamentary committee that formalizes practice and strengthens the opposition's standing in law aligns with that. The documents do not mention the Riksdag's internal practice, which is why the conclusion is derived.

• protection for the minoritydecisive»Majoriteten får aldrig göra vad den vill mot minoriteten.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The majority can never do what it wants against the minority.”
• strengthened separation of powers»Vi ser stora behov av att förstärka domstolarnas oberoende och förtydliga hur ansvar kan utkrävas för offentliga beslut.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We see large needs to strengthen courts' independence and clarify how responsibility can be held for public decisions.”
• genuine separation of powers»Vår demokrati bygger på vår förmåga att slå vakt om grundlagarna, medborgarnas fri- och rättigheter, verklig maktdelning och våra domstolars oberoende.« (party programme ↗)“Our democracy is built on our ability to guard the fundamental laws, citizens' freedoms and rights, genuine separation of powers and our courts' independence.”
• strengthen democracy's foundations»Demokratins grundvalar behöver stärkas.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The foundations of democracy need to be strengthened.”

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 election manifesto wants to strengthen the rule-of-law principles through increased separation of powers and believes that democracy's mode of operation constantly needs to be examined. A parliamentary committee that formalizes practice and strengthens protection for the opposition's position in law is in line with that commitment. The plan also in the same spirit wants to investigate a qualified majority for bills that the Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee has criticized and increase the possibility of constitutional review.

• increased separation of powersdecisive»Sverigedemokraterna vill stärka de rättsstatliga principerna i den svenska förvaltningsmodellen genom ökade inslag av maktdelning och ett stärkt oberoende av domstolsväsendet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden Democrats want to strengthen the rule-of-law principles in the Swedish administrative model through increased separation of powers and a strengthened independence of the courts.”
• strengthened legal affairs committee through investigation»Lagrådets ställning bör stärkas genom att utreda möjligheten att fordra kvalificerad majoritet i riksdagen vid antaganden av lagförslag om vilka Lagrådet riktat kritik.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee's position should be strengthened by investigating the possibility of requiring a qualified majority in the Riksdag when laws are passed which the Legal Affairs Committee has criticized.”
• examine democracy's function»Trots hundraårig demokrati och en av världens äldsta tryckfriheter, behöver demokratins funktionssätt ständigt rannsakas.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Despite a hundred years of democracy and one of the world's oldest press freedoms, democracy's mode of operation constantly needs to be examined.”
• strengthened constitutional review»Öka möjligheten till normprövning i grundlagen« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Increase the possibility of constitutional review in the Basic Law”

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.