Language questions

The plan demands that education in and about national minority languages be expanded and that public service's independent position shall be safeguarded and developed. An expanded programme offering in minority languages already in the next broadcast licence combines these two commitments. The plan does not express itself on the shaping of the broadcast licence, so the conclusion is derived.

• expand minority languages' placedecisive»de nationella minoritetsspråken samt de nationella minoriteternas« (party programme ↗)“national minority languages and the national minorities'”
• invest in public service»Därför är det särskilt viktigt att satsa på och utveckla folkbiblioteken, folkbildningen och public services oberoende ställning.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Therefore it is particularly important to invest in and develop public libraries, adult education and public service's independent position.”
• safeguard public service»intar en särställning och måste värnas från ekonomisk avlövning och« (party programme ↗)“occupies a particular position and must be safeguarded from economic starvation and”
• minorities' participation»Ett demokratikrav är att alla som tillhör en nationell minoritet ska ha möjlighet« (party programme ↗)“A democratic requirement is that everyone belonging to a national minority shall have the opportunity”

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 commits to defending and supporting national minorities' opportunities to maintain and develop their language, and requires that cultural life reflects the diversity in today's Sweden. Increased programming in minority languages on public service radio and television is a direct tool for this. The plan also wants to strengthen public service's position through constitutional protection and defends its independence.

• support for minority languagesdecisive»I detta ska också ingå att hävda och stödja nationella minoriteters möjligheter att behålla och utveckla det egna språket och kulturen.« (party programme ↗)“As part of this, we must also defend and support national minorities' opportunities to maintain and develop their own language and culture.”
• strengthened public service»Vi vill grundlagsskydda public service. Mediestödet ska ge förutsättningar för oberoende och lokalt förankrad nyhetsförmedling i hela landet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We want to provide constitutional protection for public service. Media support shall create conditions for independent and locally anchored news coverage throughout the country.”
• cultural diversity in the offering»Kulturinstitutionerna och kulturlivet måste spegla den kulturella mångfalden i dagens Sverige.« (party programme ↗)“Cultural institutions and cultural life must reflect the cultural diversity in today's Sweden.”
• public service independence»Vi socialdemokrater slår vakt om oberoendet och friheten för public service-kanalerna inom radio och tv.« (party programme ↗)“We social democrats defend the independence and freedom of public service radio and television channels.”

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 wants to strengthen national minorities' rights and value an independent and strong public service as guarantor for diversity. The party programme establishes that minorities' culture and language must be respected and strengthened and that the party shall drive forward national minorities' rights in Nordic cooperation. Increased programme supply in minority languages and cross-border media cooperation are therefore supported in substance.

• strengthened minority rightsdecisive»stärka nationella minoriteters och urfolket samernas rättigheter och att Sverige ska förbinda sig att följa den internationella konventionen om urfolks rättigheter (ILO 169).« (2022 manifesto ↗)“strengthen national minorities' and the indigenous Sámi people's rights and that Sweden shall commit to following the international convention on indigenous peoples' rights (ILO 169).”
• minority languages are strengthened»språk, måste respekteras och stärkas. Samerna« (party programme ↗)“language, must be respected and strengthened. The Sámi”
• Nordic cooperation on minority languages»även i Norden, förbättra den skandinaviska språkförståelsen och nationella minoriteters rättigheter« (party programme ↗)“also in the Nordic region, improve Scandinavian language comprehension and national minorities' rights”
• strong independent public service»skydda ett oberoende public service i grundlagen.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“protect an independent public service in the constitution.”

The election manifesto wants to strengthen minority languages' position and at the same time establishes that comprehensive media coverage throughout the country is crucial for democracy. Increased programme offerings in the national minority languages in the next broadcasting licence serves both commitments. That the plan requires arm's length distance to culture however limits how far politics should steer content.

• strengthened position for minority languagesdecisive»Vi vill stärka bland annat äganderätten, diskrimineringsförbudet, minoritetsskyddet och minoritetsspråkens ställning« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We want to strengthen, among other things, property rights, the anti-discrimination clause, minority protection and minority languages' position”
• public service throughout the country»En allsidig, oberoende och livskraftig mediebevakning i hela landet är avgörande för demokratin. Pressfriheten ska skyddas och oberoende public service försvaras.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Comprehensive, independent and vibrant media coverage throughout the country is crucial for democracy. Press freedom shall be protected and independent public service defended.”
• minorities' equal rights»Vi bekämpar alla strukturer, formella och informella, som förtrycker eller diskriminerar människor.« (party programme ↗)“We combat all structures, formal and informal, that oppress or discriminate against people.”
• arm's length distance»Politiken ska bidra till goda förutsättningar men hålla armlängds avstånd.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Politics shall contribute to good conditions but maintain arm's length distance.”

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 the public shall support language, culture and media offerings with minority language profile, and both party programme and election manifesto require that public service continues to have a broad mandate. Increased programme offerings in national minority languages in the next broadcasting licence thus aligns with the plan's direction, as do strengthened opportunities to use minority languages. The plan simultaneously requires that public service's independence from political steering is protected, which calls for caution with detailed mandates.

• media offerings in minority languagesdecisive»Det offentliga ska understödja ett språk-, kultur- och medieutbud« (party programme ↗)“The public shall support language, culture and media offerings”
• broad public service mandate»public service-bolagen ska fortsätta ha ett brett programutbud« (2022 manifesto ↗)“public service companies shall continue to have a broad programme offering”
• broad mandate with quality»Public service ska fortsatt ha ett brett uppdrag och sträva efter kvalitet och relevans.« (party programme ↗)“Public service shall continue to have a broad mandate and strive for quality and relevance.”
• strengthened minority languages»Individens möjligheter att använda minoritetsspråk i kontakten med myndigheter« (party programme ↗)“Individuals' opportunities to use minority languages in contact with public authorities”

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 plan explicitly places on public service the responsibility to meet minorities' needs and wishes and wants to secure minority languages a strong position. Increased program offerings in the national minority languages in the next broadcast license is precisely that commitment translated into broadcast conditions. The plan's responsibility for a cultural infrastructure throughout the country points in the same direction.

• public service shall meet minoritiesdecisive»möta minoriteters behov och önskemål.« (party programme ↗)“meet minorities' needs and wishes.”
• strong position for minority languages»att göra detta är att tillförsäkra minoritetsspråken en« (party programme ↗)“to do this is to secure minority languages a”
• importance of public service»Betydelsen av oberoende och reklamfria radio- och« (party programme ↗)“The importance of independent and commercial-free radio and”
• cultural infrastructure throughout the country»svara för det som brukar benämnas en kulturell infrastruktur, i hela landet.« (party programme ↗)“respond to what is usually called a cultural infrastructure, 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 plan's media policy is aimed at defending and strengthening public service's core mission and the requirements for factuality and impartiality, not at expanding the offering in specific directions. The programme furthermore establishes that media institutions shall stand free from state and politics, which speaks against the Riksdag steering programming output in the next broadcasting license. The plan's language investments are instead directed at the Swedish language.

• public service's core missiondecisive»Värna och stärka public services kärnuppdrag och kravet på saklighet och opartiskhet« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Defend and strengthen public service's core mission and the requirement for factuality and impartiality”
• media free from political steering»Målet ska vara självständiga institutioner som i sin verksamhet står fria från stat och politik.« (party programme ↗)“The goal shall be independent institutions that in their operations stand free from state and politics.”
• Swedish language prioritized»Där alla barn får lära sig bra svenska tidigt.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Where all children learn good Swedish early.”

The party programme exempts national minorities from general assimilation efforts and gives them far-reaching cultural autonomy, and the plan wishes to strengthen the Nordic language and cultural community and protect indigenous peoples' cultural values. Increased programming in minority languages and cross-border media cooperation aligns with that. The plan simultaneously wishes to reduce public steering of the media sphere, which makes support weak. The committee's reason that ongoing committee work should await is not addressed.

• autonomy for national minoritiesdecisive»ska de som grupper undantas från allmänna assimileringssträvanden och ges långtgående« (party programme ↗)“shall as groups be exempted from general assimilation efforts and given far-reaching”
• Nordic language community»Stärk den nordiska språk- och kulturgemenskapen« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Strengthen the Nordic language and cultural community”
• protected indigenous cultures»Urfolkens ställning och kulturella värden ska värnas i den utrikespolitiska inriktningen.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Indigenous peoples' position and cultural values must be protected in foreign policy direction.”
• less public media control»Minska det offentligas ekonomiska kontroll över samtidskulturen och mediesfären« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Reduce public economic control over contemporary culture and the media sphere”

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.