Rules on flagging

The counter-proposal wants to regulate the flag's ceremony, limit which flags public authorities can raise and mark against desecration of the flag. The party programme sees nationalism as a tool to exclude people from community and instead gives Sweden a special task to strengthen indigenous peoples' and national minorities' rights. Such national symbol regulation therefore lacks support in the plan.

• criticism of nationalismdecisive»Nationalismen visade sig användbar för de som ville utesluta« (party programme ↗)“Nationalism proved useful for those who wanted to exclude”
• against excluding symbol politics»människor från gemenskapen och elda på konflikter mellan länder.« (party programme ↗)“people from community and stoke conflicts between countries.”
• strengthened minority rights»Sverige har en särskild uppgift att stärka urfolks och« (party programme ↗)“Sweden has a special task to strengthen indigenous peoples' and”
• openness to diversity»Sverige ska vara ett land med en god förståelse för hur olika vi« (party programme ↗)“Sweden shall be a country with a good understanding of how different we”

The plan says nothing about flags or national ceremonies. The nearest principles are that the party wants to develop democratic governance, that the head of state shall be elected in democratic order and that the monarchy shall be abolished, as well as that the country's values are based on community and trust rather than national symbol regulation. On this basis, the plan does not support a unified flag law with ceremony and marking against flag desecration.

• abolished monarchydecisive»monarkin ska avskaffas.« (party programme ↗)“the monarchy shall be abolished.”
• democratic governance»Socialdemokratin vill upprätthålla och utveckla den demokratiska samhällsförvaltningen.« (party programme ↗)“Social Democracy wants to maintain and develop democratic governance.”
• community and trust»Vårt lands värderingar bygger på gemenskap, tillit och jämlikhet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Our country's values are based on community, trust and equality.”

The counter-proposal wants a flag law to regulate ceremony, limit which flags authorities may fly and take action against flag desecration. The plan is based on people being able to define and exercise their own identity and culture and on different cultures coexisting, and on national minorities' and the Sámi people's position being strengthened — which speaks against a narrow national flag regulation. Criminalizing or taking action against desecration also counters the plan's requirement for strengthened freedom of expression.

• right to own identitydecisive»Miljöpartiet vill att människor alltid ska ges rätt att definiera och utöva sin egen identitet och kultur.« (party programme ↗)“The Greens want people to always be given the right to define and exercise their own identity and culture.”
• minorities' rights»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 Sámi people's rights and that Sweden shall commit to following the international convention on indigenous peoples' rights (ILO 169).”
• strengthened freedom of expression»förstärka yttrandefriheten och stödja oberoende medier i hela landet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“strengthen freedom of expression and support independent media throughout the country.”
• cultural diversity»Vi bejakar att olika idéer och kulturer kan samexistera och influera varandra i ett och samma samhälle.« (party programme ↗)“We affirm that different ideas and cultures can coexist and influence each other in the same society.”

The plan does not address flag rules. Closest-lying principles are decentralization, strengthened minority protection and guaranteed freedom of expression, as well as that effective measures should be prioritized over symbolic politics. A unified flag law that limits which flags authorities may use and signals against flag desecration pulls in the opposite direction from these principles. The conclusion is uncertain.

• strengthened minority protectiondecisive»Vi vill stärka bland annat äganderätten, diskrimineringsförbudet, minoritetsskyddet och minoritetsspråkens ställning, och grundlagsskydda rätten till abort och reproduktiv hälsa.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We want to strengthen, among other things, property rights, the prohibition on discrimination, minority protection and the status of minority languages, and constitutionally protect the right to abortion and reproductive health.”
• decentralized decision-making»Decentralisera mera. Människor ska få bestämma mer själva, och politiska beslut ska fattas nära dem som berörs.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Decentralize further. People should get to decide more for themselves, and political decisions should be made close to those affected.”
• guaranteed freedom of expression»För oss är de grundlagsskyddade fri- och rättigheterna, som exempelvis yttrande-, tryck- och meddelarfrihet, självklara och ska garanteras.« (party programme ↗)“For us the constitutionally protected freedoms and rights, such as for example freedom of expression, press freedom and reporting freedom, are self-evident and should be guaranteed.”
• effective measures over symbolic politics»Ett ledarskap som prioriterar effektiva åtgärder framför symbolpolitik eller passivitet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Leadership that prioritizes effective measures over symbolic politics or passivity.”

The plan says nothing about flag raising or a unified flag law. The closest principles are that liberal society presupposes freedom of thought and that liberalism sets clear limits on public power, which speaks against both a condemnation of flag desecration and regulation of which flags authorities may hoist. Restricting authorities' flag-raising could moreover hit symbols the party wishes to see, such as support for LGBTQ+ persons.

• freedom of thoughtdecisive»Det liberala samhället förutsätter tankefrihet.« (party programme ↗)“Liberal society presupposes freedom of thought.”
• limited public power»Liberalismen sätter en tydlig gräns för den offentliga makten.« (party programme ↗)“Liberalism sets clear limits on public power.”
• LGBTQ+ rights»Sverige ska vara världens bästa land att leva i som hbtqi-person.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden shall be the world's best country to live in as an LGBTQ+ person.”

The plan makes stewardship of the cultural heritage, including customs and traditions, into a public task and lifts national symbols as identity-creating, and wants to protect the Swedish language's position by constitution. A unified flag law aligns with this stewardship. The plan's strong protection for freedom of expression simultaneously speaks against far-reaching prohibitions, so the foundation is weak.

• preserve the cultural heritagedecisive»En god kulturpolitik måste sträva efter att ta tillvara det värdefulla kulturella arv« (party programme ↗)“Good cultural policy must strive to preserve the valuable cultural heritage”
• national symbols and identity»Monarkin har en stark folklig förankring och är en« (party programme ↗)“The monarchy has strong popular support and is a”
• constitutional protection for national character»det svenska språket, vars ställning som majoritetsspråk bör vara grundlagsskyddat.« (party programme ↗)“the Swedish language, whose position as the majority language should be protected by the constitution.”
• strong freedom of expression protection»Ett starkt skydd för yttrande- och meddelarfriheten« (party programme ↗)“Strong protection for freedom of expression and freedom of the press”

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 documents say nothing about flag rules, but the plan explicitly lifts the right to display a rainbow flag as something that shall be protected, which speaks against a law that restricts which flags authorities may use. The plan is moreover restrained with new regulation and means that a large state gives a weaker society. That the party programme values national continuity pulls in the opposite direction but weighs less.

• the right to display the rainbow flagdecisive»Där människor inte vågar hålla hand med vem man vill eller visa en regnbågsflagga på grund av att otidsenliga normer slagit rot.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Where people dare not hold hands with whom they want or display a rainbow flag because outdated norms have taken root.”
• restrained legislation»En stor stat leder till ett svagare samhälle.« (party programme ↗)“A large state leads to a weaker society.”
• national continuity»Moderaterna värdesätter den kontinuitet som Sverige« (party programme ↗)“Moderates value the continuity that Sweden”

The plan's cultural policy commitment is to create cohesion around Swedish culture and national identity and to protect, nurture and showcase Swedish culture, where holidays, traditions and symbols count as the core. A unified flag law with official flag days, requirements for authorities to fly Swedish flags and a stance against flag desecration is a direct expression of that. The plan sees cultural heritage as cohesive cement in society.

• Swedish national identitydecisive»Skapa sammanhållning kring den svenska kulturen och den nationella identiteten« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Create cohesion around Swedish culture and national identity”
• protect Swedish culture»Sverigedemokraterna vill värna, vårda och visa svensk kultur.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“the Sweden Democrats want to protect, nurture and showcase Swedish culture.”
• pride in cultural heritage»Sammanhållningen och tilliten i samhället ska återupprättas, med en gemensam stolthet och respekt för det kulturella arvet, sociala koder, svensk demokrati och det sekulariserade samhället som har sina rötter i en kristen idégrund.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Cohesion and trust in society shall be re-established, with shared pride and respect for cultural heritage, social codes, Swedish democracy and the secularised society that has its roots in Christian values.”
• cultural heritage as cohesive cement»kulturarvet fungerar som ett sammanhållande kitt« (party programme ↗)“cultural heritage functions as cohesive cement”