Review of the state's company ownership

The counter-proposal wants to review the company portfolio to identify companies that can be divested. The election manifesto, by contrast, requires that socially important activities and infrastructure that have been privatised be taken back, and the party programme wants to gradually strengthen common ownership in the key sectors of the economy. A review for divestment purposes therefore directly contradicts the plan.

• take back privatised servicesdecisive»Det är hög tid att agera och ta tillbaka den samhällsviktiga verksamhet och infrastruktur som har privatiserats.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“It is high time to act and take back the socially important activities and infrastructure that have been privatised.”
• strengthened common ownership»gemensamma ägandet i ekonomins nyckelsektorer och därmed öka« (party programme ↗)“common ownership in the key sectors of the economy and thereby increase”
• expanded state ownership»Vi vill steg för steg stärka det« (party programme ↗)“We want to gradually strengthen it”
• protect existing ownership»Redan idag är det gemensamma ägandet större än vad många inser.« (party programme ↗)“Already today, common ownership is greater than many realise.”

The plan's central line is to take back democratic control and stop the dismantling through privatization, and the party programme establishes that democracy takes precedence over the market. A review of the state's shareholding portfolio in order to identify companies that can be divested runs in the opposite direction to society strengthening its positions. The plan does not address the state's shareholding portfolio as such, so the position is derived from these principles.

• stop privatizationsdecisive»Det är dags att ta tillbaka den demokratiska kontrollen över välfärden och att stoppa sönderprivatiseringen.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“It is time to take back democratic control over welfare and to stop the dismantling through privatization.”
• democracy before the market»Demokratin har därför företräde före marknaden.« (party programme ↗)“Democracy therefore takes precedence before the market.”
• society takes back control»Samhället ska flytta fram positionerna för att ta tillbaka kontrollen över utvecklingen.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Society should strengthen its positions in order to take back control of development.”
• the market within democracy's framework»Marknaden och vinstintresset är en del av det ekonomiska livet.« (party programme ↗)“The market and profit interest are part of economic life.”

The counter-proposal's purpose with the review is to identify companies that can be divested. The plan establishes that in certain cases there are reasons for the state to own and operate business activities and that public ownership shall be used actively for sustainability and gender equality, and that commercial actors should be removed from welfare. A review with sales as the goal thus goes against the plan's view of state ownership.

• state ownership is justifieddecisive»I vissa fall kan det dock finnas skäl för staten eller en kommun att äga och driva affärsverksamheter.« (party programme ↗)“In certain cases there may however be reasons for the state or a municipality to own and operate business activities.”
• active ownership with sustainability goals»I de företag där det allmänna är hel- eller delägare ska ägarskapet vara aktivt och inflytandet användas för att främja exempelvis hållbarhet och jämställdhet.« (party programme ↗)“In companies where the public is a full or partial owner the state's ownership should be active and the influence used to promote for example sustainability and gender equality.”
• less commercialization»Vi vill därför få bort de kommersiellt inriktade aktörerna och i stället främja idéburna verksamheter inom välfärdssektorn.« (party programme ↗)“We thus want to remove commercially oriented actors and instead promote idea-based activities within the welfare sector.”
• public management of key activities»Universitetssjukhus ska fortsatt drivas i offentlig regi.« (party programme ↗)“University hospitals shall continue to be run in public administration.”

The party programme stipulates that public activities can advantageously be exposed to competition to give the private business community space, and that the market economy should be free from planned economy directives. The election manifesto also requires that politics be a good steward of taxpayers' money. The counter-proposal's requirement for a comprehensive review of the company portfolio to identify companies that can be divested follows from these commitments.

• competitive public activitiesdecisive»Offentlig verksamhet kan med fördel konkurrensutsättas för att ge det privata näringslivet möjlighet att skapa« (party programme ↗)“Public activities can advantageously be exposed to competition to give private business the opportunity to create”
• stewardship of tax resources»Politiken ska hushålla med skattebetalarnas pengar.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Politics shall be a good steward of taxpayers' money.”
• more freedom and entrepreneurship»Sverige behöver mer frihet och företagsamhet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden needs more freedom and entrepreneurship.”

flags: citat_blockerat

The party programme establishes that the public shall only conduct business if there is a strong public interest, that the state shall not own airlines, banks and telephone companies and that public activity shall not crowd out functioning private alternatives. A review of the company portfolio in order to identify companies that can be divested is precisely the examination the plan presupposes. The plan gives no support for keeping state ownership that does not rest on a strong public interest.

• only where there is strong public interestdecisive»Det offentliga ska endast driva affärsverksamhet om det finns ett starkt samhällsintresse.« (party programme ↗)“The public sector shall only conduct business if there is a strong public interest.”
• state ownership shall be limited»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»inte driva verksamheter som tränger ut fungerande privata alternativ« (party programme ↗)“not conduct activities that crowd out functioning private alternatives”

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 wishes personal ownership to be encouraged at the expense of institutional and that the public sector's organizational forms so far as possible be based on the absence of monopolies, with competitive procurement of activities that are not government administration. A thorough review of the portfolio of enterprises in order to identify enterprises that can be sold off follows from this. The plan moreover makes evaluation and cost monitoring into a political task.

• personal ownership before institutionaldecisive»Det är också angeläget att det personliga ägandet uppmuntras på bekostnad av det institutionella ägandet.« (party programme ↗)“It is also important that personal ownership be encouraged at the expense of institutional ownership.”
• absence of monopolies»offentliga sektorns verksamhetsformer ska så långt möjligt bygga på frånvaro av monopol.« (party programme ↗)“public sector's organizational forms shall so far as possible be based on the absence of monopolies.”
• put non-administration activities out to competitive tender»upphandlas i konkurrens.« (party programme ↗)“procured through competition.”
• review an important task»Utvärdering, kostnadsuppföljning och kvalitetskontroll är därför viktiga politiska« (party programme ↗)“Evaluation, cost monitoring and quality control are therefore important political”

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's principle is that what can be done equally well or better by someone other than the public sector also should not be done by the public sector, and that a large state gives a weaker society. The election manifesto implements this in concrete divestment of state ownership, for example of Sveaskog's holdings. The counter-proposal's demand for a review of the company portfolio to identify companies that can be divested follows directly from that line.

• other than the public sector can performdecisive»Om något kan göras lika bra eller bättre av« (party programme ↗)“If something can be done equally well or better by”
• divest 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 Sveaskog's holdings to people with regional ties”
• limited state sphere»En stor stat leder till ett svagare samhälle.« (party programme ↗)“A large state leads to a weaker society.”
• market economy as foundation»Grunden för Sveriges välstånd är en marknadsekonomi baserad« (party programme ↗)“The foundation of Sweden's prosperity is a market economy based”

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 essential parts of infrastructure and other strategically important sectors should be under state or strong societal control, and that ownership form otherwise is determined pragmatically from case to case. The plan contains no commitment to divest state enterprises; it calls for streamlining and efficiency, not sale. A review whose stated purpose is to identify enterprises for divestment therefore goes further than the plan.

• state control of core functionsdecisive»väsentliga delar av vår infrastruktur bör stå under statlig kontroll« (party programme ↗)“essential parts of our infrastructure should be under state control”
• pragmatic view of ownership form»intar Sverigedemokraterna ett pragmatiskt och resultatinriktat förhållningssätt« (party programme ↗)“Sweden Democrats adopt a pragmatic and results-oriented approach”
• societal control of strategic sectors»andra sektorer av central strategisk och säkerhetspolitisk betydelse« (party programme ↗)“other sectors of central strategic and security-political significance”
• streamlining where possible»Sverigedemokraterna vill också slå samman myndigheter och renodla offentliga verksamheter där det är möjligt.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden Democrats also want to merge authorities and streamline public activities where possible.”

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.