A new integration policy goal

The plan requires active work to prevent and stop discrimination and that public power exercise is guided by the equal value of all people. The election manifesto explicitly rejects the right's view of humanity that immigrants, the sick and the unemployed are lazy and must be pushed to perform. The counter-proposal wants to maintain the goal of equal rights, obligations and opportunities regardless of background instead of a formulation that places responsibility on the individual, which is in line with the plan.

• active work against discriminationdecisive»hindra olika sorters diskriminering i samhället.« (party programme ↗)“prevent various forms of discrimination in society.”
• rejects demand rhetoric against the individual»Högerns idé är att invandrade, sjuka och arbetslösa är lata och om vi får det sämre så tvingas vi prestera bättre.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The right's idea is that immigrants, the sick and the unemployed are lazy and if we get worse off we are forced to perform better.”
• equal value of all people»Den offentliga maktutövningen ska vägledas av alla människors lika« (party programme ↗)“Public power exercise shall be guided by the equal”
• do not set people against each other»Ett tryggt samhälle ställer inte människor mot varandra.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“A secure society does not set people against each other.”

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 wants to maintain the goal of equal rights, duties and opportunities regardless of ethnic and cultural background and instead pursue a more active integration policy. The party programme is explicitly anti-racist and argues that racism is best combated through increased equality, not by making social problems the individual's responsibility. The election manifesto demands more efforts for foreign-born women and combating discrimination in the labour market. The plan simultaneously makes clear demands on individuals to work and contribute, which pulls in the opposite direction, but the main line supports the counter-proposal.

• equality against racismdecisive»Det bästa sättet att motarbeta rasism är att stärka jämlikheten« (party programme ↗)“The best way to combat racism is to strengthen equality”
• combat discrimination»Diskrimineringen på arbetsmarknaden ska motarbetas.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Discrimination in the labour market shall be combated.”
• anti-racist party»Socialdemokraterna är ett antirasistiskt parti« (party programme ↗)“The Social Democrats are an anti-racist party”
• requirement to work and contribute»Alla som kan jobba ska jobba och bidra för att bli en del av samhället.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Everyone who can work should work and contribute to be part of society.”

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 states that everyone shall enjoy equal rights and opportunities regardless of ethnicity and that structural discrimination and racism shall cease, and the election manifesto wants to strengthen legislation against discrimination. The counter-proposal wants to keep the goal of equal rights, obligations and opportunities regardless of background instead of a formulation that tightens demands on the individual. The plan supports that demand.

• equal rights regardless of backgrounddecisive»Alla ska åtnjuta lika rättigheter och möjligheter oavsett kön, etnicitet, religion, funktionsnedsättning, sexuell läggning, könsidentitet, könsuttryck eller ålder.« (party programme ↗)“Everyone shall enjoy equal rights and opportunities regardless of sex, ethnicity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or age.”
• counteract structural racism»Strukturell diskriminering och rasism ska upphöra.« (party programme ↗)“Structural discrimination and racism shall cease.”
• tightened discrimination protection»stärka lagstiftningen mot diskriminering och se över rätten till rättshjälp i diskrimineringsfall.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“strengthen legislation against discrimination and review the right to legal aid in discrimination cases.”
• active establishment policy»förlänga etableringsprogrammet för nyanlända till minst fyra år för att skapa bättre förutsättningar för etablering, så att fler kommer i arbete snabbare.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“extend the establishment programme for newly arrived to at least four years to create better conditions for establishment, so more get into work faster.”

The manifesto is explicit that integration efforts shall be characterized by hard work and high expectations and that newcomers should qualify into the security systems, and the party programme speaks about the same rights and duties for all. The new objective formulation that emphasizes both duties and opportunities thus aligns with the plan, whereas the counter-proposal's requirement to keep the old wording and downplay demands on the individual does not. The plan's requirement to counteract discrimination and racism remains however as an objection.

• high expectations in integrationdecisive»Integrationsinsatser ska präglas av hårt arbete och höga förväntningar. Nyanlända bör kvalificera sig in i trygghetssystemen.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Integration efforts shall be characterized by hard work and high expectations. Newcomers should qualify into the security systems.”
• work line in integration»Integrationen ska präglas av intensiv praktik och språkutbildning, med hårt arbete och höga förväntningar.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Integration shall be characterized by intensive practice and language education, with hard work and high expectations.”
• equal rights and duties»Alla människor har lika rätt och värde, alla har samma grundläggande rättigheter och skyldigheter.« (party programme ↗)“All people have equal rights and value, all have the same basic rights and duties.”
• counteract discrimination»Diskriminering, strukturell rasism och intolerans, i alla dess former, ska motverkas.« (party programme ↗)“Discrimination, structural racism, and intolerance, in all its forms, shall be counteracted.”

The plan explicitly states that integration policy's goal of equal rights, duties and opportunities must be complemented with clearer goals, i.e. not just be maintained as it is. The election manifesto moreover strongly drives that the individual's own responsibility shall be clarified: more shall contribute and fewer receive benefits, and to set demands is to care. The counter-proposal's requirement to maintain the current goal formulation therefore goes against the plan.

• the goal must be complementeddecisive»skyldigheter och möjligheter för alla oavsett bakgrund måste kompletteras med tydliga mål om« (party programme ↗)“duties and opportunities for everyone regardless of background must be complemented with clear goals about”
• demands as care»Att ställa krav – det är att bry sig.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“To set demands – that is to care.”
• own responsibility for support»Fler måste bidra – färre måste gå på bidrag.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“More must contribute – fewer must receive benefits.”
• responsibility and right to learn Swedish»Den som är nyanländ har både ansvar och rättighet att skaffa sig kunskaper i svenska.« (party programme ↗)“Those who are newly arrived have both responsibility and the right to gain knowledge of Swedish.”

The plan's starting point for integration policy is to give people conditions to take responsibility for their own lives, where the state facilitates but does not plan and control, and where employment and the Swedish language are the keys. The new target formulation's emphasis on personal responsibility thus aligns with the plan's line, whereas the counter-proposal's objection to requirements on the individual does not. The discrimination prohibition nevertheless remains.

• personal responsibility, not state controldecisive»Staten ska medverka till att underlätta och skapa förutsättningar, men inte planera och ta kontroll« (party programme ↗)“The state shall contribute to facilitating and creating conditions, but not to planning and taking control”
• employment and language as keys»Jobb, kunskap i svenska språket och det civila samhället är viktiga nycklar till integration.« (party programme ↗)“Employment, knowledge of the Swedish language and civil society are important keys to integration.”
• strict migration against exclusion»Stram migrationspolitik krävs för att ta itu med integrationsproblem och utanförskap.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Strict migration policy is required to address integration problems and exclusion.”
• discrimination prohibition»på grund av kön, ålder, funktionsvariationer, etniskt ursprung, religion, sexuell identitet« (party programme ↗)“on the grounds of sex, age, functional variation, ethnic origin, religion, sexual identity”

The plan is explicit that the politics of low expectations must end and that the person who comes here has a duty to become part of society, with demands for language, self-sufficiency and qualification for welfare. The counter-proposal wants to keep the old target precisely because the new formulation places greater responsibility on the individual. The plan thus argues against the counter-proposal's demand.

• end low expectationsdecisive»Det måste bli ett slut på de låga förväntningarnas politik.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“It must end the politics of low expectations.”
• duty to integrate»möjlighet och en skyldighet att bli del av vårt samhälle.« (party programme ↗)“opportunity and a duty to become part of our society.”
• demands on newly arrived»Genom att ställa krav på den som är ny i Sverige att göra sig anställningsbar tydliggörs att här räknar vi med att alla blir en del av samhället.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“By placing demands on the person new to Sweden to make themselves employable, it is clarified that here we count on everyone becoming part of society.”
• qualification for welfare»Införa kvalificering till välfärden för nyanlända genom eget arbete eller genom permanent och laglig bosättning i landet« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Introduce qualification for welfare for newly arrived people through their own work or through permanent and legal residence in the country”

The plan's integration policy is demand-based and is based on the principles that one adopts the customs of the country one enters and freedom with responsibility, where welfare rights grow together with language, work and citizenship. The counter-proposal wants to maintain a goal without this requirement on the individual and rejects the sharpened formulation, which goes against the plan's line on assimilation and tightened requirements.

• demand-based integrationdecisive»Sverigedemokraterna vill upprätta en kravbaserad integrationspolitik som bygger på de båda principerna att man tar seden dit man kommer samt frihet under ansvar.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden Democrats want to establish a demand-based integration policy based on the two principles that one adopts the customs of the country one enters and freedom with responsibility.”
• rights in pace with requirements»Utforma en kravbaserad integrationspolitik som ger rättigheter till välfärden i takt med språkinlärning, arbete och slutligen medborgarskap« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Design a demand-based integration policy that provides welfare rights in pace with language learning, work and finally citizenship”
• assimilation»Integrationspolitiken ska bygga på assimilering och främja sammanhållningen i landet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Integration policy shall be based on assimilation and promote cohesion in the country.”
• tightened requirements on individuals»Öka kraven på icke integrerade att göra sig anställningsbara« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Increase requirements on non-integrated persons to make themselves employable”